Union Chief Engineer

CBRE Group, Inc.; New York (NY); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

CBRE Group, Inc. seeks a Chief Engineer for One Manhattan West to secure best-in-class operations for a premier Class A asset.

You’ll lead engineering, maintenance, and building systems, ensuring reliability, safety, and regulatory compliance while aligning with ownership objectives and tenant experience. You’ll partner with ownership, property management, tenants, and contractors to preserve asset value and drive performance.

Job description

Chief Engineer - One Manhattan West

Position Summary

The Chief Engineer serves as the senior engineering and building operations leader for a premier Class A commercial office asset. This position is responsible for the strategic leadership, operational performance, reliability, financial stewardship, regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement of all building systems and engineering operations.

The Chief Engineer leads a multidisciplinary engineering team and oversees critical building infrastructure, including HVAC, electrical, plumbing, life safety, vertical transportation, building automation systems, utility management, and sustainability initiatives. Acting as a key member of the property management leadership team, the Chief Engineer partners with ownership, property management, tenants, contractors, and service providers to deliver best-in-class operational performance, tenant satisfaction, and asset value preservation.

Key Responsibilities

Building Operations Leadership

• Provide overall leadership, direction, and accountability for all engineering, maintenance, and building systems operations.
• Develop and execute strategic operational plans that support ownership objectives, tenant experience, reliability, resiliency, sustainability, and long-term asset preservation.
• Establish performance standards, operating procedures, and engineering best practices to drive operational excellence.
• Serve as the subject matter expert and primary authority on all building infrastructure and critical systems.
• Participate as a member of the property leadership team in operational, financial, capital planning, and tenant strategy discussions.

Engineering Team Leadership

• Lead, mentor, develop, and manage engineering personnel, supervisors, and contractors.
• Foster a culture of accountability, ownership, professionalism, safety, customer service, and continuous improvement.
• Drive workforce planning, succession planning, employee development, training, and technical certification programs.
• Establish measurable performance expectations and maintain a high-performing engineering organization.

Asset Reliability & Critical Infrastructure

• Ensure maximum uptime, reliability, and efficiency of all building mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and life safety systems.
• Oversee preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance programs utilizing industry best practices.
• Lead incident response, root cause analysis, and corrective action implementation for operational failures or critical events.
• Develop and maintain emergency response, business continuity, and resiliency plans.
• Oversee building automation systems, energy management platforms, and operational analytics to optimize system performance.

Financial & Capital Management

• Develop and manage engineering operating budgets, utility budgets, staffing plans, service contracts, and capital expenditures.
• Identify opportunities to reduce operating costs while maintaining service levels and asset reliability.
• Lead capital planning initiatives, major repair programs, infrastructure replacements, and building modernization projects.
• Prepare operational and capital recommendations supported by lifecycle analysis, ROI, and risk assessments.
• Manage contractor procurement, bid evaluations, vendor performance, and contract administration.

Tenant & Client Leadership

• Develop strong relationships with tenants, ownership representatives, and internal stakeholders.
• Act as the engineering lead for major tenant projects, operational initiatives, and critical issue resolution.
• Ensure engineering operations consistently support a best-in-class tenant experience.
• Present engineering initiatives, capital recommendations, operational reports, and risk assessments to senior management and ownership groups.

Compliance, Risk & Sustainability

• Ensure full compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local regulations, building codes, environmental requirements, and life safety standards.
• Maintain readiness for inspections, audits, and regulatory reviews.
• Lead sustainability, energy efficiency, carbon reduction, and ESG-related initiatives.
• Drive workplace safety programs and maintain an industry-leading safety culture.
• Monitor regulatory developments and implement operational changes as necessary.

Characteristics of the Ideal Candidate

• Executive-level operator who thinks beyond maintenance and focuses on business outcomes.
• Strong leader with proven ability to build and develop high-performing teams.
• Financially astute with experience managing large operating and capital budgets.
• Strategic thinker capable of balancing tenant experience, operational reliability, and ownership objectives.
• Exceptional communicator who can engage effectively with executives, ownership groups, tenants, and technical teams.
• Proven ability to lead through complex operational challenges and critical incidents.