Description

The Lead Fire Alarm and Life Safety Designer is a senior member & manager of the project team, working under the direct supervision of the Trade Design Manager (or Senior Engineer*) to lead and manage project teams & design initiatives. This includes supervising a team of Design professionals with a goal to complete high-quality trade-specific schematics & layouts based on solid design principles. The Lead Designer manages all design team project functions, including surveys, calculations, selections & layouts, performs all project phases and is called upon to play a lead role in effectively communicating with peers, supervisors, vendors, consultants, clients & stakeholders. This includes providing leadership support in the construction administration process with the ability to process and review shop drawings, perform field observations, and prepare respective reports. The Lead Designer is fully capable of assuming the Job Captain function, and directly managing the training, development & project execution of direct-report project team members

Qualifications

• Minimum 6yrs experience working as a Designer, of which at least 2yrs were spent in a Senior Designer Role, as part of a professional engineering project team, under the direct or indirect supervision of a licensed professional engineer.
• Minimum 2yrs experience leading engineering projects of various sizes and complexities.
• 4-year Engineering degree.
• Professional Engineering License preferred.
• Great interpersonal skills.
• Polished communication skills (both verbal & writing).
• Highly organized and composed under pressure.
• Proven project management ability, with demonstrated experience managing direct reports to strict timelines with multiple projects in order to meet deadlines under high-pressure environment.
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office.
• Working knowledge of AutoCAD & REVIT.
• Possesses keen eye for detail.

Role-Specific Competencies

Fire Alarm
Level 4 (Functional Mastery)

• Can ably recognize even the most complex types of existing systems and apply solutions to the most complex engineering problems.
• Can independently design complex systems with inherent knowledge, minimal research & direction, and use of company standards & templates.
• With minimal supervision, can develop intricate system designs/layouts and selection of advanced equipment.
• Advanced knowledge of codes and standards. Can ably research when required.
• With minimal supervision, can generate specifications based on company standard templates.
• Self-sufficient in producing existing conditions surveys and due diligence reports including cost estimates.
• Educates L3 engineers.

Core Competencies

Project ManagementLevel 4 (Functional Mastery)

Project Management

• Exhibits project process mastery with confidence and humility. Demonstrated ability to see the big picture and keep the team focused on key team & company goals, and on the client experience. Ensures effective collaboration between team members, understands the various personalities, and how they can best work together for the good of the whole. Habitually performs Project Manager responsibilities without assistance & with the highest degree of efficiency.

Relationship Management

• Fosters a collaborative culture, with demonstrated experience training & developing staff. Demonstrated ability to oversee team coordination with managers, clients and team members to set expectations, deliverables, and objectives. Delegates workload assignments effectively, & inspires others.

Problem Solving

• Teaches the team to view problems as opportunities to grow & fosters a solution-based thinking culture, where the team brings ideas & solutions to the table. Enables the team to fill knowledge gaps through active & proactive research. Assesses team issues from different vantage points, thinks "outside the box", & formulates the most effective solution in addressing specific challenges. Takes a "prevent rather than intervene" approach by focusing on team quality and due-diligence.

Customer Satisfaction

• Ensures that the team focuses on the client experience, and keeps the customer perspective in mind. Teaches team to have a "customer is always right" approach. Elicits feedback from direct reports, and creates strategies to help the team serve customers more effectively.

Job Captain

• Demonstrated ability to perform consistently satisfactory Job Captain responsibilities.

The Job Captain is counted on to:Take Ownership

The Job Captain is responsible for taking ownership of the coordination of project deliverables and issuances with the project team. This means coordinating between the project team and other MGE groups on the timely and accurate set-up/issuance of project documentation.​ This means to:

• Quarterback the project start-to-finish. Seeing the project through and make sure it goes out correctly.
• Include the right stakeholders on your communication.
• Coordinate with all departments and take ownership of the process throughout the entire project lifecycle.

Apply Quality, & Ensure it

The Job Captain serves as an important quality control point, by checking project documentation for completeness and accuracy prior to submitting for issuance. This means to:

• Submit all completed checklists to the Project Manager.
• Provide final clearance on project issuance.
• Escalate concerns quickly and decisively. ​
• Ensure checklists, issue sheets and other pertinent documentation is accurately completed before sending.
• Make sure all pencils are down before submitting a set for issuance.
• Own the quality control process. Make sure the right engineers have checked their design before submitting it to you for issuance.
• Check the drawings for accuracy before they go out.​
• Ensure backgrounds and xrefs are up-to-date.
• Coordinate the issuances of Project Manuals (Book Specifications) if applicable.

• Coordinate and check the Issued Drawings List for every drawing issuance.​
• Double check to see if the backgrounds received from the architects are correct.
• Ensure the proper drawings are compiled and issued.
• Communicate the status of the issuance through completion.
• Follow-up with the client to ensure the package was received.​

Ensure Project Documentation is Correct

The Job Captain ensures that proper project documentation is thoroughly, correctly and consistently followed. This includes (but is not limited to):

• ​Correct drawing set-up and filing.
• Correct folder structure set-up and ongoing maintenance.
• Correct and timely issue sheets.
• Correct post-project filing and archiving.​
• All changes are bubbled appropriately. If a drawing is being filed for the first time, there should be no bubbling.
• Delta in the revisions must match the Delta in the title block.
• All applicable DOB notes should be turned on for DOB filing. If a job is outside New York, any NY-related notes should be turned off.
• The PAA sub-number is correct.
• The initials of the team members are on the title blocks for all drawings. XX doesn’t work here.
• Include the correct DOB Now number..
• Be clear with the CAD/BIM group on project set-up expectations.
• Adhere to the company standard project folder structure.
• Check to see if drawings, folders, and issue sheets have been set-up correctly.
• Properly place project files into the correct folders within the drive.
• Notify Operations and Office Management that a project is confirmed for archiving.​

CommunicationLevel 4 (Functional Mastery)

• Listens and ask questions to fully understand the scope of the project. Clearly conveys the focus and intent of the project to the team. Puts instructions into a framework that team members working on the project can understand. Explains how the project fits in with the overall scheme of the company and its ultimate objective.
• Through writing, and speaking openly & honestly with appropriate body language and grammar, successfully inspires trust in both the stakeholders and the team members. Through honest feedback and clear direction, instills loyalty in team, making it easier to deliver instructions, make changes and provide constructive criticism. Reports the team’s progress to the client with assurances that keep the client satisfied.

Leadership

Level 4 (Functional Mastery)

• Enables, motivates, and inspires the team to meet deliverables within project constraints by demonstrating commitment, expertise, confidence, genuine concern, and ability to help everyone solve challenges and achieve goals. Finds the key factors that motivates each team member, settles disputes and effectively encourages the team to maintain its focus. Conducts timely and recurring career development and performance management for team.

AccountabilityLevel 4 (Functional Mastery)

Self-Direction & Sense of Urgency:

• Is personally invested in the success of the team by feeling that personal success is directly related to the success of the team. Embraces management, mentorship, and the ownership of the team’s workload, and ensures workload is delegated effectively. Takes advantage of opportunities to advance the brand of the team, initiates projects, takes ownership of mistakes and gives credit to the team for their success. Takes leading action in the face of obstacles, freshly identifying what must be done and leading the implementation of the solution. Sets challenging goals for the team, and demonstrates a strong sense of urgency & persistence about accomplishing them. Establishes plans that break projects into their component parts, each with its own timeline. Seeks & gives performance feedback to others, and addresses performance problems promptly.

Flexibility & Resilience

• Leads the team through ambiguous situations, teaches the team to reconsider strongly held ideas, and maintains team work efficiency. Ensures team members respond positively to a changing environment and enables them to come up with creative ideas. When the picture is unclear and much is unknown, remains calm and comfortable, accurately assessing risks and options, changing direction & reorienting quickly. Acts decisively at the right time.

Results Driven

• Sets the bar high for the team and raises team standards; sets challenging team goals and develops standards against which to measure behavior & performance of the group. Persists in the face of significant difficulties, takes risks, faces fears, and demonstrates a strong sense of urgency about achieving goals.

General Requirements

Compliance

All employees of the organization are required and expected to comply with all corporate standards, rules, regulations & policies as outlined in this document, in the corporate hand-book, on the employee intranet, and as expressed either verbally or in writing. It is the responsibility of all employees to know, understand & comply with all corporate standards, rules, regulations & policies.

All employees of the organization are required and expected to satisfactorily complete the learning curriculum prescribed by the Management Team.

Work Conditions

The following work conditions apply to all positions of the company:

• Ability to work in an independent environment with moderate supervision.
• Ability to work under a moderate noise level (i.e., working on an open floor with printers, telephones, and computers).
• Ability to travel for business and work beyond normal business hours when necessary.
• Ability to be flexible and successfully respond to multiple work pressures.
• Willing to work extra hours or weekends as needed and/or directed.
• Sitting for extended periods of time.
• Dexterity of hands and fingers to operate a computer keyboard, mouse, power tools, and to handle other computer components.

Dress Code

All company employees are expected to adhere to the following dress code unless otherwise directed:

• Business Development (Sales) meetings: Formal business attire.
• Corporate-sponsored outings or events: Formal business attire.
• Project day-to-day: Business casual attire.
• Friday (work permitting): Dress-down.