Measurement & Verification (M&V) Engineer Position at Cx Associates

OPEN POSITION | Measurement & Verification (M&V) Engineer

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Cx Associates is seeking to hire a Measurement & Verification (M&V) Engineer with expertise in HVAC or building systems engineering and energy analysis. This position requires travel within the NYC/Westchester area, familiarity with commercial HVAC and lighting systems, general energy efficiency, spreadsheet analysis, and building codes. Knowledge of utility programs and/or carbon reduction/electrification projects is a plus. We’re looking for someone who is proactive and self-directed, highly skilled in Word and Excel, works efficiently, is a strong verbal and written communicator, and is collaborative. We are also looking for someone who is committed to sustainability.

Cx Associates is a dynamic, growing, mission-driven consulting engineering firm in Burlington, VT looking to add someone who’s keen to work on exciting projects that save energy, reduce carbon footprints, and make buildings better for a large portfolio of clients in the Northeast. We’re a small firm that offers a relaxed, flexible, open (and dog friendly!) working environment. We believe in a solid work/life balance, offer a competitive salary, excellent benefits, opportunities for advancement and a staff-focused workplace.

If you’re eager to work alongside our principals and the rest of our team to bring best-in-class energy engineering consulting services to our clients, then read on.

Position: Our preference is to hire a full-time staff member who could explore multiple service areas over time. At a minimum this position requires M&V sitework, which involves collecting data, such as energy consumption, equipment, and site condition, for energy efficiency measures at large C&I buildings in NYC. Other areas of M&V work, such as M&V plan development, data analysis, and report writing, are negotiable but very desirable. Opportunities exist to explore other service areas, such as commissioning, retrocommissioning, and energy audits.

Location: New York City/ Westchester County area strongly preferred. We will also consider candidates from northern New Jersey.

Travel Requirements: This position requires a valid drivers’ license and ready access to a vehicle (access to vehicle required only if the candidate does not live in New York City), regular field work (once or twice a week) and travel up to a two-hour radius depending on where the candidate is located. This position is for the unique individual who enjoys both desk work and fieldwork.

Salary Range: $80,000 - $100,000 per year + benefits. Salary range is based on Cx Associates’ good faith belief at the time of posting. Actual compensation may vary based on factors such as geographic location, work experience, market conditions, education/training, and skill level.

About Cx Associates

Cx Associates is a busy, mission-driven consulting engineering firm headquartered in Burlington, VT with a second office in Portland, ME. We’re a small but driven team of 15 dedicated to engineering better buildings for people and planet. What started with building commissioning in 1994, Cx Associates has since grown to offer a suite of services for new and existing buildings, energy management, and efficiency programs.

We are a collaborative organization, not a top-down corporation. We believe in identifying how we can improve as individuals and as a firm, and we support one another in furthering our skills and knowledge. Cx Associates is a team-oriented community that provides room for individuals to shine while maintaining a strong, cohesive environment.

Who We're Looking For

This isn’t your first HVAC rodeo. You have at least five years of technical experience with commercial HVAC systems and controls, including diagnosing and correcting operational issues with building systems and systems optimization. You understand large heating, cooling, and electrical systems (i.e., hospitals, higher education, high rise offices). If you’ve got a lot more than five years of experience, give us a shout anyway. We’d love to discuss what other opportunities might be available.

You know your way around software. You know your way around common office software like MS 365 and/or Google Workspace, PDF reading and editing software, etc. You’re at minimum proficient enough in Excel to be able to download, clean, and provide trend or AMI data.

You’ve supported energy efficiency analysis. You understand how to glean data from equipment to inform energy analysis. Perhaps you’ve been responsible for the efficient operation of a chiller plant and done the analysis yourself (the more HVAC equipment types, the better, from steam traps to demand control ventilation, chillers, and boilers). Perhaps you were tasked with giving your chiller plant operator the data they needed, or you operated the plant yourself. In whatever capacity, you’ve had the opportunity to set up temporary meters or request trend data from a Building Automated System, and you know how to clean data and identify gaps or errors in data collection.

You’ve performed energy analyses. (preferred, but negotiable) You’ve mastered basic formulas and several of the more advanced formulas and know how to build useful Excel calculators to help answer that nagging engineering math question that suddenly comes up. You know how to trace formulas, troubleshoot and fix errors, and verify correct data output when something goes awry. You’ve used spreadsheets to run relatively complex analyses and boil down large amounts of data.

You’re a demonstrated skilled technical writer. You’re adept at professional email communication (you check and respond to emails religiously), and can summarize site visit findings in a detailed, organized, and complete manner. You’re adept at writing technical reports of your site visit findings or analyses. You can dive into your analysis process and reflect it back in words and visualizations (tables and graphs) so that another person can not only understand your conclusions, but also follow the steps you took to arrive there. Because you will be communicating with non-technical clients at times, you can keep your audience in mind and tailor your style (more/less technical) to reach your reader most effectively.

You’re self-motivated. You’re the kind of person who takes initiative to insert yourself when you see opportunities to improve internal process efficiency. You keep the proverbial monkey off of other people’s backs and tackle things yourself, constructively seeking input when needed.

You have a sense of humor. We take our work very seriously, but we also like to have fun. You’re someone who can get along with a lot of different types of personalities and people with different backgrounds, and you enjoy the occasional viral cat video.

You’re eco-conscious (or at least eco-curious). We try to walk the sustainability talk at Cx Associates. If you’re taking any steps to make your life “greener,” we’d love to hear about it. This may take the form of opting for public transit or your bike when possible, composting, being an activist for environmental causes, or taking other steps to lessen your environmental footprint.

You’re trustworthy. You have stellar references and a clean record.

You’re curious. You’re a creative problem-solver who excels at finding innovative solutions to problems. You are an intellectually curious individual who is committed to continuous learning and staying abreast of developments in the field. You’re not afraid to look for and learn new solutions that you think could benefit the organization and execute them.

Bonus points. You have 4+ years of experience performing M&V, managing projects, or optimizing BAS controls. You have experience with energy efficiency upgrades and electrification projects. You have earned a professional certification like a P.E., CCP, BCxP, CEM, etc.

Things You Might Do

Cx Associates is a small but growing business, with dozens of active projects and a solid portfolio of repeat clients. The M&V Engineer will need to represent Cx Associates in a professional manner. Here are some examples (but not all) of things the M&V Engineer might do:

Install energy meters to collect data at a large university student center facility. Retrieve, clean and provide data from large datasets in a .csv format.
Interview the facilities manager of a retail box store to confirm occupancy hours and location of a planned lighting installation. Provide detailed records of verbal communication.
Work with a site technician to manipulate a BAS in order to observe the modulation of a new VFD.
Interact with distracted site contacts in a calm, professional manner.
Read an M&V Plan developed by others, digest the data required for savings verification, and suggest ways to efficiently obtain the data.
Perform technical desk reviews of the energy savings of VFDs, compressors, fans, pumps, lighting, refrigeration, air handlers, and heat pumps for utility energy efficiency program installations.
Configure data points and set trend data parameters in a BAS at a hospital.
Document system parameters, such as boiler capacity or cooling EER, with photos and other means of record keeping.
Review an analysis report to ensure it accurately captures site visit findings.
Review a savings calculation developed by others for accuracy and engineering best practice. Write a report describing the acceptable and unacceptable assumptions used. Develop an M&V Plan to verify the relevant variables on site.
Analyze BAS trend data of a chiller plant and air handlers to determine the operating profile, analyze their control parameters, and determine energy saving opportunities.
Write and cost estimate a winning proposal and scope of work with the help of a Senior Engineer for a new program evaluation client.
Get into the building commissioning world through writing a commissioning plan, construction checklists, and functional performance test protocols, as well as writing retrocommissioning and commissioning reports, detailing the performed work and its energy impacts.
Use energy modeling software to model a 300,000 SF dormitory and make recommendations for increasing energy efficiency to the owner.

The Whole Package

Cx Associates cares about its staff and recognizes that they are the firm’s most important and valuable resource. We believe in a solid work/life balance not often found at engineering consulting firms. We encourage our team members to use their personal time. And while we recognize that we all have the occasional crunch period, we also know that regularly working tons of overtime can actually be counterproductive. Therefore, we provide:

Competitive salary
Excellent health care coverage (CxA pays 90% for individual premiums, plus 50% of premium cost for additional family members) with generous HRA component
Health plan includes telemedicine service
Company-paid life insurance as well as short- and long-term disability insurance
Flexible hybrid work-from-home policy
Free Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
401(k) Plan with 3% Safe Harbor contribution and annual profit sharing
Green incentives program with free bus passes, CSA grants, Annual Carbon Reduction Incentive Lottery, and credits for bike supplies/tune ups or new walking shoes
30 days of paid time off annually, increasing on the 4^th and 8^th anniversaries of your hire.
Support for professional development

Please see below for additional knowledge, skill, and ability requirement for the Engineer Position.

Please see the form below to apply. Submissions that lack cover letters will not be considered.

Job Summary

Engineers at Cx Associates are key team members! Engineers perform measurement & verification, as well as commissioning and analysis on building envelope systems (meaning the outer shell of a building) and MEP systems (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing services) in efforts to optimize buildings to make them more efficient, durable, resilient, and safe and comfortable for occupants. In addition, engineers provide technical scrutiny of energy utility efficiency programs and measures. Engineers support CxA’s vision and mission by helping clients improve their buildings and efficiency programs in efforts to save energy and improve environments. While primary responsibility is to billable projects, engineers, like all staff, work on both billable and non-billable projects, helping to ensure they are delivered on time, within budget, and meet/exceed expectations for high quality work.

Core Competencies

Teamwork & Personal Responsibility: Works cohesively within a team environment while independently managing one’s own duties and responsibilities; ability to accomplish tasks effectively while also collaborating as/leading a team. Provides constructive ideas, suggestions, and feedback; involves and informs others about issues that will impact them; volunteers assistance to other staff members when needed.
Interpersonal Awareness & Relations: Understands the interests and concerns of others; communicates in a manner that conveys empathy and respect; addresses concerns with others and manages emotions when there are conflicting perspectives on a situation; maintains confidentiality. Actively listens to comments and questions; makes realistic commitments and meets those commitments; follows up to ensure needs have been met; handles difficult situations and pressure tactfully and effectively; holds healthy boundaries; asks for feedback.
Effective Communication: Clearly communicates ideas, priorities, and rationale for decisions to people receiving services, peers, and others; is accessible, approachable and responsive to others; actively seeks and invites input regularly; listens to understand, exhibits highly effective listening skills; models open-mindedness and flexible thinking.
Creative/Critical Thinking: Thoroughly explores ideas and needs before selecting a plan of action; acknowledges and sets aside preconceptions in order to think “outside the box”; capable of integrating new information and evolving perspectives and thought processes; effective in determining merit, worth, and significance of information.
Planning & Problem Solving: Solution-oriented; strong analytic and creative problem-solving skills; engages others in problem-solving; is planful and strategic, and not reactionary; anticipates variables or factors that could impact intention and plans accordingly; is pragmatic, self-reflective, and hopeful when goal-setting.
Time Management & Productivity: Organizes time well for optimum efficiency with regard to deadlines, collaboration, competing priorities, and personal work style; completes projects within established deadlines; sets clear, realistic goals; estimates how long things will take; refrains from procrastination; focuses on priorities; keeps current on changes in job requirements, technology, and/or knowledge; identifies process improvements to increase efficiency; reacts quickly to changing/high-priority needs.
Competency & Follow-through: Performs work thoroughly and accurately with minimum need to recheck or redo; identifies issues, determines cause, and recommends solutions; carefully prepares for meetings and meets deadlines; follows-up with others to ensure that commitments have been fulfilled in a timely manner.
Strategic Alignment: Develops and communicates goals effectively in support of Cx Associates’ mission and vision; ensuring clear alignment between the team’s daily activities and the firm’s overall strategic goals.

Job Responsibilities

In addition to the “Things You Might Do” above, the following are additional job responsibilities for this position.

Provide building measurement and verification services for mechanical systems in new and existing buildings.
Understand mechanical HVAC systems to recognize important trending/metering datapoint requirements. Configure data points and set trend data parameters in a BAS.
Interact with and interview site contacts (facility managers and building owners) in a professional manner. Collect data such as operating hours or location of a planned installation. Provide detailed records of verbal communications.
Write summaries explaining data collection and analysis methodology, data inputs, data results, and analysis conclusions in a manner understandable to the client and other Cx Associates staff.
Meet with clients to summarize the site visit results and limitations and/or the methodology and conclusions of the energy saving analyses, at a level that is understandable to the client.
Perform desk reviews of energy efficiency measures claimed by an energy efficiency utility program. Calculate energy saving measures’ impact according to the Technical Reference Manual or industry standard calculation methodologies.
Research energy efficiency measures savings potential.
Manipulate large datasets of trended or metered data to determine load profiles and operating conditions and evaluate these data to determine energy saving opportunities.
Develop internal energy saving analysis tools.
Develop budgets for site visit and analysis work and assist in development of energy efficiency evaluation proposals.
Periodically assist commissioning work by developing documentation for new construction building commissioning projects.

Essential Knowledge, Functions, and Abilities

Technical

Familiarity with commercial building energy using systems (chillers, boilers, heat pumps, air handlers, pumps, steam traps, air compressors, lighting, etc.).
Familiarity/comfort with HVAC controls.
Analyzing energy efficiency that results from optimization of systems and equipment.
Experience with managing and analyzing large data sets.
Ability to develop, understand and meet project objectives, scope, budget, and schedule.
Organizing, planning, and prioritizing work tasks.
Attention to detail.
Complex technical writing skills.
A high level of proficiency with computer software, including Microsoft Word and Excel.
Anticipating and identifying complex problems, finding and reviewing relevant information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Updating and using relevant knowledge (keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to the job). Critical thinking and intellectual curiosity.
Familiarity/comfort with electric test instruments a plus.
Experience with eQUEST/Open Studio/R/Python software a plus.

Team Infrastructure

Teamwork, interpersonal communication, and creative/innovative thinking.
Personal initiative/motivation.
Maintain solid and proactive communication with the Project Manager of your project, communicating progress, status, and issues in a timely manner
When appropriate, assist with Manage projects by tracking and communicating deadlines, tasks, budgets, status, and issues in a timely manner to internal and external team members and clients; attend and/or lead project meetings when appropriate
Share technical knowledge with the whole team when possible, either informally via Google spaces or Monday Morning Meeting, or more formally via a Lunch & Learn presentation

Preferred Education & Experience

Candidates should possess a four-year college degree in a STEM field, or related area and 5-7 years of related work or internship experience.

Physical Requirements

This position requires prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer. It also requires an ability to use visual and audio equipment associated with video calls, reading, and writing. Additionally, the use of ladders and stairs on construction sites is required and construction site work may consist of a day spent outdoors in any weather conditions.

Equal Opportunity Employment Statement

We value equity, inclusion, and diversity in all of its forms and strive to have our employment practices reflect that. As such, we are an equal opportunity workplace and will not discriminate on the basis of disability or other legally protected categories (race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender, gender identity, sex, ancestry, mental or physical disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, veteran status, or military status). If an employee has a disability that makes it difficult to perform their job duties, they are encouraged to notify us to engage in a discussion about reasonable accommodations.

To Apply

Please fill and submit the form below, including an attachment for your cover letter and resume. Alternatively, you may email your resume and cover letter to eric[at]cx-assoc[dot]com.

Submissions without cover letters will not be considered.

Cx Associates is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender, gender identity, sex, ancestry, mental or physical disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, veteran status, or military status.