Facilities HVAC Technician IV - Senior Lead

Job Description

Job Description

Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company on a mission to reliably and repeatedly launch, land, and operate space systems from Earth to the Moon and beyond. As the partner of choice for critical space missions, Firefly is the first commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24-hour notice and the first company to achieve a successful Moon landing. Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly is looking for passionate, hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space.
The Facilities HVAC Technician IV – Senior Lead is a hands-on technical leadership role responsible for the reliability, troubleshooting, maintenance, commissioning, and continuous improvement of mission-critical HVAC and mechanical systems across Firefly’s Texas facilities.
This position serves as the senior technical escalation point for complex HVAC, refrigeration, controls, BAS, and environmental system issues. The Technician IV provides technical guidance and mentorship to HVAC Technicians I–III, leads complex troubleshooting and root cause corrective actions, and supports maintenance, reliability, projects, commissioning, and contractor oversight.

Key Responsibilities
• Serve as the senior technical resource for complex HVAC and mechanical system failures.
• Provide technical direction, mentoring, and hands-on training to HVAC Technicians I–III.
• Troubleshoot, repair, maintain, install, and optimize commercial and industrial HVAC systems ranging from approximately 5 to 100+ tons.
• Support RTUs, split systems, package units, air handlers, chillers, exhaust, make-up air, dehumidification, humidification, and process cooling systems.
• Troubleshoot HVAC electrical systems, refrigeration circuits, VFDs, sensors, actuators, controls, and BAS.
• Support controlled environments, including production, test, laboratory, and clean-room spaces.
• Lead Root Cause Analysis/Root Cause Corrective Action (RCA/RCCA) for significant or recurring failures and drive permanent corrective actions.
• Support preventive and predictive maintenance programs, equipment criticality assessments, reliability improvements, and spare-parts planning.
• Provide technical oversight for HVAC installations, replacements, retrofits, capital projects, commissioning, and equipment acceptance.
• Oversee contractors, OEM technicians, controls vendors, and mechanical service providers.
• Maintain accurate CMMS documentation, work orders, equipment histories, and corrective-action records.
• Ensure compliance with Firefly safety requirements and applicable OSHA, EPA, mechanical, electrical, and refrigeration standards.
• Participate in HVAC on-call rotation and provide senior technical support during critical after-hours failures.
• Communicate equipment risks, failures, restoration timelines, and corrective actions to Facilities leadership.

Required Qualifications
• 12+ years of progressive commercial or industrial HVAC experience, or equivalent education and experience.
• Extensive hands-on experience troubleshooting and maintaining commercial/industrial HVAC systems.
• Advanced experience with HVAC systems ranging from approximately 5 to 100+ tons.
• Strong knowledge of refrigeration, airflow, psychrometrics, electrical systems, controls, and HVAC sequences of operation.
• Ability to troubleshoot mechanical, refrigeration, electrical, and control failures using schematics, meters, gauges, BAS data, and diagnostic equipment.
• Demonstrated ability to independently lead complex troubleshooting and provide technical guidance to other technicians.
• Experience with RCA/RCCA and permanent corrective actions.
• Experience in industrial, manufacturing, mission-critical, or similarly demanding environments.
• Ability to read mechanical drawings, electrical schematics, control diagrams, and specifications.
• EPA Section 608 Universal Certification required.
• Strong communication, documentation, and recordkeeping skills.
• Ability to work independently and make sound technical decisions during critical failures.
• Ability to work overtime, weekends, and participate in an after-hours on-call rotation.

Preferred Qualifications
• Experience in aerospace, semiconductor, pharmaceutical, advanced manufacturing, laboratory, or test facilities.
• Advanced BAS troubleshooting and programming experience.
• Experience with major HVAC/controls platforms such as Trane, Carrier, Daikin, Johnson Controls, Siemens, or Honeywell.
• Experience with chillers, chilled water, hydronic/glycol systems, process cooling, clean rooms, and controlled environments.
• Experience with dehumidification/humidification, VFDs, compressed air, vacuum, and process exhaust systems.
• Experience with HVAC commissioning, contractor oversight, RCA/RCCA documentation, CMMS, and reliability/lifecycle planning.
• Plumbing and general mechanical experience.
• Ability to operate forklifts, scissor lifts, boom lifts, skid steers, or similar equipment.

Level IV / Senior Lead Expectations

The Technician IV operates beyond the Technician III level by:
• Taking ownership of complex HVAC issues through resolution.
• Leading critical troubleshooting and RCCA activities.
• Mentoring and providing technical direction to junior technicians.
• Identifying reliability risks and recurring failures before they impact operations.
• Recommending equipment replacement, redundancy, and system improvements.
• Maintaining high standards for safety, workmanship, troubleshooting, and documentation.
• Providing technical oversight of contractors and supporting equipment commissioning.
• Communicating technical risks and recommendations to Facilities leadership.
This is a technical leadership role and does not inherently include formal people-management responsibilities.

Physical Requirements
Ability to stand, walk, bend, kneel, climb ladders, work from elevated platforms, use HVAC tools and diagnostic equipment, lift/carry required materials, and work indoors and outdoors in active industrial and aerospace environments while wearing required PPE.

Additional Requirements
This position is based at Firefly’s rocket production and test facility in Briggs, Texas, north of Cedar Park. Participation in an on-call rotation is required. ITAR requirements apply.