Hotel Chief Engineer

Location: Panama City Beach FL
Property: By the Sea Resorts
Position Type: Full-Time
Reports To: General Manager

By the Sea Resorts is seeking a hands-on resourceful Chief Engineer to lead the engineering and maintenance operation of our beachfront property through an important period of stabilization improvement and renovation.

This is not a traditional Chief Engineer role at a fully stabilized hotel. Our property has deferred maintenance and infrastructure needs that require a leader who is comfortable rolling up their sleeves prioritizing competing needs solving problems creatively and building stronger systems while keeping the hotel operating successfully.

The property will also be undergoing a renovation making this an excellent opportunity for an experienced hotel engineer who enjoys transforming properties and wants to have a meaningful impact on the condition reliability and long-term performance of a hotel.

The Chief Engineer will oversee day-to-day maintenance while helping property leadership identify capital priorities manage vendors and contractors support renovation activities and establish a disciplined preventative maintenance program.

• Lead the daily engineering and maintenance operation for the hotel including guestrooms public areas back-of-house spaces grounds and building systems.
• Personally diagnose and address maintenance issues while effectively directing engineering team members and outside vendors.
• Maintain and troubleshoot HVAC electrical plumbing mechanical life-safety pool kitchen laundry and other property systems.
• Respond quickly to guest-impacting maintenance issues and work closely with hotel operations to minimize disruption.
• Conduct regular property inspections and proactively identify deficiencies before they become larger or more expensive problems.
• Develop practical short-term solutions while helping management plan appropriate long-term repairs and replacements.

• Assess the propertys existing physical condition and help establish a prioritized repair and maintenance plan.
• Build implement and maintain an effective preventative maintenance program for guestrooms equipment and major building systems.
• Help reduce recurring maintenance issues emergency repairs equipment downtime and unnecessary outside service calls.
• Maintain organized records for equipment warranties inspections preventative maintenance repairs and vendor services.
• Help establish appropriate engineering inventory tools parts and purchasing controls.

• Serve as the propertys primary engineering liaison during upcoming renovation and capital improvement projects.
• Work closely with ownership management contractors designers project managers and vendors.
• Provide practical operational input regarding building systems equipment selections maintainability and construction sequencing.
• Assist with contractor access project coordination inspections punch lists commissioning and project closeout.
• Identify potential infrastructure issues that could impact renovation plans or future operations.
• Help ensure renovation work is completed with consideration for guest experience and ongoing hotel operations.

• Recruit train schedule coach and develop engineering team members as appropriate for the property.
• Establish clear standards of accountability productivity safety and workmanship.
• Manage engineering expenses thoughtfully while recognizing the difference between short-term cost savings and necessary long-term investment.
• Solicit bids evaluate vendors negotiate where appropriate and monitor contractor performance.
• Assist the General Manager and ownership with developing annual operating and capital budgets.
• Provide clear recommendations regarding repair-versus-replacement decisions and capital priorities.

• Maintain the property in accordance with applicable building fire health environmental and life-safety requirements.
• Maintain required inspections permits testing and documentation.
• Ensure appropriate procedures are followed for emergency systems and equipment.
• Promote safe working practices among employees contractors and vendors.

The ideal candidate is a hotel engineer who sees problems as projects to solve rather than reasons to become discouraged. You should be equally comfortable troubleshooting equipment walking a renovation project with a contractor preparing a capital recommendation for ownership and responding to an urgent guestroom maintenance issue.

This position is particularly well suited for someone who enjoys taking a property that needs attention and making measurable improvements in its condition reliability organization and appearance.

• 5 years of hotel resort multifamily commercial building or facilities engineering experience preferred.
• Previous Chief Engineer Assistant Chief Engineer Director of Engineering Maintenance Manager or comparable leadership experience strongly preferred.
• Strong hands-on knowledge of HVAC plumbing electrical mechanical and general building maintenance.
• Experience working with older properties deferred maintenance property turnarounds renovations or major capital projects is highly desirable.
• Ability to assess problems establish priorities and determine when work should be completed internally versus outsourced.
• Strong vendor and contractor management skills.
• Ability to read plans specifications equipment documentation and project scopes.
• Working knowledge of applicable safety building fire and life-safety requirements.
• Strong organizational and communication skills.
• Comfortable working in an independent hotel environment where flexibility ownership and sound judgment are essential.
• Ability to respond to property emergencies outside normal business hours when necessary.
• Relevant trade licenses certifications CPO certification HVAC certification or other technical credentials are a plus.

During the first year the successful Chief Engineer will help us:

• Gain a thorough understanding of the propertys physical condition and major infrastructure needs.
• Establish clear priorities for deferred maintenance and capital investment.
• Significantly improve preventative maintenance execution.
• Reduce recurring maintenance problems and guest-impacting equipment failures.
• Improve organization documentation inventory and engineering procedures.
• Successfully support the propertys renovation while maintaining ongoing hotel operations.
• Develop a stronger more reliable property that the engineering team and entire hotel staff can take pride in.

This is an opportunity to do more than maintain a building. You will have the ability to help transform a property.

As an independent hotel we value practical thinking initiative and leaders who take ownership. The right Chief Engineer will have significant visibility with property leadership and the opportunity to directly influence renovation decisions capital priorities operating standards and the long-term condition of the hotel.

For an engineer who enjoys fixing problems improving properties and being able to see the tangible results of their work this role offers a particularly rewarding challenge.

By the Sea Resorts is an equal opportunity employer committed to creating an inclusive workplace.