Project Engineer I, Sustainability

The Work

LACCD is spending bond money to cut energy use across nine college campuses. That means new lighting, upgraded central plants, solar, battery and microgrid work, electric vehicle charging, building controls, and swapping gas equipment for electric. The Sustainability Team runs those projects. You are the engineer who keeps them moving.

You work under the Sustainability Team Lead and support the project managers through every phase: planning, design, buying the work, building it, testing that it performs, and closing it out. You are the person who answers the contractor's questions, walks the site to check the work against the plans and the state's requirements, and keeps the paperwork straight so the job can be paid and closed.

This is a good seat for someone a few years into construction who wants to work for the owner instead of the contractor, and wants to work on energy projects. You do not need a sustainability background to start. You need to be organized, on site, and reliable.

• Give technical and engineering support to the project managers and the sustainability team through every phase of a project
• Support the District's energy work: efficiency upgrades, electrification, renewable power, and carbon reduction
• Work with project managers, architects, engineers, contractors, and District staff to sort out technical problems and answer contractor questions accurately and on time
• Keep the current plans and specifications up to date and in the right hands
• Check that the contractor is keeping record drawings current before each monthly payment goes out
• Walk the site to check the work against the plans, the College's standards, and DSA requirements (DSA is the state office that approves public school and college construction)
• Document progress: daily reports, photographs, and notes
• Log and track change order proposals, field orders, and approved change orders
• Log and review submittals against the plans and specifications, and help review invoices
• Keep the project files and record drawings, and take minutes at project meetings

• 3 years in a similar seat doing project or construction management on commercial, public, or educational buildings, on projects worth more than $15M
• A bachelor's degree in engineering, architecture, business, construction management, or a related field (required for this role)
• Comfort on an active construction site and the habit of writing things down

• Building Information Modeling (BIM)
• Experience with the DSA design and construction approval process
• Any energy or sustainability work: lighting upgrades, solar, building controls, central plants, electric vehicle charging, or commissioning
• Community college or K-12 campus experience