Chief Engineer

We’re People People. Are you? We’re Sonesta International Hotels—the 8th largest hotel company in the U.S. (and growing fast). With a dynamic mix of full-service and focused hotels across major cities, our diverse portfolio of owned, managed, and franchised properties means we’re everywhere our guests need us to be. But here’s the thing—we’re not just in the business of hotels, we’re in the business of people.

We bring service with passion, loyalty with purpose, and create experiences that genuinely connect—delivering quality, value, and memorable stays across 1,000+ properties in eight countries (and counting).

As the Chief Engineer, you’ll lead all aspects of hotel engineering, maintenance, safety, and facility operations to ensure our property remains fully operational, guest-ready, and running at its best every day. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who thrives in fast-paced hospitality environments and enjoys balancing technical expertise, preventative maintenance, team leadership, and operational strategy. You’ll oversee building systems, repairs, maintenance programs, capital projects, life safety systems, and engineering team operations while partnering closely with hotel leadership to support guest satisfaction and operational excellence.

• Lead all day-to-day hotel engineering, maintenance, and facilities operations across guest rooms, public spaces, back-of-house areas, and building systems.
• Supervise, train, schedule, and develop engineering and maintenance team members to support operational efficiency and exceptional service standards.
• Oversee preventative maintenance programs for HVAC systems, plumbing, electrical systems, boilers, chillers, kitchen equipment, elevators, life safety systems, and general hotel infrastructure.
• Respond to maintenance requests, guest concerns, equipment repairs, and operational issues quickly and professionally to minimize downtime and ensure guest satisfaction.
• Manage building systems, property inspections, maintenance schedules, and operational compliance programs.
• Ensure compliance with OSHA regulations, fire and life safety requirements, environmental standards, building codes, and hotel safety procedures.
• Support capital improvement projects, renovations, vendor management, contractor coordination, and facility upgrades.
• Monitor engineering department budgets, maintenance expenses, inventory levels, energy usage, and operational costs to drive efficiency and profitability.
• Partner closely with Housekeeping, Food & Beverage, Front Office, and Operations teams to support seamless hotel operations and guest experiences.
• Maintain accurate maintenance logs, engineering documentation, compliance records, inspections, and reporting requirements.
• Lead emergency response efforts related to building systems, weather events, power outages, or operational disruptions as needed.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on safety, sustainability, preventative maintenance, and operational excellence.
• Help create a safe, efficient, and welcoming environment aligned with Sonesta’s People People culture.
• Any other duties as assigned.

• High school diploma or equivalent required; technical certification, trade school, or degree in Engineering, Facilities Management, HVAC, Electrical, or related field preferred.
• College Degree Preferred.
• 5+ years of engineering, facilities maintenance, or hotel maintenance experience preferred.
• Working knowledge of:
  Plumbing codes, Electrical codes, National/Local fire codes, Local Mechanical codes, Water treatment program, Blue prints, and plumbing and wiring schematics, Power and hand tools, meters, etc. as it relates to the technical trade.
• Previous leadership or supervisory…