Commercial HVAC, plumbing, piping and controls contractors bring together field service, project delivery and business operations. Service, tenant improvement and major construction have different rhythms, but share people, purchasing, accounting and leadership.
Typical functions, not a mandatory organization chart or current openings. Smaller contractors may combine roles; larger firms may separate them by division or project. Career moves depend on experience, qualifications and business needs—not a guaranteed ladder.
Keeps occupied commercial buildings operating through preventive maintenance, troubleshooting, repairs, startup and equipment replacement. A service team may also manage controls service and small quoted retrofit work.
Daily dispatch, work orders, maintenance agreements and response priorities—not just a long construction schedule.
Diagnoses system faults, performs maintenance and repairs, documents labor and materials, and communicates operating findings. Specialties and qualifications differ by equipment and scope.
Works with: Dispatcher, service supervisor, parts team and building staff.
Checks sensors and actuators, diagnoses DDC/BACnet issues, reviews trends and supports startup. Programming and integration responsibilities depend on training and authorization.
Works with: Service technicians, controls programmers and facility operators.
Assigns calls by priority, technician skill and availability; coordinates access, parts, work-order documentation and customer updates.
Works with: Technicians, service manager, customers and billing staff.
Supports technical troubleshooting, safety, quality and technician development; reviews field work and escalates resource needs.
Works with: Technicians, dispatch and service management.
Develops maintenance agreements and quoted repairs or retrofits, aligns proposed scope with building needs and coordinates the handoff to delivery.
Works with: Customers, estimators, technicians and service manager.
Leads staffing, service quality, agreement performance and division financial results; balances customer commitments with technician capacity.
Works with: Dispatch, field supervisors, sales and accounting.
Adapts mechanical systems for new occupants, changed layouts or renovated spaces. Work often involves existing HVAC and plumbing, equipment replacements, controls modifications and occupied-building constraints.
Shorter deadlines, phased access, shutdown coordination and a fast estimating-to-field handoff. TI is not necessarily small or simple.
Surveys existing conditions, develops takeoffs and pricing, identifies exclusions and access risks, and aligns the proposal with the scope and schedule.
Works with: Suppliers, purchasing, sales, project manager and field leads.
Owns contracted scope, budget, procurement, changes and customer coordination; plans shutdowns and closeout with the field team.
Works with: GC or owner, superintendent, purchasing and project accountant.
Tracks submittals, RFIs, equipment releases, change documentation and closeout. Here, project engineer is usually a delivery role—not automatically a licensed design engineer.
Works with: Project manager, detailers, vendors and field team.
Sequences work around occupants and other trades, directs installation, verifies existing conditions and coordinates inspections and safe shutdowns.
Works with: Project manager, GC, building staff and service/startup teams.
Delivers larger new-build, expansion and complex retrofit scopes. Teams coordinate commercial HVAC, plumbing, piping and controls from preconstruction through fabrication, installation, testing and turnover.
Longer procurement cycles, detailed coordination, multiple crews and sustained cost-to-complete and schedule reviews.
Develops takeoffs, budgets and bids; assesses labor, equipment, subcontract scope and constructability. Design-build work adds coordination with appropriately qualified engineering staff.
Works with: Engineering, purchasing, operations and project leadership.
Manages contract scope, commercial risk, changes, schedule and cost forecasts. A project executive commonly oversees multiple projects or larger client commitments.
Works with: GC or owner, field leadership, purchasing, project accounting and division leaders.
Maintains submittals, RFIs, logs, procurement status and change records; supports coordination, cost tracking and turnover under project leadership.
Works with: Project manager, BIM/VDC team, vendors and superintendent.
Turns coordinated installation intent into constructible models, shop drawings and fabrication packages. Coordination does not by itself confer licensed design authority.
Works with: Engineering, project team, fabrication shop and field supervisors.
Plans crews and installation sequences, manages productivity and quality, and coordinates safety, access, inspections and trade interfaces.
Works with: Project manager, GC, fabrication, purchasing and craft crews.
Fabricate and install ductwork, pipe and plumbing; complete pressure tests, flushing and equipment startup as applicable. TAB and independent commissioning may be separate contracted scopes.
Works with: Foremen, detailers, controls specialists and commissioning teams.
Supports the contractor across divisions. Some firms use operations to mean field delivery leadership; others use it for broader business support. Purchasing and corporate accounting may be centralized or embedded in divisions.
Cross-project capacity, procurement, financial controls and business continuity. Titles and reporting lines vary with company size.
Aligns people, project capacity, procedures and division performance; resolves resource conflicts and delivery risks. A COO may oversee wider company operations.
Works with: Division leaders, project executives, purchasing and finance.
Obtains quotations, issues approved purchase orders, tracks lead times and deliveries, and coordinates material or equipment sourcing. Technical substitutions require the appropriate project/design approval.
Works with: Estimators, project managers, warehouse, vendors and AP.
Coordinates receiving, inventory, tools, deliveries and fleet availability so service calls and installation crews have the right resources.
Works with: Purchasing, dispatch, field teams and accounting.
Supports training, inspections, incident documentation and quality procedures. Field supervisors remain responsible for implementing safe work practices within their assigned authority.
Works with: Operations leaders, service supervisors and construction teams.
Maintains hiring administration, employee records, approved time and payroll processes, benefits coordination and office support. Responsibilities may be split among dedicated staff or outside providers.
Works with: Employees, supervisors, accounting and company leadership.
A project accountant usually works on the project side, supporting project managers and their assigned jobs. The role may report to the controller or finance team while working day to day with the project team; it is not simply another name for a general accountant.
Maintains project cost records and billing support; reconciles commitments, approved changes, labor and materials; tracks retainage and payment status; and helps prepare job-cost, work-in-progress (WIP) and closeout information.
The project manager owns delivery decisions and provides realistic cost-to-complete forecasts. The project accountant checks, reconciles and assembles the financial records. Corporate accounting applies reporting policies and reviews the close; purchasing and AP handle their assigned procurement and payment processes.
For a TI equipment replacement, purchasing issues the approved equipment order, AP processes the vendor invoice, and the project accountant checks its job-cost coding and prepares billing support with the PM. AR records the customer receipt, while the controller reviews the financial reporting. Exact approvals and assignments depend on the contractor.
Corporate accounting supports all divisions; project accounting follows the financial detail of assigned jobs. Reporting lines and combined duties vary.
Processes supplier and subcontractor invoices, checks coding and approvals, reconciles statements and prepares authorized payments. Matches purchasing and receiving records where applicable.
Works with: Purchasing, project accountants, project managers and controller.
Records customer invoices and receipts, reconciles balances, tracks aging and follows up on payment discrepancies. Billing preparation may sit with AR, project accounting or a separate billing team.
Works with: Project accountants, service billing, customers and controller.
Maintains general-ledger entries, reconciliations and month-end schedules; supports financial reporting and reviews job-cost postings. Work may span several functions at a smaller contractor.
Works with: AP, AR, payroll, project accounting and controller.
Leads accounting close, reporting, internal controls and consistent job-cost/WIP processes. Reviews financial information with project leaders and coordinates external accounting support.
Works with: Accounting team, project leadership, CFO or owner.
Leads financial strategy, liquidity planning, financing and financial risk; works with leadership on business performance and banking, bonding and insurance relationships. A CFO is not present at every contractor.
Works with: Controller, owner or CEO, operations and external financial partners.
Project-team inputs, cost forecasts and financial review in WIP reporting.
Project billing, collections and cash-flow practices; not a required staffing hierarchy.
Mechanical-contractor management and finance topics, including service versus construction markups. Some bulletins require member access.