[Hiring] Director, Critical Environments - Engineering @Cushman & Wakefield

Role Description

The Director of Critical Environments- Engineering is a member of the Corporate Critical Environments/Data Center central SME team and is responsible for providing subject matter expertise to the critical solutions business. This position will have close interaction with Senior Management, Regional Engineering Management, and with Property Management.

• Provide engineering support and oversight in Data Center environments, ensuring continuous uptime, system redundancy, and adherence to mission-critical infrastructure standards, including Tier-level compliance and SLA requirements.
• Lead engineering efforts by supporting critical systems such as power distribution, cooling infrastructure, fire suppression, and building automation systems to maintain optimal performance and risk mitigation.
• Partner with Data Center operations teams, site-level stakeholders, and client representatives to align engineering practices with business continuity objectives, incident response protocols, and performance optimization strategies.
• Support capacity planning and infrastructure scalability by collaborating with IT, facilities, and project management teams to ensure engineering systems meet current and future demand.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory and industry standards (e.g., Uptime Institute, ASHRAE, NFPA, OSHA) and contribute to audit readiness and documentation for mission-critical sites.
• Assist with development, implementation and monitoring of technical programs, and policies and procedures as required by both National Operations and Engineering.
• Work with clients and C&W facility management team to help implement and coordinate requirements such as safety, quality assurance, sustainability, energy management, Energy Star, C&W engineering disciplines, and combined energy and water tracking tools.
• Conduct periodic site inspections in accordance with the guidelines presented in the national Engineering platform to review client sites and check performance of C&W suppliers and self-performing technicians.
• Conduct physical property, mechanical, electrical and system assessments as needed or requested.
• Provide leadership and direction for the implementation of client and corporate initiatives.
• Provide direction and consultation to the operating staff for HVAC, MEP systems, Fire & Life Safety systems, Automation, Security, and OSHA compliance.
• Assist in scope definition, contract negotiations and bid reviews for service, and capital replacement projects.
• Establish and maintain a network of consultants/pre-qualified service providers to provide assistance and expertise to the field in matters beyond the expertise of operations staff.
• Provide effective and prompt responses to requests from C&W leadership and clients.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or GED Equivalent.
• Two-year technical degree plus 3 to 5 years of related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education, experience, and training.
• Completion of Technical school study relating to HVAC design and Maintenance preferred.

Requirements

• Experience working in a data center environment.
• Minimum of 10 years of commercial property experience.
• Minimum of 3 years of management level experience in facilities/property maintenance, engineering, the installation and operation of Building Systems (HVAC, plumbing, Fire/Life Safety, etc.), project management, and supervision of skilled trades and technical staff.
• Experience in building operations.
• Experience managing unionized and non-unionized employees.
• Operating Engineers License as required by local jurisdictions, and equivalent.
• Technical proficiency in the mechanical, electrical and control systems used in the Property Management industry.
• Expertise in the operation, management and the cost controls of Property Operations.
• Knowledge and interpretation and application of applicable commercial building codes and standards.
• Experience reading and interpreting documents such as blueprints, safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and BAS SOO.
• Strong understanding of project management processes.
• Basic Computing Skills in Outlook, Excel & Word.
• A high level of functional/technical knowledge of building system operation is necessary and must have proficiency in plumbing, HVAC, and electrical distribution systems.
• Must be able to prepare and present detailed reports on building operations and systems.
• Ability to quickly define problems, gather and assess relevant data and information, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions in order to implement solutions and repairs and delegate to appropriate personnel.
• Ability to travel up to 30-40% - estimated.

Benefits

• Health, vision, and dental insurance.
• Flexible spending accounts.
• Health savings accounts.
• Retirement savings plans.
• Life and disability insurance programs.
• Paid and unpaid time away from work.
• Competitive pay, which may vary depending on eligibility factors such as geographic location, date of hire, total hours worked, job type, business line, and applicability of collective bargaining agreements.