The University of Virginia’s Office for Sustainability is seeking an Energy and Sustainability Engineer or a Senior Energy and Sustainability Engineer.

Both positions give a unique opportunity to make a direct and measurable impact to help meet UVA’s goals including being carbon neutral by 2030 and fossil fuel-free by 2050, while saving money for the university. Our award-winning Building Efficiency Program has worked on 75 buildings over the past nine years, avoiding energy costs of $14 million over the past three years alone.

Both roles are core members of the University of Virginia's Office for Sustainability team and will contribute to developing solutions to meet university-wide goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, and overall environmental stewardship. Reporting to the Sustainability Engineering Manager, both positions focus on supporting innovative projects that incorporate best practices in sustainability and conservation in the use of energy, water, raw materials, and other resources through retro-commissioning, energy audits and technical analyses.

Sustainability at the University is interdisciplinary, multi-faceted and highly collaborative, encompassing academics, research, and operations and a range of topics, including greenhouse gases, energy, water, waste, food, and civic engagement.

We support workplace flexibility when appropriate, but 100% remote work is not possible. The department will not sponsor applicants for employment visa.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Energy and Sustainability Engineer:

Support Building Efficiency Program projects.

Confirm existing conditions from drawing archive reviews and site visits.

Provide engineering calculations and analysis of building systems with oversight from senior team members.

Perform HVAC ventilation and airflow calculations to determine optimized setpoints.

Develop HVAC documents including airflow diagrams, airflow setpoints and pressurization plans.

Develop HVAC controls sequences of operation and control diagrams.

Perform lighting calculations, select light fixtures and develop lighting plans.

Procure building system components with oversight from senior team members.

Coordinate with occupants, stakeholders and contractors to meet construction schedules.

Perform punch list walk-throughs with contractors to assure completion of scope.

Review design projects for compliance with UVA’s Green Building Standards.

​Senior Energy and Sustainability Engineer (in addition to duties above):

Develop and manage Building Efficiency Program projects from inception to completion.

Diagnose building system deficiencies, recommend and implement solutions.

Develop proposals, get buy-in from stakeholders, develop project schedule.

Organize and conduct periodic project meetings and site visits with stakeholders.

Oversee contractors from scoping to procurement and execution of the work.

Serve as customer’s point of contact for receiving project concerns or technical issues.

Required Education and Experience for Energy and Sustainability Engineer:

Education:  Bachelor's degree or higher in Mechanical Engineering, Architectural Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Civil Engineering, or a related engineering field.

Experience:  A minimum of four (4) years of professional experience working in an engineering-related field, designing, constructing, or evaluating commercial building energy systems or controls is essential.

Required Education and Experience for Senior Energy and Sustainability Engineer:

Education:  Bachelor's degree or higher in Mechanical Engineering, Architectural Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Civil Engineering, or related engineering field.

Experience: A minimum of seven (7) years of related experience, which may include commercial building HVAC design or project management, HVAC controls engineering, commissioning, energy performance contracting, etc.

Preferred Experience (Both Positions):

Licensure: Licensed as a Professional Engineer (PE) strongly preferred.

Accreditation as a EIT (Engineering in Training), CEM (Certified Energy Manager), ASHRAE Building Commissioning Professional Certification (BCxP), Certified Commissioning Professional (CCP), LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Green Associate, LEED Accredited Professional.

Experience with laboratory and/or healthcare HVAC design or commissioning.

Experience with lighting and lighting control systems. Hands-on experience with lighting control systems such as Acuity nLight, Lutron Quantum.

Hands-on experience with HVAC building automation systems such as Johnson Controls Metasys, Automated Logic WebCTRL.

Experience with energy modeling software preferred.

Preferred Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (Both Positions):

Knowledge of building energy systems, utility metering metrics and commissioning.

Proficient in developing advanced spreadsheets and using tools such as Microsoft Office.

Ability to navigate and interpret data analytics tools and reports, such as Tableau.

Strong analytical and organizational skills for making progress on multiple projects.

Takes initiative and manages tasks to meet project deadlines.

Ability to communicate complex technical concepts with stakeholders.

Attention to detail and quality.

Anticipated Compensation: These are full-time, 40 hour per week exempt positions with UVA benefits:

Energy and Sustainability Engineer: $90,000 - $100,000; based on education and experience.

Senior Energy and Sustainability Engineer: $105,000 - $115,000; based on education and experience.

Physical Demands: This is primarily a sedentary job involving extensive use of desktop computers, however, regular visits to inspect existing buildings and construction sites will be required. The job does occasionally require traveling some distance to attend meetings and programs.

To Apply:

Please apply online, and search for ”R0071861.” Internal applicants must apply through their UVA Workday profile by searching “Find UVA Jobs.”  Complete an application online with the following documents: 

CV/Resume

Cover letter 

Upload all materials into the resume submission field, multiple documents can be submitted into this one field. Alternatively, merge all documents into one PDF for submission. Applications that do not contain all required documents will not receive full consideration.  

The selected applicant will be required to complete a background check prior to their first day of employment per University policy.

The University of Virginia, including the UVA Health System which represents the UVA Medical Center, Schools of Medicine and Nursing, UVA Physicians Group and the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, are fundamentally committed to the diversity of our faculty and staff.  We believe diversity is excellence expressing itself through every person's perspectives and lived experience.  We are equal opportunity employers. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, veteran or military status, and family medical or genetic information.