Senior Commissioning Engineer (Hybrid - Arlington, VA)

The Work:

As a Senior Commissioning Engineer, you will support Chinook's clients by coordinating, and delivering commissioning services throughout the facility planning, design, construction, warranty, and operations lifecycle. You will apply your technical expertise to deliver solutions to complex problems. In this role you will deliver on objectives and find unique approaches to assignments. At times you will coach more junior staff members and review their work. Chinook has built a reputation for excellence in our industry and as a Senior Commissioning Engineer, you will uphold that tradition by being diligent, proactive, solutions oriented and a facilitator of success for team members, both internal and external. This position offers a career path to a Project Manager and onward to a Program Manager level position.

In this role you will work a Hybrid schedule, working both from home, from our local DMV client sites, and from our Arlington, VA HQ office. This position will also involve up to 25% travel to non-local client sites.

Key Responsibilities:

• Execute commissioning, retro-commissioning (RCx), energy management, and facilities management services for new and existing buildings on multiple concurrent projects.
• Plan and lead retro-commissioning investigations to identify operational deficiencies, energy conservation opportunities, control system improvements, and measures to enhance occupant comfort and system reliability.
• Understand, analyze, and interpret RFPs, design and construction documents, standards, codes, scopes, utility data, building automation system (BAS) trends, and project deliverables.
• Prepare commissioning plans, retro-commissioning plans, specifications, checklists, functional performance tests, investigation reports, and final commissioning reports.
• Develop and implement monitoring-based commissioning and continuous commissioning strategies to sustain long-term building performance improvements.
• Conduct facility assessments, systems condition evaluations, operational reviews, and energy audits to identify performance improvement opportunities.
• Analyze building utility consumption, interval data, and energy trends to establish baselines, identify anomalies, and quantify potential energy and operational savings.
• Evaluate HVAC, lighting, controls, central plant, and other building systems to verify performance against design intent, current operational requirements, and industry best practices.
• Perform building automation system (BAS) reviews, controls sequence verification, trend analysis, and control optimization recommendations.
• Conduct site observations, system inspections, and witness functional performance testing for both new construction and existing building systems.
• Develop and execute diagnostic testing procedures to evaluate system performance, identify root causes of operational issues, and verify corrective actions.
• Facilitate implementation of energy conservation measures (ECMs), operational improvements, and corrective actions identified through retro-commissioning activities.
• Provide facility staff training related to optimized system operation, control sequences, energy-efficient practices, and long-term performance monitoring.
• Provide technical and analytical guidance to project teams and mentor junior commissioning personnel.
• Prepare project estimates, schedules, work plans, and resource forecasts.
• Conduct quality assurance reviews of project deliverables, field activities, testing procedures, and analytical findings.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Requires a Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering or a related field and at least 8 years of direct experience in commissioning of facilities systems such as lighting, HVAC, power distribution, generation, power monitoring and controls, UPS, and emergency power.
• Must be a Professional Engineer (P.E.).
• CxA, CCP, CBCP, or equivalent Commissioning Certification is required.
• Must possess an in-depth knowledge of commissioning standards and practices e.g. LEED, ASHRAE, BCA, ACG, GSA.
• Must be proficient with the Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, Outlook, MS Project, PowerPoint) and scheduling software.
• Requires a Valid State Issued Driver's License and the ability to travel to various work sites.

Citizenship/Clearance Requirements:

• Must be a U.S. Citizen with an Active Secret or higher security clearance.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Certified Energy Manager (CEM).
• Experience in the integration of Mechanical systems with electrical, life safety, and security systems.
• Experience with database management systems for commissioning and core business processes.
• Direct experience with ASHRAE Energy Audits and related energy engineering.
• Experience managing or supervising people.

Physical Considerations:

• Must be able to walk construction sites with uneven surfaces, carry up to 25 lbs., climb stairs and ladders, and work both indoors and outdoors in severe weather conditions, in confined spaces, and in dust generating environments.
• Must be able to maintain spatial awareness and comply with safety standards while working near mechanical and electrical building equipment and systems.
• Must be able to wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) where required.

Annual Salary, Dependent Upon Qualifications and Experience: $135,000 – 145,000

Who is Chinook?

Chinook Systems, Inc. is a leader in delivering lifecycle energy security solutions to mission critical government and commercial facility Owners. We specialize in the engineering, construction, commissioning, and operations of intelligent, cyber secure, code compliant, and energy efficient building systems. Our solutions save millions of dollars in utility costs, reduce harmful emissions to the environment, and mitigate cyber‐attacks on facilities. Chinook provides motivated employees with the opportunity to advance in a fast‐growing, innovative, entrepreneurial, and collaborative work environment.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement:

Chinook Systems Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate against anyone because of their differences, such as age, disability, ethnicity, religion, national origin, gender, gender identity and expression, or sexual orientation.

Chinook is committed to providing veteran employment opportunities to our service men and women.