Lead Engineer

Advocate Health Care; Oak Lawn (IL); On-site; USD 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Advocate Health Care is seeking a Lead Engineer at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, IL. This role involves overseeing the engineering team, ensuring high-quality maintenance of HVAC systems, and driving energy efficiency initiatives.

The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in operating, maintaining, and repairing HVAC systems, along with strong leadership skills. Responsibilities include developing operational procedures and coordinating repairs to optimize energy usage and ensure safety.

Qualifications

• Five years of hands-on experience supervising operations and maintenance of HVAC systems in a major facility.
• Skilled in troubleshooting boilers and associated equipment.
• Current City of Chicago or Elgin stationary engineer's license is required.

Responsibilities

• Oversee engineering team and establish quality standards.
• Lead onboarding and training for engineering staff.
• Inspect work to ensure compliance with quality standards.
• Coordinate HVAC service outages with minimal disruption.

Skills

H.V.A.C. systems

Building Automation Systems

Troubleshooting equipment

Leadership

Education

High school graduate or equivalent

Stationary Engineer's License

Universal CFC certification

Tools

CMMS

HVAC maintenance tools

Job description

Position

Lead Engineer

Location

Christ Medical Center; Oak Lawn, IL.

Employment Type

Full Time; 1st Shift

Major Responsibilities

• Works collaboratively with the manager, establishes goals and quality standards for the engineering team. Drives goal attainment specific to reductions in energy utilization. Regularly reports on goal attainment status.
• Collaborates with the department manager on matters of hiring, progressive discipline, rewards and recognition of associates.
• Establishes work schedules for the engineering staff to assure proper coverage, optimizing the use of vendor services to supplement the work of the associates assigned to the engineering team.
• Approves overtime as warranted and edits time cards accordingly.
• Prioritizes and schedules associates to perform routine, non-routine, preventative and predictive maintenance activities to ensure proper operation of HVAC equipment.
• Leads the onboarding process for orientation and training of the engineering team to increase knowledge, skills, and proficiency.
• Inspects and ensures that all work is done to the highest quality standards, providing regular performance feedback to the associates assigned to the engineering team and drafts annual performance appraisals.
• Provides timely and accurate recommendations and supporting background for the annual operating budget and for the five year infrastructure capital plan. Manages expenditures to meet department budget goals.
• Chairs the Utilities Management Sub-Committee and is responsible for developing and executing the objectives of the Utility Management Plan.
• Oversees administrative actions required of the engineering team.
• Establishes, monitors, and improves the preventive maintenance program and procedures for HVAC and other equipment as assigned per manufacturer’s recommendations and regulatory standards.
• Ensures stationary engineers and vendors complete assigned PMs by the established deadlines.
• Ensures all new equipment is inventoried and that preventive/predictive tasks and frequencies consistent with manufacturer’s recommendations and regulatory standards are established and properly entered into CMMS.
• Ensures that staff properly documents all actions taken through log books or CMMS work orders.
• Maintains documentation required by regulatory standards in a format easily retrieved and audited.
• Takes appropriate action on problems reported that were not resolved during the PM inspections using the CMMS to track resolution.
• Inspects and ensures work is done to the highest quality standards.
• Identifies significant problems found during inspections and proposes a course of action to the Manager in a timely and accurate manner.
• Ensures that assigned equipment and mechanical rooms are maintained to a clean, safe, and professional appearance.
• Supervises HVAC equipment repairs and installations as required by the situation in a timely and workmanlike fashion, including work by vendors.
• Troubleshoots HVAC equipment problems or failures to determine the cause of the failure in a timely manner.
• Provides assistance to engineering staff as warranted by the situation. Establishes a plan for correction with the assistance of service vendors or consultants as warranted.
• Coordinates HVAC service outages to ensure minimal impact on the hospital and patient care.
• Oversees approval and funding of vendor provided repairs.
• Inspects and ensures that all work performed by stationary engineers, vendors and contractors is done to the highest quality standards.
• Documents actions taken in the CMMS and log books.
• Ensures that proper safety and infection control procedures are followed.
• Establishes and executes an effective annual retro-commissioning program for assigned HVAC equipment.
• Establishes, monitors and improves the standard operating procedures for all campus heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment including high pressure boilers, steam absorption and centrifugal chillers, cooling towers, fans, pumps and systems in a manner that optimizes efficiency, safety, and occupant comfort per department policies and procedures.
• Identifies, monitors and corrects abnormal conditions associated with HVAC equipment. Responds to alarms in a timely and correct manner. Optimizes operation using trending reports as appropriate.
• Organizes and maintains accurate records and reports for equipment startup, failures, problems, work in progress and completed work through log books and CMMS.
• Establishes equipment rounds and standing instructions to insure all equipment is operating properly, investigating all noises, leaks and abnormalities.
• Reviews all findings and actions taken on rounds sheets or in the CMMS and takes appropriate follow up action.
• Ensures that proper security of the equipment rooms is maintained.
• Establishes, trains, monitors, and supervises emergency procedures associated with fires, power outages, equipment failures, or other disruptions of utilities and executes those procedures in a timely, safe and correct manner. Assumes a leadership role during these emergencies.
• Develops operating procedures to minimize plant energy consumption consistent with maintaining occupant comfort.
• Directs associate response to building occupant complaints in a timely and professional manner and takes appropriate corrective action. Effectively communicates with requesters the status of corrective action.

Education/Experience Required

• High school graduate or equivalent
• Stationary Engineer's License and Universal CFC certification.
• Five year's hands on experience as a lead, supervisor or manager overseeing the operation, maintenance, repair and troubleshooting of boilers, air conditioning systems, pumps, H.V.A.C. systems and associated equipment in a large institution or major facility.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities Required

• Skilled in the operation, maintenance, repair and troubleshooting boilers, H.V.A.C. systems and associated equipment.
• Demonstrated competency with Building Automation Systems.
• Current City of Chicago or City of Elgin stationary engineers license Current State of Illinois driver’s license

Physical Requirements And Working Conditions

• Ability to prioritize, assign and inspect that work meets high quality standard within time and cost constraints Work within a high stress atmosphere Will be required to work any shift including weekends and holidays. Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with physical demands. Ability to work in extreme heat and temperature variations Ability to do very heavy lifting (Lifting up to 100 pounds occasionally and/or in excess of 50 pounds frequently). Ability to work in confined spaces. Ability to move, climbs, bend, reach, push and pull, as related to job activities.