Energy Engineer
Chicago, IL
Working for Equity Residential (EQR), an industry leading multi-family REIT headquartered in downtown Chicago, means being part of a community and striving to provide the best in apartment living, speaking boldly about new ideas for innovation, and inspiring creativity in the ways we work together. Our portfolio of high-quality properties in growth markets – New York City, Boston, Washington DC, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Denver, to name a few – provides homes where people most want to live. We've got the best people in the business, and our experience shows in our dedication to residents and in how much we value each other as colleagues. That’s why our employees say they are proud to work at Equity, a company that knows how to Live Remarkably.
We are currently seeking an innovative, analytical team member to join our Property Operations team as an Energy Engineer. Under the direction of the Senior Manager, Energy this role will be a key contributor to the day-to-day operations of our $85MM energy and utility management platform covering electric, gas, water, sewer, and heating oil expenses. You will use your demonstrated expertise in energy and utilities to support the measurement, verification, and enhancement of sustainability projects; to support our energy reporting and performance requirements across the country; to assist in the procurement of gas and electric in deregulated markets.
As a Energy Engineer, you will be a part of a hardworking and fun team who collectively manages over $200MM in company expenses and $80MM in revenue. Our team supports programs across all business segments from operations to new construction to renovation and capital expenditures. As this position grows, there may be an opportunity to support or manage some of the other 55 expense and income categories that we consult on for the business.
- Energy and Utilities Guru. You are passionate about energy, sustainability, and utilities. You have expertise in this topic area and you enjoy everything from digging through data to to assisting in the development of a strategy.
- Analytical. You like crunching large sets of data and telling a story with numbers. You believe that numbers never lie and are always on a quest to understand the facts. You are good at summarizing your analysis and presenting to stakeholders.
- A Strong Communicator. You are articulate, effective, and persuasive in your verbal and written communication, helping you connect well with others. You don’t mind taking the lead on a call or in a meeting with stakeholders.
- Big Picture Thinker. You don’t just do the task at hand. You like to step back and understand the “why” behind decisions and actions. You’re on a quest to fully understand how things work and the impact of your work on the larger organization.
- Innovative. You do more than the task at hand. You like to think about how to make things work more efficiently with greater value. You love the art of figuring things out and challenging the status quo if you think something can be better than it is.
- Multitasker. Multitasking is fun for you. You enjoy working a lot of things at once and you don’t mind jumping from one topic to the next. You are comfortable living in the gray and embrace change. You don’t get stressed easily when there is more to do than time allows — you like the challenge! You are process oriented and nothing slips through the cracks on your watch, no matter how big or small.
- Team Player. You enjoy being a part of a team. You are comfortable both supporting and leading projects depending on team needs. You enjoy the opportunity to collaborate and learn from others as well as influence others.
- Tech Savvy. Tools like email and internet access start as basic necessities in your daily operation. You love all things Google. You are also an expert Microsoft Excel user and know how to leverage its extensive capabilities. To help effectively convey your analysis, findings, and results, you take pride in creating effective and aesthetically pleasing charts and graphs.
- Assist in the development and execution of our strategy to measure, verify, monitor and enhance the sustainability programs our investment team puts in place. Today’s programs include solar pv, common area lighting retrofits, cogeneration systems, demand response systems, building management systems, smart irrigation controllers, etc.
- Monitor and analyze data from various software platforms to ensure equipment is working as intended. Summarize areas of deficiency to various stakeholders and develop and implement a plan to resolve issues. Comfort with financial models that calculate the ROI or payback of a project. Comfort with massive amounts of utility data and analyzing trends that highlight areas of risk or opportunity.
- Ensure we are in compliance with the energy performance requirements of various municipalities that we operate in. Support the execution of our strategic plan for managing the increasingly stringent requirements and assess how we can use this data to find and implement energy reduction opportunities.
- Work with our third party consulting firm to procure electric and gas contracts from third party suppliers in deregulated markets in alignment with our energy procurement policy. This includes the evaluation of supplier bids, supplier selection, execution of contracts as well as filling out reports and databases summarizing energy contracts.
- Produce financial reports for stakeholders highlighting areas of opportunity (e.g. to reduce cost or usage) and work with the teams to implement changes as needed.
- Explore opportunities to leverage technology to increase visibility across our energy programs that drives results.
- Collaborate regularly with Sustainability, Energy Accounting, Property Management, Facilities, Investments and Capital teams, Operations staff, vendors, consultants, utilities, etc.to support the day to day operations of our energy platform.
- Support the preparation of budgets for $85MM in utility expenses across the company. Create energy budget models for new acquisitions or new construction developments and perform due diligence to ensure properties are oboarded and operating effectively. Produce reports to support our monthly summary on utility expenses highlighting key reasons for variances to budget and YOY.
- Drive year over year savings through utility bill auditing.
REQUIREMENTS & PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE
- Bachelor's Degree required in Engineering or Energy Management with 4-6 years of experience in energy, sustainability or utilities management.
- Certified Energy Manager (CEM), or Professional Engineer (PE), desired, but not required.
- Familiarity with commercial building systems is a plus.
- Must have excellent analytical and quantitative skills including advanced knowledge of MS Excel, plus familiarity with other Microsoft Office programs and Google applications.
- Ability to influence others and make good business decisions, to think creatively when problem solving for new solutions, to work on numerous projects concurrently while effectively prioritizing workload.
- Must have excellent communication skills both written and verbal.
- Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to build positive working relationships (both one-on-one as well as in a team setting).
We recognize that everyone has different needs outside of work. That’s why, in addition to a competitive benefits package (medical, dental, vision and paid time off), we offer many unique options to employees, like pet insurance and paid time off for community service projects. To learn more, view our Total Wellbeing page here.
Benefits provided
Health Insurance
401k Match
401k Retirement Plan
Dental Insurance
Short Term Disability
Long Term Disability
Personal Days
Internal Training Programs
Optical Insurance
Bonus Programs
Life Insurance
Paid Vacations
Stock Options
Stock Grants
Stock Purchase Plan