Director of Engineering and Facilities

Description

The Sunset Marquis is a four-diamond hotel located in West Hollywood and includes Cavatina restaurant, Bar 1200, and SPA. We offer competitive benefits which include medical, dental, vision, 401(k), life insurance, complimentary onsite parking or monthly metro pass, employee meals, PTO (vacation, sick, holiday), on-the-job training, growth opportunities, discount room rates to staff, tuition reimbursement, wellness program, and more. 

Are you ready to join the Sunset Marquis family? Click below to apply!  

Job Summary 

An iconic West Hollywood Hotel is seeking a Director of Engineering and Facilities to provide proactive and strategic leadership for the operations, maintenance, safety, appearance and continual improvement of the hotel and its supporting facilities and systems. The position oversees all physical components of the hotel. As a member of the hotel’s leadership team, the Director’s role will entail both responding operational and maintenance issues as they arise, but, more importantly, extend to anticipation of the needs of the physical plant, identification of opportunities for improvement, establishment of a disciplined preventive-maintenance culture, leadership of the planning for capital and sustainability initiatives and management of regulatory compliance. The primary objective of the position is to inspire and initiate continual advancement of the hotel engineering services to improve the guest experience, increase departmental efficiency, and enhance the long-term performance and longevity of the property.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following, other duties may be assigned. 

Maintain complete knowledge of:

All hotel features/services, hours of operation, policies, and procedures.

All hotel room types, numbers/names, and layout. 

Daily house count and expected arrivals/departures.

In-house events and current/upcoming external events.

Provide visible, hands-on leadership for all Hotel Engineering and Facilities for the property’s 24-hour operations, establishing policies and procedures, service standards, response expectations, work priorities, and accountability for quality control and timely completion of tasks.

Develop and execute a comprehensive preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance program for HVAC, electrical, plumbing, boilers, pumps, domestic hot water, refrigeration, kitchen equipment including quarterly removal of grease from trap, sewage and drainage pipes remain clear, elevators, fire and life-safety systems, pools, access-control systems, lighting, roofs, building envelope, grounds, and other property assets.

Maintain an accurate computerized maintenance management system, including tracking of asset inventories, equipment histories, warranties, manuals, preventive-maintenance schedules, work orders, labor and material usage, inspections, and closeout documentation; actively analyzing the data to identify recurring failures, adverse trends, emerging risks, and opportunities to improve reliability, efficiency, and asset life.

Conduct frequent, self-directed property walks and room inspections with a discerning eye for details that fall short of the hotel’s standards; identify conditions affecting safety, code compliance, energy use, guest comfort, luxury presentation, efficiency, and asset life before they are noticed by guests or develop into larger problems; assign corrective actions, establish deadlines, and verify project completion.

Anticipate and prevent issues that may adversey impact guest experience through disciplined inspection, trend analysis, planning, and timely intervention. When an issue or operational emergency occurs, respond promptly, coordinate service recovery with hotel leaders, communicate realistic timelines, determine and correct the root cause, and implement measures to prevent recurrence.

Serve as the hotel’s technical leader during power failures, floods, leaks, fire alarms, elevator entrapments, utility interruptions, equipment failures, severe weather, earthquakes, and other emergencies; participate in incident command and business-continuity planning.

Recruit, train, schedule, coach, and evaluate engineering employees; establish technical-development plans, shift coverage, call-out protocols, safety expectations, and succession planning.

Ensure employees and contractors are trained and follow lockout/tagout, hazard communication, electrical safety, ladder and fall protection, confined-space, respiratory-protection, hot-work, high pressure hydro jet system, personal protective equipment, ergonomics, and other applicable safety procedures.

Manage department payroll, labor productivity, operating expenses, repair and maintenance budgets, inventory and cost controls, purchasing, and financial forecasts; 

Develop and continuously updated annual and multiyear capital improvement plans using condition assessments, lifecycle analysis, risk, guest impact, code requirements, sustainability objectives, emerging technology, while remaining mindful of ROI aspirations for capital deployment;

Lead renovation, repair, and capital projects from concept through closeout, including design coordination, permitting, bidding, contract administration, shutdown planning, quality control, commissioning, punch lists, and warranty management.

Select and oversee qualified vendors, consultants, and contractors; verify insurance, licensing, safety compliance, work quality, invoicing, site conduct, and adherence to hotel security and guest-privacy requirements.

Maintain required permits, inspection records, testing certificates, equipment logs, safety documentation, and corrective-action records; coordinate professionally with authorities having jurisdiction and third-party inspectors.

Oversee fire and life-safety readiness, including alarm and suppression systems, emergency generators, fire pumps, extinguishers, egress components, testing schedules, impairment controls, drills, and documentation in partnership with Security and hotel leadership.

Oversee energy, water, waste, and sustainability programs; establishing performance targets, monitor results to ensure objectives are being met; 

Maintain water-management and indoor-environmental-quality programs addressing pools and spas, domestic water, cooling systems, moisture intrusion, mold prevention, ventilation, and other building-health concerns within assigned responsibility.

Proactively partner with other Key Hotel Department heads to identify recurring concerns, minimize disruption to operations, and develop engineering solutions that support hotel activities.

Establish critical spare-parts levels, shop organization, tool accountability, chemical storage, key control, mechanical-room standards, and secure access to restricted building areas.

Prepare concise, forward-looking facility reports for the General Manager and ownership; accompany identified concerns with practical options, recommended actions, ownership, and target completion dates.

Remain current on building technology, hospitality engineering practices, applicable codes, regulatory developments, and innovative solutions; build an external network of technical resources, attend relevant training, maintain professional credentials, and proactively recommend pilots, upgrades, and operating changes that can improve the property.

Perform other job-related duties as assigned, consistent with business needs and the employee’s qualifications.

Leadership and Performance Accountabilities 

Guest-impacting equipment failures and service interruptions are anticipated and reduced through effective preventive maintenance, inspection, lifecycle planning, and trend analysis; when failures occur, they are addressed with urgency, professional communication, root-cause correction, and effective follow-through.

Preventive-maintenance, inspection, and regulatory tasks are completed accurately and on schedule, with recurring deficiencies and unfavorable performance trends identified and resolved before they escalate.

Department expenses, labor, utilities, inventory, and capital projects are managed within approved parameters.

Engineering employees demonstrate safe work practices, technical capability, accountability, and luxury-service awareness.

Projects meet approved scope, quality, budget, schedule, documentation, and operational-transition requirements.

Property risks, deteriorating conditions, and deferred-maintenance needs are identified early, documented clearly, prioritized using sound judgment, presented with practical recommendations, and actively tracked through resolution.

Competencies 

To perform the job successfully, an individual should demonstrate the following competencies:

Luxury hospitality, anticipatory service, and a discerning eye for detail.

Proactive building-system reliability, lifecycle planning, and asset stewardship.

Safety leadership and regulatory readiness.

Strategic capital planning and project execution.

Financial discipline and commercial judgment.

Team development, accountability, and cross-functional leadership.

Calm, decisive emergency response.

Clear executive communication, creative problem-solving, and ownership through resolution.

Innovation, sustainability, resource conservation, prudent recurring investment, and continuous improvement. 

Supervisory Responsibilities

Directly supervises up to 10 employees.

Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws. 

Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training; planning, assigning, and directing work; disciplinary action, termination, and performance assessments; addressing complaints and resolving issues.

Requirements

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Broad working knowledge of HVAC, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, refrigeration, controls, boilers, pumps, kitchen equipment, pools and spas, fire and life-safety systems, building envelope, and preventive-maintenance practices.

Demonstrated experience proactively identifying facility and system needs, developing operating and capital budgets, managing projects and vendors, interpreting plans and specifications, implementing preventive and continuous-improvement initiatives, and communicating technical issues and solutions to nontechnical stakeholders.

Working knowledge of applicable workplace-safety requirements, building and fire codes, environmental obligations, accessibility considerations, and local inspection and permitting processes.

Strong leadership, initiative, curiosity, judgment, organization, negotiation, written communication and attention to detail. 

Education and/or Experience

Associate or bachelor’s degree in engineering, facilities management, construction management, building systems, or a related discipline preferred.

Minimum seven years of progressively responsible hotel, resort, commercial-building, or institutional engineering experience, including at least five years leading an engineering or facilities team. Luxury hotel experience is strongly preferred.

Proficiency with computerized maintenance management systems, building automation systems, utility data, and financial reporting tools.

High volume/fast-paced environment experience required. 

Language Skills

Ability to read, analyze, and interpret common scientific and technical journals, financial reports, and legal documents. Ability to respond to common inquiries or complaints from customers, regulatory agencies, or members of the business community. 

Computer and Software Skills

Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications- Word, Excel, Outlook

Opera PMS experience is a plus.

Certificates, Licenses, Registrations

EPA Section 608 Universal Certification for refrigerant handling.

Certified Pool Operator or Aquatic Facility Operator credential.

Relevant trade license or certification in HVAC, electrical, plumbing, stationary engineering, or building controls.

Certified Facility Manager, Facilities Management Professional, Certified Energy Manager, or comparable facilities credential.

OSHA 30-Hour training, First Aid/CPR/AED, and incident-command or emergency-response training.

Valid California driver’s license and an insurable driving record when driving is an assigned essential function. Must be able to drive a pickup truck.

Other Skills and Abilities

Proficient in English- verbal and written.

Proficient in Spanish- verbal is preferred. 

Other Qualifications

Must pass drug and background screening. 

This is a full-time leadership position requiring schedule flexibility based on hotel operations and project needs. The Director must be available for after-hours consultation and response to significant emergencies and may be required to work early mornings, evenings, weekends, holidays, or extended hours during shutdowns, inspections, capital work, and urgent repairs.