Director, MEP Engineering Operations

The Director, MEP Engineering & Operations provides strategic, technical, and operational leadership for the Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, and Lock Shop functions supporting Sony Pictures Entertainment's Studio Lot and other properties within the portfolio. The position is responsible for safe, reliable, efficient, and cost-effective building infrastructure supporting approximately 1.1 million square feet, 18 sound stages, parking facilities, central plant infrastructure, electrical substations, and associated off-lot properties. The Director leads skilled-trades teams and serves as the senior technical resource for MEP operations, controls, project design review, energy management, infrastructure planning, specialized systems, and operational readiness.

Responsibilities

MEP Operations, Reliability & Asset Management

• Lead Mechanical/HVAC, Electrical, Plumbing, and Lock Shop operations through trade foremen and skilled trades; establish priorities, standards, and performance expectations.
• Ensure safe, reliable, efficient operation and effective preventive/predictive maintenance of building systems, central plant, and field equipment; provide technical leadership for troubleshooting, quality control, reliability, and after-hours response.

Engineering, Building Automation & Controls

• Serve as the senior MEP technical resource; review engineering designs, specifications, equipment selections, controls strategies, and technical recommendations for new and modified systems.
• Provide technical leadership for BAS, energy-management systems, metering, automation, and process controls; evaluate system performance, troubleshoot issues, assess new technologies, and improve reliability, maintainability, and efficiency.

Project Technical Support & Operational Readiness

• Serve as the MEP Operations technical representative for construction, renovation, infrastructure, and equipment-replacement projects; participate in design reviews and key project meetings and assess safety, maintainability, lifecycle cost, energy performance, controls, and compatibility.
• Coordinate trade support, shutdowns, installation assistance, startup, testing, and commissioning as needed; act as technical expert rather than primary capital-project manager.
• Lead operational turnover by ensuring as-built drawings, O&M manuals, warranties, commissioning records, control sequences, asset records, preventive-maintenance tasks, and training are transferred to Operations.

Capital Planning, Budgeting & Financial Management

• Develop and maintain the MEP five-year capital/MRP plan, including priorities, estimated costs, dependencies, schedules, and risks; develop and forecast annual operating budgets and evaluate investments using lifecycle cost, reliability, energy performance, and business value.
• Manage spending within established business controls and provide financial recommendations for infrastructure investments and major equipment replacements.

Energy, Utilities & Sustainability

• Lead and support energy-efficiency and utility-management initiatives, using building and equipment data to identify savings and performance opportunities.
• Support demand management, controls optimization, electrification, decarbonization, photovoltaic, metering, and other sustainability initiatives across on-lot and off-lot locations; evaluate technical feasibility, payback, lifecycle cost, reliability, and operational impact.

Specialized Systems & Vendor Management

• Oversee major technical service contracts and specialized systems, including elevator maintenance and commercial kitchen equipment across four lot locations; manage contractor performance and review scopes, proposals, equipment selections, and service agreements.

People Leadership, Workforce Development & Labor

• Build and lead a high-performing multidisciplinary skilled-trades organization; establish goals, staffing, training, cross-training, qualifications, performance expectations, safety practices, and appropriate technical coverage within the applicable union environment.

Portfolio Support & Continuous Improvement

• Provide technical support, facility assessments, infrastructure evaluations, and engineering guidance to other properties and Facilities leaders across the portfolio; use KPIs, maintenance trends, customer feedback, root-cause analysis, and data-driven decision making to improve reliability, service, energy performance, and work processes.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Building Engineering, Facilities Engineering, or a related engineering discipline; equivalent technical experience may be considered.
• 10+ years of progressively responsible experience in facilities engineering, building operations, MEP operations, infrastructure, or a closely related field, including leadership of multidisciplinary technical/skilled-trades teams.
• Strong experience with commercial/campus-scale HVAC, central plant, electrical distribution, plumbing, building automation/controls, preventive maintenance, asset management, reliability, technical project review, commissioning/turnover, service providers, and operating/capital budgets.

Preferred Qualifications

• PE license or progress toward licensure; prior Chief Engineer or Director-level experience supporting a large building or campus; experience with BAS/PLCs, controls integration, utility management, demand control, energy audits, measurement and verification, electrification, or photovoltaic systems.
• Experience with elevators, commercial kitchens, union skilled-trades organizations, and/or motion picture studio operations; familiarity with the Basic Crafts Agreement and IFMA/BOMA or similar certification are pluses.

The anticipated base salary for this position is $159,300 - $199,100. This role may also qualify for annual incentive and/or comprehensive benefits. The actual base salary offered will depend on a variety of factors, including without limitation, the qualifications of the individual applicant for the position, years of relevant experience, level of education attained, certifications or other professional licenses held, and if applicable, the location of the position.

Sony Pictures Entertainment is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, or other protected characteristics.

SPE will consider qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records in accordance with applicable law.

Sony Pictures does not allow audio recording, video recording or use of AI note-taking tools during interviews. Please be aware these tools may be enabled as a default and can be difficult to disable once the interview has started, so we recommend you check your device and disable these tools prior to the start of your interview. If recording or the use of the tools occurs during the interview and cannot be promptly turned off or disabled, the interviewer may end the interview.

To request an accommodation for purposes of participating in the hiring process, you may contact us at SPE_Accommodation_Assistance@spe.sony.com.