HVAC Mechanical Designer

New England Tech Air Inc; Portland (ME); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Tech Air is seeking an HVAC Mechanical Designer in Portland, ME. You will design air systems from scratch, size ducts, select equipment, and prepare build-ready construction documents with multi-trade coordination.

You’ll work directly with the engineer of record and client during preconstruction, travel for in-person meetings about once a month, and defend design choices to keep projects on schedule and within budget.

Qualifications

• 3 to 7 years of HVAC design experience on commercial and industrial projects.
• Background in sheet metal design.
• Proficient in AutoCAD for air system design and construction documents.
• Proficient in Revit for air system modeling; training available for the right candidate.
• Working knowledge of airflow, loads, and duct sizing under client scrutiny.
• Experience selecting HVAC equipment to design parameters and project needs.
• Experience coordinating routing and space with electrical, plumbing, and architectural trades.

Responsibilities

• Design air systems from nothing, building ductwork routing and equipment from scratch.
• Translate load calculations into a complete air system that is buildable.
• Clear trade conflicts inside the model through coordination with trades.
• Produce complete construction documents ready to build from.
• Partner with the client through preconstruction, assisting with equipment selection and sizing.

Skills

HVAC design

Sheet metal design

AutoCAD

Revit

Airflow concepts

Loads & sizing

Trade coordination

Tools

AutoCAD

Revit

Job description

Why Work With Us

Tech Air is driven by a passion for creating healthier spaces through cutting-edge air systems to enhance environments in schools, hospitals, labs, and beyond. That is the work this seat is built around.

We're looking for an HVAC Mechanical Designer in Portland, ME.

This role is why we can design our own air systems at all. Without it, we work from prints someone else produced. With it, we sit next to the engineer of record in preconstruction and turn design parameters into a working model, on our own.

Our core values show up in how the craft gets done. Adapt and Conquer means the parameter that shifts in week three is a puzzle to solve, not a reason to stall. Bring the Heat means you push the design forward every day the project is open. Build Strong Relationships means the engineer of record, the client, the shop, and the crew all trust what leaves your desk. Own the Process, Own the Outcome means the model is yours from the airflow numbers to the last sheet in the set.

We are working toward being the contractor of choice by 2035, for even the most complex jobs. That reputation gets earned one drawing set at a time, by a team that takes the craft personally.

If that reads like a shop you want to plant yourself in, keep going.

Please Don't Apply If

• You want a layout handed to you with the decisions already made.
• You would rather clean up an existing model than build one from a blank page.
• You freeze when a client with real chops questions your sizing.
• You skip the second pass on the math and hope for the best.
• You wait for the deadline to loom before the work picks up pace.
• You dodge the conversation with the shop and hope the sheet reads the way you meant it.

Are You a Great Fit?

You want the blank page. Given airflow, velocities, and a set of parameters, you would rather design the whole air system than pick up where someone else stopped.

You take pride in a set the crew can build straight from. When the shop opens your drawings, the answer is already in the sheet.

You defend a duct size to a room that knows enough to challenge it, and you enjoy that conversation instead of dreading it.

You clear the conflict yourself when you reasonably can. When you cannot, you go to the general contractor with a specific ask, not a shrug.

You ask how it gets built before you finalize how it looks on screen. The shop and the field are part of who you are drawing for.

You write down what got agreed to in a design meeting and send it back so nobody remembers the conversation three different ways later.

You keep your own work in order. Anyone on the team can open your folder and find the current version without pulling you off what you are doing.

What You'll Be Responsible For

Designing air systems from nothing

You start with the airflow and velocities the project calls for, then build the ductwork routing, the system layout, and the equipment selection from scratch. No tracing off an existing model.

You size the duct, set the volumes and capacities, and pick equipment against the parameters the engineer of record hands over on day one. When a client questions the finished design, the numbers behind it hold up because they are yours to defend.

Turning load calculations into a full air system

The load calculations arrive complete from someone else. You translate those numbers into a full air system inside the model, sizing duct and laying out routing so the design carries every capacity the calc outputs specify.

The translation is exact. A finished calc set always has a matching, buildable air system design behind it that the project team can trust.

Clearing trade conflicts inside the model

You coordinate with the electrical, plumbing, and architectural teams so routing and space conflicts get resolved on screen, not on the job site. Multi-trade drawings get reviewed and integrated so the air system fits the space it shares.

When a collision can reasonably be cleared, you clear it. When it cannot, you escalation to the general contractor with a specific ask. The field crew installs to a model that already accounts for everyone else in the building.

Putting out construction documents ready to build from

You produce complete construction document sets the shop and the field build from directly. Every set reflects the final air system design, the resolved trade coordination, and the sizing decisions behind it.

The documents are accurate enough that the people building from them do not have to re-check the work or chase gaps. A finished set tells the shop and the crew exactly what the air system is and how it fits.

Partnering with the client through preconstruction

You work directly with the engineer of record and the client through preconstruction. You attend design meetings and help shape the air system before it is locked in. You assist with equipment selection alongside the preconstruction and project management team, and you independently size and lay out air systems in partnership with the client.

This includes travel, averaging about one in-person meeting a month. The client sees us as a design partner, and the air system that comes out of those meetings is one everyone agreed to and can build.

Qualifications

• 3 to 7 years of HVAC design experience on commercial and industrial projects.
• A background in sheet metal design.
• Proficient in AutoCAD for air system design and construction document production.
• Proficient in Revit for air system modeling. Training is available for the right candidate.
• A working command of airflow, capacities, loads, and duct sizing at a level that holds up to client scrutiny.
• Experience selecting HVAC equipment against design parameters and project requirements.
• Experience coordinating routing and space with electrical, plumbing, and architectural trades.
• Comfortable working directly with an engineer of record and a client through preconstruction.
• Able to travel by air for in-person preconstruction meetings, averaging about one trip a month.
• Based within 45 to 60 minutes of the Scarborough or Raleigh office, or open to eastern U.S. remote arrangements.

Compensation and Benefits

$90,000 - $120,000 depending on experience.