Sr. Sustainable Design Engineer

Overview:

HKS is seeking an experienced Sr. Sustainable Design Engineer to join our firm.
Manages and leads engineering analysis and models for sustainability. Manages the firm's resources (people, processes and tools) and assignments with proficiency, fluency and aptitude. Teaches and mentors staff and effectively embodies and expresses the firm's values and mission.

Responsibilities:

Project:

• Manages the whole-building dynamic thermal and energy building simulation models for various building types and scales, including advanced mechanical systems evaluations, architectural response to enhancing daylighting, lighting control systems and detailed thermal and moisture response of building facade components
• Manages the detailed engineering analysis for the purpose of minimizing energy consumption and related greenhouse gas emissions related to a building's architectural design, construction and operation
• Manages the comfort studies, life cycle costs analysis, energy simulation, daylight simulations, solar shading analysis and renewable energy evaluation to provide analysis-based recommendations that inform design and operational decisions made by architects, engineers, contactors and operators
• Supports DesignGreen team and Enterprise leadership to expand and further integrate design performance, building energy modeling and building operation modeling for all projects across the firm, including informing design decisions by predicting a building's performance with respect to energy efficiency, passive and active design strategies, building massing, daylight availability, glare control, shading analysis, thermal comfort, natural ventilation, mechanical systems alternatives, loads analysis, renewable energy systems integration and similar design factors/elements throughout the project's life cycle
• Confidently predicts a building's anticipated energy use and corresponding energy savings, as compared to a standard baseline by applying whole-building energy simulation and verify performance through industry standard calibration procedures for post-occupancy evaluations
• Oversees the Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) and Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) for design alternatives with a keen understanding of appropriate economic analysis parameters relevant to the project
• Leads and/or assists design teams to promote integrative sustainable strategies and leverage complex data sets to support design decisions and research
• Leads and/or assists with specialized project and enterprise research activities including but not limited to energy, environmental, carbon and general sustainability issues
• Authors professional publications/journals (prime investigator) and identifies areas of opportunity (innovation) to increase energy efficiency by utilizing new or existing technologies, provide creative market transformation ideas, and/or innovative implementation strategies
• Advances enterprise level Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) efforts such as the AIA 2030 Commitment and the United Nations Global Compact
• Oversees technical reports and presentation materials
• Participates in team meetings to discuss project issues, technical issues and coordination with other disciplines

Cultural:

• Endorses the firm's cultural values, including a commitment to quality, innovation, learning and growth
• Supports firm's global presence and actively engages perspectives from HKS international offices
• Manages the content and facilitates enterprise wide internal training, education and knowledge sharing regarding building sciences fundamentals and energy analysis software applications
• Facilitates team's self-evaluation to distill and distribute lessons learned within the firm, in collaboration with the Director of Sustainability and Chief Sustainability Officer
• Actively invests in the professional development of staff through mentoring, performance management and career planning
• Develops, recognizes, recruits and grows diverse talent
• Resolves conflict effectively and encourages a healthy team environment
• Seeks leadership opportunities by providing direction and feedback to team members and collaborating with team leaders
• Identifies opportunities to for subject expert leadership
• Promotes the firm's principles of 'design excellence' through the integration of responsible and sustainable design practice with the art of design

Financial:

• Responsible for fundamental accounting principles and the project accounting process
• Responsible for delivering a project on defined budget requirements
• Responsible for the financial implications of overhead and chargeable time, including accountability to project plan and planned utilization rate

Revenue or Opportunity Generation:

• May assist in developing and maintaining excellent relationships with existing and potential clients through project work
• Supports the business development process by identifying new opportunities, marketing current clients for repeat business and assisting with proposals, budgets and schedules
• Understands contract and recognizes additional services may be needed in collaboration with project team
• Works as an active professional voice for HKS in conferences and professional forums

Qualifications:

• Accredited professional degree in Architecture, Engineering, Sustainable Design or related field
• Professional engineering licensure strongly preferred
• Typically 8+ years of experience
• Modeling credentials such as ASHRAE Building Energy Modeling Professional (BEMP), Building Energy Simulation Analyst (BESA), or equivalent preferred
• Sustainable design accreditation preferred
• Familiarity with design and energy modeling applications such as Rhino, Grasshopper, Radiance, DIVA, REVIT, AutoCAD, Sketchup, IES VE, Sefaira, Insight360, Energy Plus, EnergyPro preferred
• Experience with Photoshop, Illustrator, Sketchup and InDesign graphic software preferred
• Proficiency in MS Office Suite preferred
• Experience in LEED submission and regulatory compliance energy modeling
• Familiarity with computational design and parametric modeling preferred
• Familiarity with energy modeling preferred
• Knowledge of sustainability and integrated design guidelines
• Strong knowledge in interpreting and applying high-performance building standards such as ANSI, ASHRAE, IESNA and ASTM as well as building energy codes such as IECC and T24
• Strong knowledge of architectural building systems
• Working knowledge of building physics, energy transfer, mechanical design, system control strategies and economics is required
• Knowledge of QA/QC and specification process
• Knowledge of building codes and ability to research and apply/incorporate into technical documents
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to work on multiple projects at the same time
• Ability to maintain existing client relationships and build new client relationships
• Ability to communicate and present ideas in a clear, concise and professional manner both verbally and in writing
• Ability to problem solve and apply innovative solutions
• Ability to collaborate and encourage collaboration in a team environment
• Ability to effectively meet deadlines at expected quality

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Base Salary Range: $93.1 - $130k annually - Seattle, San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Denver, New York, and Washington DC Locations only

The estimate displayed represents the general base salary range of candidates hired in Seattle, San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Denver, New York, and Washington DC locations only. Factors that may be used to determine your actual salary may include internal equity, experience, education, specialty and training.

HKS offers a comprehensive total compensation & benefits package with health, dental, and vision care coverage, 401(k) plans, life & AD&D insurance, short/long term disability plans, paid days off (sick leave, parental leave, vacation), and much more for benefits-eligible employees. To learn more about our benefits visit this page.

Application Deadline: 01/01/2025

If you currently work for HKS, please submit your application via the Internal Careers Portal .

HKS is an EEO/AA Employer: M/F/Disabled/Veteran