Senior Energy and Sustainability Engineer

University of Virginia; Charlottesville (VA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 118,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health plan

Retirement benefits

Tuition and professional development

Paid time off (PTO)

Job summary

The University of Virginia’s Office for Sustainability is seeking a Senior Energy and Sustainability Engineer to join the UVA team in Charlottesville. The role focuses on reducing emissions, energy use, and environmental impact through technical analyses, retro-commissioning, energy audits, and construction management.

Reporting to the Sustainability Engineering Manager, you will drive projects that align with UVA’s sustainability goals (carbon neutral by 2030, fossil fuel‑free by 2050) and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Architectural, Electrical, Civil or related engineering field.
• Minimum seven (7) years of related experience in building HVAC design or project management.

Responsibilities

• Scope, manage, and complete Building Efficiency Program projects.
• Develop project scope, budgets, track progress, and energy cost recovery.
• Develop proposals, obtain stakeholder buy‑in, prepare schedules and budgets.
• Coordinate permitting documentation and site progress meetings.
• Oversee contractors from scoping to execution and closeout.
• Perform HVAC ventilation and airflow calculations; develop control sequences.
• Review designs for compliance with UVA Green Building Standards.

Skills

Project management

HVAC design

Energy modeling

Data analysis

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

Johnson Controls Metasys

Automated Logic WebCTRL

Acuity nLight

Lutron Quantum

Tableau

Job description

The University of Virginia’s Office for Sustainability is seeking a Senior Energy and Sustainability Engineer.

This position is a core member of the University of Virginia's Office for Sustainability team and will contribute to developing solutions to meet University-wide goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, and overall environmental stewardship. Reporting to the Sustainability Engineering Manager, this position focuses on supporting innovative projects that incorporate best practices in sustainability and conservation in the use of energy, water, raw materials, and other resources through technical analyses, retro-commissioning, energy audits, and construction management.

This role is a unique opportunity to make a direct and measurable impact to help achieve UVA’s sustainability goals, including being carbon neutral by 2030 and fossil fuel‑free by 2050. The Office for Sustainability’s award‑winning Building Efficiency Program has undertaken projects in more than 75 buildings over the past ten years, avoiding energy costs of $3.7 million in the past year alone.

Sustainability at the University is interdisciplinary, multi‑faceted and highly collaborative, encompassing academics, research, and operations and a range of topics, including greenhouse gases, energy, water, waste, food, and civic engagement.

We support workplace flexibility when appropriate, but 100% remote work is not possible. The department will not sponsor applicants for employment visas.

Responsibilities

Project and Construction Management Duties:

• Scope, manage, and complete Building Efficiency Program projects.
• Develop project scope, project budgets, maintain and track progress, expenses, and energy cost recovery throughout project payback period and through completion.
• Develop proposals, get buy‑in from stakeholders, develop project budget and schedule.
• Gather documentation to fulfill permitting requirements.
• Maintain detailed task lists to track progress on multiple projects.
• Conduct periodic project meetings and site visits with stakeholders to track progress.
• Oversee contractors from scoping to procurement and execution of the work.
• Foster communication with team members, project stakeholders, and contractors.
• Serve as customer’s point of contact for receiving project questions or technical issues.

Engineering Duties

• Support Building Efficiency Program projects.
• Confirm existing conditions from record drawing archive reviews, site visits, and building automation system analyses.
• Find and diagnose building system deficiencies, recommend and implement solutions.
• Develop lists of energy conservation measures to implement.
• Provide engineering calculations and analysis of building systems.
• Perform HVAC ventilation and airflow calculations to determine optimized setpoints.
• Develop HVAC documents including airflow diagrams, airflow setpoints and pressurization plans.
• Develop HVAC controls sequences of operation and control diagrams.
• Perform lighting calculations, select light fixtures and controls, and develop lighting plans.
• Procure building system components to support scope of work.
• Coordinate with occupants, stakeholders and contractors to meet construction schedules.
• Perform site inspection walk‑throughs with contractors to ensure completion of scope of work.
• Review design projects for compliance with UVA’s Green Building Standards.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Architectural Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Civil Engineering, or related engineering field.
• A minimum of seven (7) years of related experience, which may include commercial building HVAC design or project management, HVAC controls engineering, commissioning, energy performance contracting, or similar fields.

Preferred Experience

• Licensed as a Professional Engineer (PE) strongly preferred.
• Accreditation as a EIT (Engineering in Training), CEM (Certified Energy Manager), ASHRAE Building Commissioning Professional Certification (BCxP), Certified Commissioning Professional (CCP), LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Green Associate, LEED Accredited Professional.
• Experience with laboratory and/or healthcare HVAC design or commissioning.
• Experience with lighting and lighting control systems. Hands‑on experience with lighting control systems such as Acuity nLight, Lutron Quantum.
• Hands‑on experience with HVAC building automation systems such as Johnson Controls Metasys and Automated Logic WebCTRL.
• Experience with energy modeling software.

Preferred Knowledge, Skills And Abilities

• Knowledge of building energy systems, utility metering metrics and commissioning.
• Proficient in developing advanced spreadsheets and using tools such as Microsoft Office.
• Ability to navigate and interpret data analytics tools and reports, such as Tableau.
• Strong analytical and organizational skills for making progress on multiple concurrent projects.
• Takes initiative and manages tasks to meet project deadlines.
• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts with stakeholders.
• Attention to detail and quality.

Compensation

The Anticipated Hiring Range for this position is $110,000 - $118,000; based on education and experience. This is a full‑time position with UVA benefits. Employee benefits package highlights include:

• 22 days of paid time off, increasing with service; 13+ paid holidays each year, in addition to paid time off; Parental and Community Service Leave
• Health plan with options to meet healthcare and financial needs
• Retirement through the Virginia Retirement System
• Tuition and professional development benefits
• Employee wellness program featuring activities to earn up to $500/year

Physical Demands

This is primarily a sedentary job involving extensive use of desktop computers, however, regular visits to inspect existing buildings and construction sites will be required. The job does occasionally require traveling to attend meetings and programs.

This position is open until filled.

Questions regarding the application process should be directed to Marcus Rozier, Academic Recruiter [e-mail].

The University of Virginia is an equal opportunity employer. All interested persons are encouraged to apply, including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Learn more about UVA’s commitment to non-discrimination and equal opportunity employment.