Senior Engineer Position Opening at Cx Associates

Open Position | Senior Engineer

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Cx Associates is seeking to hire a Senior Engineer (SE) with experience in HVAC or building systems engineering. This position requires some familiarity with commercial construction, general energy efficiency, spreadsheet analysis, and building codes and testing standards. We’re looking for someone who is self-directed; highly skilled in Word and Excel; works efficiently; is a strong verbal and written communicator; and is collaborative and 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.

Location: Portland, ME or surrounding area. We will also consider candidates from the Manchester, NH area. Work, when not on site, can be done from the candidate's home office.

Travel Requirements: This position requires a valid drivers’ license and semi-regular field work (once or twice a week) and travel within a one to four-hour radius depending on where the candidate is located. Occasional overnight travel (roughly 1-4 nights per month) within New England and New York State may also be required. This position is for the unique individual who enjoys both desk work and fieldwork.

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 13 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 rodeo. You have at least 8 years of experience designing commercial HVAC systems and controls, including HVAC design, systems optimization, and energy efficiency analysis. Alternatively, you’ve spent a similar amount of time in diagnosing and correcting operational issues with building mechanical systems. If you’ve got a lot more than 8 years of experience, give us a shout anyway. This position can be quite flexible.

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.

You know your way around software. You’re highly proficient in Excel – 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 seems to keep coming up on every project. 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. Apart from Excel, you know your way around common office software like MS 365 and/or Google Workspace, PDF reading and editing software, etc. You may have experience with modeling software like Open Studio or eQUEST.

You’re a demonstrated skilled written communicator. Even though most of your day will be spent doing engineering, our work often includes a lot of writing. You’re adept at different types of writing, from professional emails to proposals to technical reports. 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.

Bonus points. You have 5+ years of experience performing building commissioning, managing projects, designing BAS controls, and/or you have earned a professional certification like a P.E., CCP, BCxP, CEM, etc. You have experience in healthcare and steam boiler plants.

Things You Might Do

Cx Associates is a small but growing business, with dozens of active projects. The engineer will have to juggle a lot of balls at once. Here are some examples of things you might do:

Test a new 1000-ton chiller plant at a new $500m hospital facility, figure out ways to make it run more efficiently, and calculate the annual energy savings
Use energy meters to collect data at a large university student center facility to analyze usage, and develop and quantify recommendations for reducing consumption
Troubleshoot an ailing heating plant that can’t keep up with demand despite seeming to have more capacity than necessary based on nameplate data
Write a commissioning plan and functional performance test protocols
Visit a 50-year-old industrial facility with an equally dated HVAC system alongside a Senior Engineer to find ways to make cost-effective improvements and save the owner energy
Provide mentorship to our engineering staff
Periodically develop and lead a Lunch and Learn on a topic that would benefit our group
Design an HVAC retrofit for a 100,000 SF manufacturing facility with failing systems. Your design would include load calculations, duct, pipe and equipment sizing, creating drawings, scopes of work, specifications, and BAS sequences of operations.
Lead a meeting with the stakeholders of a new operating room project to get input on all the needs of the users of the space to ensure it not only is energy efficient but also caters to the special needs of health care facility occupants
Help the owner of a medium-size office building in our community figure out what’s wrong with her cooling system by diagnosing problems and looking for ways to not only fix issues but to make the entire system more efficient
Use energy modeling software to model a 300,000 SF dormitory and make recommendations for increasing energy efficiency to the owner
Use our analysis spreadsheet tools to examine building energy meter data and make determinations on where to focus energy saving recommendations
Develop energy engineering analysis tools when necessary
Continually review your project budgets and scopes of work and ensure projects come in under or at budget
Attend and present at industry conferences, furthering Cx Associates’ reputation in the marketplace as best-in-class experts
Find out what’s wrong with a building’s control system and develop the necessary modifications to make the building operate better and use less energy.
Write and cost estimate a winning proposal and scope of work for a new $250m state office building, which would help fill the firm’s new business pipeline
Perform technical desk reviews of the energy savings of utility energy efficiency program installations
Write retrocommissioning and commissioning reports, detailing the performed work and its energy impact

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 plan premiums, plus 50% of coverage for additional family members)
Health plan includes telemedicine service
Free Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Flexible hybrid work-from-home policy
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
Life insurance
30 days of paid time off annually, increasing on the 4^th and 8^th anniversaries of your hire
Support for professional development

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.

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

Job Summary

The Senior Engineer (SE) is a person with expertise and considerable experience with HVAC systems and controls, including HVAC design, systems optimization, troubleshooting existing systems and analysis for energy efficiency. The SE is a creative problem-solver who excels at finding innovative solutions to problems and is an intellectually curious individual who is committed to continuous learning and staying abreast of developments in the field. This person is a strong project manager with excellent communication and interpersonal skills, who excels at planning, organizing, and prioritizing work. The SE would also serve as a mentor to other engineering staff.

The SE works largely independently among a team of other engineers. The SE also works closely with the operations manager for assistance with project management and tracking, and the other admin staff for project support.

The SE is a person who can juggle multiple demanding tasks simultaneously while remaining detail oriented and focused. The SE is a strong writer and editor and is committed to Cx Associates’ mission. The SE has a demonstrated personal belief in sustainability and eco-friendliness and is an evangelist for others in the firm to ensure the firm walks the talk..

Job Responsibilities

Identify, develop, and quantify comprehensive energy conservation opportunities associated with HVAC, EMS controls, boiler and chilled water plant systems
Develop and use spreadsheet and computer-based energy simulation programs
Provide design of HVAC system retrofits and upgrades including load calculations, duct and pipe sizing, detailed drawings, detailed scopes of work for design/build procurement and specifications including BAS sequences of operations
Troubleshoot existing system deficiencies and identify and develop opportunities to correct them
Write detailed energy conservation measure descriptions, and detailed metering and verification plans to support customers in implementing and verifying energy efficiency improvements
Provide technical presentations to customers and at conferences
Project management of leading-edge energy projects
Act as a senior project advisor, providing mentoring and quality assurance for a variety of projects
Present findings and advance industry practice through technical reports, papers and blogs

Key Knowledge Requirements

Knowledge of commercial HVAC systems, HVAC sizing tools, chillers, boilers, air handlers, variable speed drives, motors, refrigeration, and energy optimization of HVAC systems
Knowledge of ASHRAE Standards, energy codes, IESNA standards
Knowledge of DDC controls
Knowledge of materials, methods, and tools involved in the construction and energy optimization of buildings
Knowledge of principles and processes for providing client service, including client needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of client satisfaction
Experience with managing and analyzing large data sets
Knowledge of commissioning and retrocommissioning processes (preferred)
Knowledge of IPMVP, measurement and verification standards and practices (preferred)

Key Skill & Ability Requirements

Client focused. You’re able to see the forest AND the trees, holding the client’s best interest paramount.
Technical writing and presentation skills including: reports, factsheets, guides, white papers
Anticipating and identifying complex problems, finding and reviewing relevant information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions
Analyzing energy efficiency that results from optimization of systems and equipment
Analyzing and synthesizing information from disparate sources and drawing conclusions
Organizing, planning, and prioritizing work tasks
Updating and using relevant knowledge (keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to the job)
Teamwork, interpersonal communication, and creative/innovative thinking
Personal initiative/motivation
Attention to detail
Critical thinking and intellectual curiosity

Preferred Education & Experience

Candidates should possess:

A Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or other related field. A Professional Engineer (P.E.) license would be an asset
A minimum of 8 years of HVAC systems design and project management experience
Five years building commissioning and/or energy efficiency experience (preferred)

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.