Lead HVAC Mechanical Engineer - (ENG-L8.82) at Zutari

Role responsibilities

• Set the engineering strategy, design/shop drawings/quality assurance and control approach, and technical direction for HVAC systems across all project stages.
• Approve and take responsibility for all critical HVAC decisions, ensuring solutions are safe, compliant, coordinated, maintainable, and energy‑efficient.
• Oversee and sign off the discipline’s calculations, reports, schematics, specifications, and design documentation.
• Drive continuous improvement in HVAC engineering methods, standards, technical governance, digital maturity, and risk‑based decision-making.
• Lead design execution, deliverable quality, technical completeness, and integration across HVAC workstreams, ensuring adherence to programme, scope, and budget.
• Coordinate proactively with electrical, Public health, structural, civil, fire, architecture and specialist teams to ensure early interface alignment and a fully integrated design.
• Define and control the HVAC delivery plan, including sequencing, work allocation, stage‑gate reviews, design decisions, and resource utilisation.
• Identify and address delivery risks early (technical, programme, commercial, performance, or interface), escalating appropriately and implementing corrective actions decisively.
• Provide construction-phase oversight, including RFI responses, technical clarifications, design deviation evaluation, site inspections, commissioning oversight (FAT/SAT), and ensuring final installation meets design intent and operational requirements.
• Align discipline delivery with fee budgets, scope boundaries, and commercial assumptions before detailed design begins.
• Enforce change-control discipline, ensuring all scope shifts, risks, or rework drivers are identified, documented, communicated, and commercially managed.
• Forecast and monitor HVAC discipline hours, cost performance, and resource utilisation, ensuring margin protection and avoidance of non‑recoverable effort.
• Support Project Executives in fee proposals, pricing strategies, variation claims, and Mechanical/HVAC‑specific commercial negotiations with clients and contractors.
• Ensure all engineering decisions support commercially viable delivery and do not compromise financial performance.
• Act as the primary Mechanical/ HVAC representative for assigned projects, leading client discussions, workshops, reviews, and technical decision-making.
• Provide clear, structured advice that helps clients understand trade‑offs, technical risks, value‑optimisation options, compliance requirements, and performance outcomes.
• Maintain strong, trust‑based relationships by ensuring transparency, proactive communication, timely decision inputs, and reliable delivery performance.
• Represent Zutari EX with professionalism and authority in all external technical engagements, enhancing client confidence and enabling future work.
• Lead and mentor engineers, technologists, and technicians, ensuring clarity of expectations, disciplined delivery, and strong technical development.
• Assign work effectively based on capability, workload, and risk, ensuring quality and performance standards are consistently met.
• Provide structured technical feedback, support performance reviews, and identify development needs across the team.
• Contribute to recruitment, onboarding, and succession planning to strengthen long‑term Mechnical/HVAC discipline capability.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement, technical excellence, accountability, and collaboration across the team.
• Identify future opportunities during project delivery by maintaining strong client engagement and understanding evolving client needs.
• Provide discipline-specific input to bids, proposals, and fee estimates, including design strategies, assumptions, risks, and competitive differentiators.
• Ensure high-quality delivery that strengthens Zutari EX reputation and drives repeat business from satisfied clients.
• Advise discipline and sector leadership on emerging market trends, capability gaps, and opportunities aligned with the business strategy.
• Support early pursuit discussions by providing informed, technically grounded perspectives on feasibility, scope, risks, and value creation.

Minimum requirements

• BSc/BEng, or MSc/MEng in Mechanical Engineering. 
• Minimum requirements: Active professional registration with a certified engineering body 
• Minimum of 10 to 12 years’ experience delivering and leading HVAC engineering design on complex building or infrastructure projects across multiple sectors (e.g., commercial, industrial and healthcare).
• Demonstrated experience acting as the HVAC lead on projects, with accountability for technical integrity, delivery performance, multi‑disciplinary integration, and client-facing coordination.
• Proven experience managing HVAC scope within fee, programme, and quality parameters, including hours forecasting, scope control, and early identification of commercial or delivery risks.
• Proven experience managing three or more proficiently registered Mechanical/HVAC engineers. 
• Minimum of 5 years’ experience mentored and developed junior engineers.  
• Strong understanding of local, international codes and standards, preferably including those applicable to South Africa, Middle East and Europe.  
• Strong technical and view of building services, focussing mainly on Mechanical (HVAC). 
• Strong proficiency in Revit would be an advantage working on your projects. 
• Strong proficiency in mechanical simulation software is highly advantageous. [HAP/IES]
• Being confident, a team player, approachable.   
• Minimum of 1 to 2 years’ experience developing shop drawings