HVAC-Spezialist (m/w/d)

Located in the heart of Central Ohio, Illuminate USA is transforming solar panel manufacturing from our cutting-edge facility in Pataskala. As a new standalone joint venture established by two global leaders in renewable energy, we've rapidly grown to over 1,500 associates and are now fully operational in our 1.1 million-square-foot factory. Our vision is to establish one of the largest solar panel manufacturing operations in the Western Hemisphere.

This is an exciting time to join Illuminate USA as we continue to grow and innovate. We're not just building solar panels - we're building a team of dedicated, passionate associates eager to make a real impact. If you're looking to be part of a collaborative, people-focused, and forward-thinking workplace, we want to hear from you!

We offer competitive pay, comprehensive benefits, and continuous opportunities for career growth. Come join us on this journey to create a brighter, more sustainable future in the Columbus area.

The HVAC Specialist is responsible for the operation, maintenance, reliability, contractor coordination, and lifecycle support of HVAC and environmental-control systems throughout the Illuminate USA manufacturing facility.

Reporting to the Facilities Manager, the HVAC specialist position exercises independent judgment in prioritizing work, coordinating internal resources and external service providers, managing vendor performance, and supporting repair, upgrade, compliance, and capital-planning activities.

The role is accountable for maintaining critical temperature, humidity, ventilation, chilled-water, refrigeration, and compressed-air systems that support manufacturing uptime, product quality, employee safety, and facility compliance.

Responsibilities

• Lead daily HVAC operations by prioritizing planned, corrective, and emergency work based on production impact, safety risk, environmental requirements, and equipment criticality.
• Coordinate work assignments with internal maintenance resources and qualified contractors, verify completion of assigned work, and escalate significant operational, safety, compliance, or cost concerns to Facilities leadership.
• Oversee preventive and corrective maintenance programs for commercial and industrial HVAC equipment, ensuring work is completed safely, accurately, and on schedule.
• Partner with the HVAC Engineer to analyze recurring failures, establish corrective-action priorities, develop reliability and energy-efficiency improvements, and coordinate implementation with internal stakeholders and external service providers.
• Develop recommended preventive-maintenance frequencies, repair strategies, spare-parts requirements, and equipment replacement priorities using condition, failure history, production risk, lifecycle cost, and vendor input.
• Lead coordination of planned HVAC outages, shutdowns, and major repairs with Facilities, Engineering, Maintenance, Production, Environmental Health and Safety, and Quality stakeholders to minimize operational disruption and protect environmental-control requirements.
• Support maintenance budgeting and capital planning by identifying equipment risks, preparing repair and replacement recommendations, reviewing vendor cost estimates, and communicating forecasted needs to Facilities leadership.
• Manage HVAC contractors and service vendors from scope development through closeout, including coordinating site access, reviewing proposals and work plans, monitoring schedule and safety performance, verifying completed work against approved scope, resolving service deficiencies, and documenting results in the CMMS.
• Obtain and compare vendor proposals, validate labor and material charges, review service reports and invoices for accuracy, and provide approval recommendations to the HVAC Engineer or Facilities leadership.
• Maintain vendor performance records, track warranty issues and recurring service problems, conduct service reviews, and recommend corrective action, contract changes, or alternate providers when quality, response time, safety, or cost expectations are not met.
• Maintain compliance with applicable safety procedures, including LOTO, electrical safety, refrigerant handling, and facility requirements.
• Troubleshoot, repair, and maintain chillers, including pumps, valves, heat exchangers, glycol loops, and associated controls.
• Maintain and troubleshoot rooftop units (RTUs), including compressors, motors, fans, belts, coils, dampers, sensors and controls.
• Maintain and troubleshoot dedicated outdoor air systems (DOAS) and associated ventilation equipment.
• Monitor and maintain critical temperature- and humidity-controlled rooms used for manufacturing and production processes.
• Troubleshoot temperature and relative-humidity deviations and assist with root cause analysis of environmental excursions.
• Service and troubleshoot refrigeration compressors, including electrical and mechanical components.
• Monitor HVAC equipment through the Building Automation System (BAS) and respond to alarms, abnormal trends, and equipment failures.
• Troubleshoot HVAC electrical and control systems, including VFDs, motors, contactors, relays, sensors, actuators, thermostats, and control circuits.
• Perform refrigerant diagnostics, leak detection, recovery, evacuation, charging, and system performance verification.
• Inspect and maintain pumps, motors, bearings, filters, coils, valves, ductwork, and other HVAC components.
• Complete preventive maintenance according to established PM schedules and document work accurately in the CMMS.
• Respond to emergency HVAC and environmental-control issues that could impact production, equipment, product quality, or personnel.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED required; HVAC technical school, apprenticeship, or equivalent technical training preferred.
• Minimum 5 years of progressively responsible commercial or industrial HVAC experience, including experience coordinating contractors, reviewing service documentation, prioritizing work, and supporting repair or upgrade projects.
• Experience working with chillers, RTUs, DOAS units, compressors, pumps, and environmental-control systems.
• Strong understanding of refrigeration cycles and HVAC electrical and mechanical troubleshooting.
• Experience with temperature and humidity control in manufacturing or other critical environments preferred.
• Experience working with BAS/BMS systems and VFD-controlled equipment preferred.
• Ability to read electrical schematics, mechanical drawings, P&IDs;, and equipment manuals.
• EPA Section 608 Universal Certification preferred/required based on assigned responsibilities.
• Strong troubleshooting and root cause analysis skills.
• Ability to work independently while coordinating technical issues with the HVAC Engineer and Facilities leadership.
• Demonstrated ability to manage vendor relationships, evaluate service quality, review proposals and invoices, document performance, and make cost-conscious recommendations.
• Ability to exercise independent judgment, coordinate multiple priorities, communicate effectively with cross-functional stakeholders, and lead technical issue resolution with limited supervision.

Physical & Work Requirements

• Ability to work in an active industrial manufacturing environment.
• Ability to climb ladders and access rooftops and mechanical spaces.
• Ability to lift and move HVAC components, tools, and equipment as required.
• Ability to work around electrical, mechanical, refrigeration, and rotating equipment while following established safety procedures.
• Must be available, as assigned, to coordinate response to critical HVAC failures and environmental-control issues, assess immediate operational risk, mobilize approved service providers, communicate status to affected stakeholders, and escalate decisions outside established authority.

Illuminate USA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any protected status as defined by law.

Illuminate is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.