Mechanical Engineer Manager- Utilities Operations Lead

Location: Onsite in Groton, Connecticut, United States. Occasional after-hours or weekend response and onsite support during incidents, planned shutdowns, and emergency events are required.

Annual base salary: $99,200–$165,400, plus a 12.5% bonus target and eligibility for a share-based long-term incentive program.

Company

hirify.global operates a major R&D campus supporting small-molecule clinical manufacturing, regulated and non-regulated laboratories, vivarium facilities, technical infrastructure, and office space.

What you will do

• Provide technical leadership and engineering oversight for critical mechanical utility systems, including cogeneration, steam, chilled water, nitrogen, compressed air, water, HVAC, and laboratory gases.
• Partner with Utilities Operations and Maintenance teams to support 24/7 reliability, incident response, system recovery, root cause analysis, and performance optimization.
• Lead utility asset lifecycle activities covering design, specification, commissioning, qualification, maintenance strategies, replacement planning, and obsolescence management.
• Support capital and expense projects from concept through commissioning and turnover, including scopes, technical requirements, and commissioning plans.
• Ensure compliance with cGMP/GxP, EHS, regulatory, business resiliency, and business continuity requirements.
• Oversee external service providers, contractors, KPIs, SLAs, contract compliance, and continuous improvement in utilities operations.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering or a related discipline.
• At least 5 years of experience with utilities or central plant operations in critical business environments, mechanical infrastructure engineering, maintenance, and technical leadership.
• Expertise in cogeneration and combustion turbines, steam generation and distribution, nitrogen, instrument-quality compressed air, utility and process water, HVAC, BMS, and integrated utilities infrastructure.
• Knowledge of maintenance practices, reliability engineering, asset management, CMMS systems, SLAs, and KPIs.
• Strong problem-solving, decision-making, communication, negotiation, prioritization, and leadership skills.
• Permanent authorization to work in the United States by any employer is required. U.S. work visa sponsorship is not available now or in the future.

Nice to have

• Advanced degree such as an MS or MBA.
• Experience with DCS or plant automation, energy management, sustainability initiatives, CAFM, AutoCAD, and capital projects.
• Professional Engineer certification or equivalent.

Culture & Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, prescription drug, dental, and vision coverage.
• 401(k) plan with matching contributions and an additional retirement savings contribution.
• Paid vacation, holidays, personal days, caregiver/parental leave, and medical leave.
• Work in laboratories, manufacturing environments, central utility plants, mechanical rooms, and other technical facilities with required gowning and PPE procedures.
• Relocation assistance may be available based on business needs and eligibility.

Hiring process

• Applications are accepted until September 4, 2026.
• Applicants may need to complete the process in accordance with hirify.global’s accessibility and employment eligibility requirements.