The Building Science Technologist is primarily responsible for providing building enclosure condition assessment field surveys, design review, field review and reporting, and research services to senior technical staff and project managers. The Building Science Technologist also performs field testing of building enclosure components.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Create, distribute, collect, summarize, and analyze building surveys completed by building tenants/owners.
- Review architectural, structural and mechanical drawings to determine original construction detailing and identify area of risk for water penetration, air leakage, and/or condensation. Review any other documentation, including maintenance records, targeted repair documents, and previous reports by other consultant/professionals.
- Prepare written reports, document the current condition, evaluate the future risk and provide recommendations for renewals, rehabilitation, and/or maintenance.
- Prepare site visit reports, document observations and field-testing results. Recommendations are provided for all deficiency items, including field sketches. Generally, field sketches are used to provide additional detail/clarification for site issues not fully covered within the contract documents.
- Provide preliminary order of magnitude budget costs which require quantity take offs and unit rate development.
- Prepare presentations for delivery to Owners.
- Review manufacture’s shop drawings for conformance with the project intent, performance with respect to the various building science principles, and for any scheduling of work issues.
- Create project detail drawings to clearly identify and layout the work
- Create project specifications to identify various issues, including acceptable product materials, material delivery to site, site storage of material, quality assurance of work, installation procedures, protection of finished work, etc.
- Create technical portion of Site Instructions and/or Proposed Change Orders for items not included in the original contract
Field Duties
- Conduct visual review of the building exterior and interior components, evaluate existing conditions and high-risk areas. Exterior review is typically conducted from ladders, swing stages, or boatswain’s chair (once proper training has been arranged).
- Create exploratory openings within the building enclosure to allow for visual review of the underlying components for evidence of decay/deterioration and to evaluate moisture contents levels of the wood or gypsum materials.
- Field test various building enclosure assemblies, including windows, walls, and skylights.
- Review “mock-ups” of various details and assemblies within the scope of work (e.g. window installation, metal flashing transitions, stucco application procedure, etc.)
- Determine water leakage paths as supported by physical evidence.
- Liaise and coordinate with owners’ representatives, including arrangements to access the common areas and suites, retrieve documents and interview knowledgeable personnel.
- Attend regular site meeting with Owner(s), architects, contractors, developers, product manufactures, and any other relevant parties to discuss progress of the work
QUALIFICATIONS:
- Diploma in Building Enclosure Engineering Technology, Construction Engineering Technology, Architectural Engineering, or equivalent practical experience
- 1 or 2 years previous related experience an asset but not required
- Hands on construction experience required
SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES:
- Some technical knowledge of building enclosure design and construction principles
- Intermediate Microsoft Word and Excel skills
- Excellent attention to detail and organization skills
- Good ability to communicate with clients, trades, employees, project managers, and management
- Good ability to shift focus between changing priorities
ABOUT US:
RDH is an amazing place to work. A role with RDH is a career commitment to learn and grow alongside inspiring and dedicated people who care deeply about making buildings better.
We are an employee-owned consulting firm with 300 employees in nine offices across North America. Our core area of business is the integration of building science engineering, architecture, and construction management to optimize the performance of the building enclosure (walls, windows and roofs). Since our beginnings in 1997, we have become industry leaders in North America and continue to grow as we focus on technical excellence and delivering high-quality projects.
We offer a positive workplace with incredible teams, opportunities for professional growth, development and ownership. As well as your background, we seek alignment with RDH’s core values: 1) commit to excellence, 2) act with integrity, 3) work as a team 4) do what it takes, and 5) always learn.
Our collaborative teams fuel our mission of Making Buildings Better. We seek balanced representation in our teams, and to achieve a welcoming and inclusive community for all people who share a passion for our values and mission. We believe diverse thought, ideas, and voices make us great – people of different identities, races, ethnicities, genders, ages, orientations, religions, abilities, education, cultures, and skills. We are committed to equity through building teams based on qualifications, merit, and business needs. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer.
Additional information on our expertise, projects, and culture can be found at www.rdh.com.
HOW TO APPLY:
Please submit your resume and cover letter in one PDF to hr@rdh.com with the job title and location in the subject line.
No phone calls please. While we appreciate all responses, only candidates under consideration will be contacted. Please note that only those already entitled to work in the USA legally need apply.