Lead Facilities Technician

The Lead Facilities Technician is a highly skilled, hands-on role that provides day-to-day technical leadership for the safe, reliable, and efficient operation of building systems and infrastructure at the Winston-Salem site. The position serves as the primary technical resource for the Building Management System (BMS), coordinates and prioritizes daily work for facilities technicians and contractors, and provides coaching, training, and escalation support without direct supervisory authority. The role performs advanced preventive and corrective maintenance across HVAC, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, building automation, and life-safety systems; maintains accurate system and maintenance records; and provides after-hours call-in coverage for building activities, alarms, service interruptions, and emergencies. Working with limited supervision, the Lead Facilities Technician partners with Facilities leadership, Manufacturing, Quality, Engineering, and EHS to support compliance, reliability, continuous improvement, and a safe, organized, and welcoming workplace.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

Building Management System Ownership

• Lead the day-to-day administration, monitoring, operation, and optimization of the Building Management System (BMS), establishing priorities and ensuring timely response to system needs.

• Direct the review of alarms, trends, schedules, setpoints, and equipment performance; lead troubleshooting efforts and assign or coordinate corrective actions through resolution.

• Ensure BMS graphics, alarm routing, user access, backups, documentation, and change records are maintained accurately and in accordance with site procedures.

• Serve as the primary facilities contact for controls vendors and internal stakeholders, coordinating programming changes, system upgrades, commissioning activities, and continuous-improvement initiatives.

• Analyze BMS data and lead actions to address energy-efficiency opportunities, recurring failures, and risks to building reliability.

Technical Maintenance & Troubleshooting

• Lead and perform advanced troubleshooting, repair, adjustment, and preventive maintenance on HVAC, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, building automation, and life-safety systems within training and authorization limits.

• Coordinate routine inspections and work-order response, directing technicians and resources to address alarms, comfort concerns, leaks, outages, and equipment failures based on risk and operational impact.

• Provide technical guidance in interpreting drawings, schematics, sequences of operation, technical manuals, and equipment specifications to support consistent, high-quality work.

• Plan and oversee specialized repairs performed by qualified vendors, confirming scope, schedule, safety requirements, workmanship, documentation, and successful completion.

Lead Technical Coordination & Team Support

• Provide day-to-day work leadership to facilities technicians by setting priorities, clarifying expectations, giving hands-on technical direction, and serving as the first escalation point for complex or urgent issues.

• Lead technician onboarding, on-the-job training, cross-training, knowledge transfer, and development of standard work instructions to strengthen team capability and consistency.

• Review incoming work, prioritize and assign activities based on risk, urgency, production needs, and technician capability; monitor progress, remove barriers, and rebalance resources as needed.

• Review completed work and maintenance records for quality, accuracy, and timeliness; reinforce effective shift handoffs, disciplined CMMS use, and accountability for follow-up actions.

After-Hours Building Support

• Lead the facilities response during scheduled after-hours activities, critical alarms, service interruptions, and emergencies, coordinating internal resources and external support as needed.

• Assess conditions, establish response priorities, communicate status and risks to site leadership, and direct activities through stabilization and resolution.

• Ensure after-hours events, decisions, actions taken, outstanding risks, and required follow-up are documented and communicated to the appropriate stakeholders.

• Work evenings, weekends, or holidays when required for outages, projects, inspections, or emergency response.

Work Management, Compliance & Continuous Improvement

• Lead the effective use of the computerized maintenance management system (CMMS), BMRAM, by reviewing work status, identifying overdue or at-risk activities, and ensuring records are complete, accurate, and entered on time.

• Champion compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements, company policies, site procedures, lockout/tagout requirements, work-permit requirements, and environmental, health, and safety standards.

• Model and reinforce safe work practices by identifying and addressing hazards, verifying required controls and personal protective equipment, and intervening when unsafe conditions or behaviors are observed.

• Maintain oversight of service reports, asset histories, inspection records, spare-parts information, and operating procedures to support compliance and audit readiness.

• Lead or coordinate facilities projects, equipment installations, shutdowns, commissioning activities, root-cause investigations, and reliability improvements, ensuring clear ownership and timely follow-through.

Additional Responsibilities

• Establish and reinforce standards for the organization, cleanliness, safety, and readiness of tools, shop areas, mechanical spaces, and spare-parts inventories.

• Represent the Facilities team professionally and serve as a key point of coordination with employees, contractors, vendors, Manufacturing, Quality, Engineering, EHS, and site leadership.

• Perform other facilities-related duties and support site priorities consistent with the position's responsibilities, as assigned.

Qualifications:

Education/Training:

• An associate degree, technical degree, industry-recognized certification, or equivalent combination of relevant technical training and experience is required.

Experience:

• Five to seven years of progressively responsible experience performing preventive maintenance, troubleshooting, and repairs on building systems and utility equipment, including hands-on experience with a Building Management System or building automation and controls platform.

• Hands-on experience troubleshooting building controls, sensors, actuators, alarm logic, system trends, and sequences of operation is preferred.

• Demonstrated experience operating and supporting a Building Management System or building automation/controls platform.

• Demonstrated experience leading daily work, coordinating technicians or contractors, mentoring team members, and serving as an escalation point for complex facilities issues is required.

• Experience in a cGMP-regulated manufacturing, laboratory, or similarly controlled environment is preferred.

Knowledge:

• Knowledge of current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) is preferred.

• Strong working knowledge of HVAC, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, controls, and life-safety systems.

• Knowledge of preventive maintenance, work-order management, safe work practices, and contractor coordination.

• Ability to interpret technical drawings, control sequences, specifications, manuals, and system trend data.

• Proficiency with BMS software, computerized maintenance management systems, and Microsoft Office tools.

Skills:

• Advanced troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, and practical problem-solving skills.

• Ability to work independently, prioritize competing needs, and make sound decisions during urgent conditions.

• Strong communication, coaching, documentation, and customer-service skills.

ProKidney is an equal employment opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any applicant because of race, creed, color, age, national origin, ancestry, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, genetic information, veteran status, military status, application for military service or any other class protected by state or federal law.

Applicants must be eligible to work in the United States without the need for work visa or residency sponsorship.