Senior Mechanical Engineer

About the Job

The University of Minnesota’s FM Energy Management department oversees the safe, reliable, and efficient operation of mechanical, electrical and civil utilities in over 250 complex buildings on the Twin Cities campus. The group maintains the campus utility infrastructure including extensive steam and chilled water-based district energy production and distribution systems and provides technical expertise and support across the U of M system of campuses and research outreach centers.

The Twin Cities campus district energy systems is a small city composed of three heating plants with a production capacity of over 1 million pounds of steam per hour, 16 district chilled water/heat recovery plants with a production capacity over 50,000 tons cooling and 24,000 MBH heat recovery, 12 miles of utility distribution tunnels for 2 steam and 5 district cooling networks.

Campus utilities also include a 13.8kV high voltage system, 4 switch stations, and a full complement of civil utilities.

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The University of Minnesota FM-Energy Management team is seeking an experienced Senior Mechanical Engineer to join the Utility Operations-Maintenance team. As a Senior Mechanical Engineer, you will be joining a multi-discipline team to lead and support a diverse portfolio of projects across the institution, with specialty focus on the mission critical backbone of the University’s district energy plants, systems, and end users.

By applying expertise in industry standards, best practices, controls, optimization and emerging technologies, this role will maintain and improve operational excellence while supporting continuous renewal of the systems. The role drives technical excellence, improved operations and maintenance projects, and innovation across the organization.

The ideal candidate for this position brings experience in design, construction, controls, commissioning, operation and maintenance troubleshooting of thermal and energy conversion systems using conventional and emerging technologies to support business directives. Preferred candidates will have experience in district scale energy conversion and distribution systems and a proven ability to plan, schedule and lead projects and initiatives in a complex environment.

In-person:
Work is performed in an office setting as well as out in the field (10-40% time in a typical week). This position will be exposed to potentially hazardous conditions where hearing and visual protection may be required. Must be able to walk and climb to physically access and view various sites.

Please note, this position is not eligible for H-1B or Green Card sponsorship. This position does not offer a STEM OPT training program.

• Support both internal and external staff and trades for heating, cooling, and cogeneration plant operations and maintenance including troubleshooting and root cause analysis.
• Provide advanced technical support, diagnostics, and troubleshooting to trades, mechanics, operators and technicians responsible for the operation, repair, and maintenance of central utility distribution infrastructure and complex facility process and HVAC systems.
• Investigate complex field problems from an applied engineering perspective and independently develop sustainable engineering solutions.
• Review, modify, or develop, implement, and train comprehensive maintenance requirements for district energy mechanical systems and equipment, incorporating modern procedures and technologies for preventative (PM), predictive (PdM), and reliability (RCM)-based maintenance.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives for campus operations, equipment reliability, redundancy requirements, and energy efficiency using campus data and business tools.
• Conduct field surveys, evaluate existing conditions, and document performance and reliability trends. Support circular maintenance improvement programs.
• Provide clear technical documentation, training, and guidance to internal staff and coordinate related diagnostic work performed by external resources.