Maintenance Engineer

Description

Location: Atlanta, GA 30308
Employment Type: Full-Time
Department: Operations
Reports To: Community Association Manager / General Manager

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced and technically skilled Maintenance Engineer to oversee the safe, reliable, and efficient operation of the physical plant and major building systems at a high-rise condominium community in Atlanta.

This is a hands-on building operations position requiring strong knowledge of central mechanical systems, preventive maintenance, troubleshooting, and facility operations. The Maintenance Engineer will serve as the primary technical resource for the property and will be responsible for monitoring and maintaining major building systems, identifying potential issues before they become failures, coordinating specialized contractors, and maintaining a proactive preventive maintenance program.

The ideal candidate will have extensive experience operating and maintaining complex commercial or high-rise building systems and will be comfortable working independently while communicating effectively with property management, residents, vendors, and contractors.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Operate, monitor, inspect, and support the maintenance of the building's central mechanical plant and major building systems.
• Monitor and maintain boilers, cooling towers, pumps, motors, HVAC equipment, mechanical controls, domestic water systems, and related equipment.
• Monitor emergency generators and coordinate required testing, maintenance, and repairs.
• Monitor elevator operations and coordinate service, inspections, testing, repairs, and modernization activities with licensed elevator contractors.
• Monitor electrical distribution, plumbing, domestic water, drainage, ventilation, mechanical systems, and other building infrastructure.
• Conduct routine inspections of mechanical rooms, equipment rooms, rooftops, common areas, and other building infrastructure.
• Identify unusual equipment conditions such as leaks, vibration, temperature changes, pressure irregularities, unusual noises, corrosion, or other indicators of potential equipment failure.
• Take appropriate action within the scope of the position and promptly escalate issues requiring specialized technical support.
• Develop, maintain, and execute a comprehensive preventive maintenance program for building systems and equipment.
• Maintain an accurate inventory of major equipment, including manufacturer information, service history, warranties, and anticipated useful life.
• Establish appropriate inspection and maintenance schedules based on manufacturer recommendations, equipment condition, regulatory requirements, and industry standards.
• Track scheduled maintenance, inspections, testing, repairs, and corrective actions through the property's designated work order or management system.
• Identify recurring equipment issues and recommend long-term solutions rather than relying solely on repeated repairs.
• Maintain organized maintenance logs and records for major building systems.
• Serve as the onsite technical point of contact for HVAC, boiler, cooling tower, elevator, generator, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, and other specialized contractors.
• Coordinate contractor access, scope of work, inspections, testing, and completion of projects.
• Review contractor findings and service reports and communicate significant issues to management.
• Verify that contracted work has been completed appropriately before recommending approval or closure.
• Assist management in evaluating proposals, scopes of work, service agreements, and repair recommendations.
• Identify situations where additional technical evaluation, engineering review, or competitive proposals may be appropriate.
• Maintain professional working relationships with service providers while holding vendors accountable for contracted performance.
• Conduct regular inspections of mechanical rooms, rooftops, equipment spaces, common areas, parking areas, and other building infrastructure.
• Maintain mechanical and equipment rooms in a clean, organized, safe, and serviceable condition.
• Identify physical conditions requiring repair, replacement, monitoring, or capital planning.
• Assist management and the Board in understanding the physical condition and operational significance of major building assets.
• Support reserve study inspections, engineering evaluations, insurance inspections, regulatory inspections, and capital improvement projects.
• Provide technical input regarding equipment replacement, modernization, energy efficiency, and lifecycle planning.
• Maintain operational readiness of critical building systems and emergency equipment.
• Respond appropriately to mechanical failures, water intrusion, power interruptions, HVAC failures, elevator issues, plumbing emergencies, and other building incidents.
• Assist in coordinating emergency contractors and securing affected building systems or areas when necessary.
• Maintain familiarity with emergency shutoffs, electrical panels, water isolation points, fire and life safety systems, generator operations, and other critical infrastructure.
• Participate in after-hours emergency response or an on-call rotation as required by the property.
• Receive, prioritize, perform, assign, and close maintenance work orders within established service standards.
• Distinguish between routine maintenance, urgent repairs, emergency conditions, and work requiring a licensed or specialized contractor.
• Maintain complete and accurate documentation of work performed.
• Track open maintenance items through completion and communicate delays, dependencies, or material needs to management.
• Maintain appropriate inventory of commonly required maintenance materials, tools, and replacement components.
• Exercise responsible purchasing and inventory controls consistent with company and Association policies.
• Provide professional, courteous, and responsive service to residents, Board members, guests, and colleagues.
• Communicate clearly when maintenance or repair activities may affect residents.
• Respect resident privacy and maintain appropriate professional boundaries when accessing residential units or responding to resident concerns.

Technical Knowledge & Experience

The successful candidate should possess demonstrated working knowledge of multiple building systems, including:

• Commercial boilers and associated pumps and controls
• Cooling towers and condenser water systems
• Commercial HVAC equipment and controls
• Building automation and mechanical control systems
• Emergency generators and transfer equipment
• Elevator systems and service coordination
• Electrical distribution systems
• Commercial plumbing and domestic water systems
• Pumps, motors, valves, and mechanical equipment
• Fire and life safety systems
• Preventive maintenance practices
• Mechanical troubleshooting and root-cause identification
• Equipment manuals, technical documentation, plans, and basic schematics

The Maintenance Engineer is not expected to perform work that legally requires a specialized license unless appropriately licensed. However, the successful candidate must possess enough technical knowledge to recognize problems, communicate effectively with specialized contractors, evaluate service recommendations, and provide informed operational guidance to management.

Requirements

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent required.
• Technical, vocational, trade school, or facilities engineering education strongly preferred.
• Minimum five years of progressively responsible experience in commercial building engineering, central plant operations, high-rise residential facilities, hospitality engineering, institutional facilities, or comparable complex building operations.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience with central mechanical systems required.
• Experience with boilers, cooling towers, commercial HVAC systems, generators, pumps, electrical systems, and plumbing strongly preferred.
• High-rise condominium, commercial office tower, hotel, hospital, university, or similarly complex facility experience strongly preferred.
• HVAC, electrical, boiler operator, building engineer, EPA, or related technical certifications preferred.
• EPA Section 608 certification preferred where responsibilities involve regulated refrigerants.
• Ability to interpret technical service reports, equipment documentation, and maintenance recommendations.
• Strong troubleshooting, organization, documentation, and communication skills.
• Ability to use computerized maintenance management systems, work order platforms, mobile technology, and standard business software.
• Valid driver's license may be required.

What We're Looking For

We are looking for a hands-on building engineer who understands how a complex property operates as an integrated system. The ideal candidate is proactive rather than reactive and can identify developing issues before they become costly equipment failures or disruptions for residents.This individual should be comfortable taking ownership of building systems, managing preventive maintenance, troubleshooting mechanical issues, coordinating contractors, and providing management with clear recommendations regarding repairs, equipment condition, and future capital needs.Strong communication and professionalism are equally important, as this position works closely with property management, residents, Board members, vendors, and contractors.

Physical Requirements

This position requires frequent walking throughout a high-rise building, climbing stairs and ladders, entering mechanical and equipment spaces, and working in confined or elevated areas as appropriate.The employee must be able to bend, kneel, reach, and lift or move materials weighing up to 50 pounds. The position may require working in mechanical rooms, rooftops, parking structures, and indoor and outdoor environments with varying temperatures and noise levels. Occasional after-hours, weekend, holiday, or emergency response may be required based on the operational needs of the property.

Equal Opportunity Employer

We are committed to providing an inclusive workplace and are an Equal Opportunity Employer.