Position Purpose

The Senior Operations Engineer is responsible for the leadership, management and technical governance of all engineering operations across the campus. The role provides operational leadership to the engineering team, ensures compliance with contractual and statutory obligations, coordinates lifecycle planning, drives asset reliability and oversees specialist contractor performance.

The Senior Operations Engineer acts as the focal point for life safety systems, vertical transportation systems, LPG infrastructure, emergency systems and engineering governance. The role is responsible for coordinating the campus lifecycle programme, ensuring engineering recommendations are developed, prioritized and submitted in accordance with asset management principles and contract requirements. The Senior Engineer supports the Facilities Manager in achieving operational excellence, customer satisfaction, statutory compliance, financial performance and continuous improvement across the Facilities Management contract.

Role Description

Engineering Leadership & Operations

• Lead and manage day-to-day engineering operations across the facility.
• Ensure engineering services meet contractual KPIs, SLAs, and operational objectives.
• Provide technical leadership and support across Mechanical, Electrical, Civil, HVAC, Plumbing, Landscaping, and MEP disciplines.
• Coordinate engineering resources to achieve operational efficiency and service excellence.
• Monitor operational performance and resolve critical technical issues.

Team Leadership & People Management

• Lead, mentor, coach and develop engineering teams.
• Conduct performance reviews, competency assessments and development planning.
• Identify training requirements and support succession planning.
• Promote collaboration, accountability, safety and customer service.
• Foster employee engagement and a high-performance culture.

Asset Management & Reliability

• Coordinate annual lifecycle planning and asset replacement programmes.
• Lead asset condition surveys and review engineering recommendations.
• Monitor asset reliability, equipment performance and maintenance effectiveness.
• Conduct reliability reviews and root cause analysis for recurring failures.
• Support CAPEX planning and long-term asset management strategies.

Specialist Systems Management

• Oversee the maintenance, performance and compliance of Fire Alarm Systems.
• Fire Fighting & Fire Suppression Systems.
• Fire Water Infrastructure.
• Emergency Lighting & Central Battery Systems.
• Passenger, Service and Accessibility Lifts.
• LPG Storage, Distribution and Detection Systems.
• Critical Engineering Infrastructure.

Contractor & Vendor Management

• Manage specialist maintenance contractors and service providers.
• Monitor contractor performance against KPIs and contractual obligations.
• Conduct contractor performance reviews and improvement plans.
• Ensure contractors comply with HSEQ and statutory requirements.
• Coordinate contractor activities across multiple engineering disciplines.

Health, Safety & Compliance

• Ensure compliance with statutory regulations, company policies and contractual requirements.
• Act as Permit-to-Work (PTW) Authorizing Authority where appointed.
• Act as Fire Safety Coordinator for the facility.
• Support HSEQ inspections, audits and authority visits.
• Monitor corrective actions arising from audits and incident investigations.
• Promote positive Health, Safety, Environment and Quality culture.

Business Continuity & Emergency Management

• Develop and maintain Critical Asset Recovery Plans.
• Support business continuity and emergency preparedness activities.
• Coordinate operational response during emergency situations.
• Identify risks affecting critical infrastructure and implement mitigation plans.

Change Management & Continuous Improvement

• Lead engineering improvement initiatives and operational change programmes.
• Support CAFM enhancements and digital transformation initiatives.
• Promote innovation, sustainability and engineering best practices.
• Drive reliability-centered maintenance and continuous improvement programmes.

Report & Stakeholder Management

• Prepare weekly and monthly engineering performance reports.
• Report operational risks, contractor performance and asset reliability.
• Present lifecycle recommendations and technical reports to management.
• Maintain effective communication with internal stakeholders, clients and external contractors.

Knowledge

• Facilities Management operations and engineering best practices.
• Asset Management and Lifecycle Planning.
• Preventive and Predictive Maintenance.
• Fire & Life Safety Systems.
• HVAC, MEP, Lift, LPG and Critical Building Systems.
• Reliability Engineering and Root Cause Analysis.
• UAE statutory regulations, HSEQ requirements and Permit-to-Work (PTW) systems.
• CAFM/CMMS systems and Microsoft Office.

Skills

• Leadership and people management.
• Engineering operations and maintenance management.
• Asset reliability and lifecycle planning.
• Contractor and vendor management.
• Strategic planning and decision-making.
• Technical troubleshooting and problem-solving.
• Analytical thinking and report writing.
• Budgeting and CAPEX planning.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management.
• Time management and organizational skills.

Experience

• Five (5) years minimum experience in Facilities Management, Building Operations, or Engineering.
• Five (5) years in a leadership or supervisory engineering role.
• Experience managing multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Proven experience in asset lifecycle planning, contractor management, reliability engineering, and critical building systems.

Education

• Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Civil Engineering or a related Engineering discipline.
• Strong troubleshooting, planning, communication, contractor coordination, and problem-solving skills.
• Professional Engineering certification is an advantage.

Behavioral Competencies / Attributes

• Demonstrates strong leadership and leads by example.
• Build and motivates high-performing teams through coaching and mentoring.
• Customer-focused with a commitment to service excellence.
• Takes ownership and accountability for decisions and results.
• Collaborates effectively with internal and external stakeholders.
• Makes sound engineering judgments and solves problems proactively.
• Promotes a strong Health, Safety, Environment and Quality (HSEQ) culture.
• Adaptable, resilient and able to perform under pressure.
• Well-organized with excellent planning and prioritization skills.
• Results-oriented with a continuous improvement mindset.
• Maintains professionalism, integrity and ethical conduct.