Description

JOB TITLE:  Engineering Specialist (Energy & Sustainability)

 LOCATION:  San Francisco or Sacramento, CA

 JOB OPENING:  6553

OVERVIEW 

The Judicial Council of California is accepting applications for the Engineering Specialist position in the Facilities Services office.  

Under the direction of the Facilities Supervisor for Sustainability, the Engineering Specialist (Energy & Sustainability) will be responsible for analyzing and validating utility data, including electricity, natural gas, water, waste, and fuels. The role supports sustainability-focused decision-making by identifying usage trends, verifying billing accuracy, and flagging inefficiencies. A significant focus is on maintaining high-quality data in platforms such as Energy Star Portfolio Manager and Energy Information Management System to support energy reduction and decarbonization goals. 

The Engineering Specialist supports monthly and annual reporting on energy and water use, costs, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as well as regulatory compliance reporting, including AB 802 benchmarking and GHG inventory submissions. Trend analysis to identify peak demand and/or inefficiencies is a key aspect of this work.

This position also involves conducting or supporting energy audits, lifecycle cost analysis, and technical reviews of mechanical/electrical systems in support of energy efficiency upgrades and capital project planning. The Engineering Specialist helps identify and track utility incentives and rebates, recommends energy-efficient equipment, and contributes to the development of energy policy. They also provide energy-related training for field and court staff.  

The Judicial Council

The Judicial Council of California is the policy-setting body for the state court system and has constitutionally conferred statewide rule-making authority. This authority includes developing, advocating for, and allocating the judicial branch budget. A majority of Council members are California state justices and judges; however, the Council also includes lawyers, legislators, and court administrators.

By enhancing its role as a leadership, knowledge, and service resource for the judicial branch, the Judicial Council’s staff organization seeks to continue to evolve as one of California’s most dynamic public service entities, focused on improving access to justice for all Californians by innovating and responding to the changing needs of the courts and the public. As a government body charged with improving the statewide administration of justice, the Judicial Council has multiple offices with diverse responsibilities relating to court policy and operations. As employees of the council, every member of staff should view and approach their work as one Judicial Council with a public service mission that is greater than the sum of its parts.

The Judicial Council strives for work-life balance and includes substantial vacation and holiday time. In addition, we offer an excellent benefits package including pension, medical, dental and vision coverage, flexible spending, up to $130 per month reimbursement for qualifying mass transit costs, and retirement savings plans. In Sacramento, the office is located minutes from downtown, just north of Discovery Park. The San Francisco office is only a 7-minute walk from the Civic Center BART station.

The Judicial Council offers hybrid work arrangements for many positions. The successful candidate will be expected to work in-person at the Judicial Council’s San Francisco or Sacramento office at least two days a week, based on their office leader’s direction, and reside in the areas surrounding these locations.  

RESPONSIBILITIES

       Facilitate Benchmarking, Energy Audit, and Management for Energy, Cost, and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Reductions in Court Facilities:

o   Assist in benchmarking the JCC’s portfolio of over 400 facilities and establish systematic monitoring, data analysis, and reporting of energy and water data (use, EUI, cost, and GHG emissions)

o   Perform trend analysis on energy data to identify energy inefficiencies, spikes, demand peaks, and assist in developing technical standards for addressing operational efficiencies, local control settings, setbacks, or non-occupancy shutdowns, for example.

o   Monitor and manage the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Energy State Portfolio Manager utility vendor data connections and data quality. Assist with data entry and monitoring to maintain high integrity of utility data in the organization’s own Energy Manager platform. Analyze correlations with relevant driving factors such as weather (heating/cooling degree days), occupancy, and county-managed usage data, where readily available.

o   Monitor service provider and facility operations compliance with JCC energy efficiency standards and technical guidelines. Prepare variance reports when facilities exceed established performance thresholds.

       Utility Data Management and Utility Vendor Coordination:

o   Conduct daily utility batch reviews and late bill monitoring for the portfolio. Perform accurate data entry of paper and electronic utility invoices in energy management systems.

o   Monitor EMIS vendor Data Quality Portal report for utility data integrity, identify discrepancies, and coordinate corrections with vendors and internal stakeholders.

o   Conduct CAFM (Computer-Aided Facility Management) data reviews and report generation regarding legacy utility usage data, service work orders (SWOs)

o   Serve as key utility vendor liaison for assigned geographic region (PG&E, LADWP, Waste Management for Northern CA; SCE, SDGE, SoCalGas, Republic Services for Southern CA). Address vendor issues, billing discrepancies, and service concerns.

o   Coordinate with Branch Accounting and Procurement regarding utility payment issues, payment status tracking, vendor setup, and updates with the State Controller’s Office.

o   Prepare ad-hoc utility reports for management and support data requests from JCC/Court/County/Landlord stakeholders.

       Energy Dashboard Platform Management, Energy Data Analytics, and Life Cycle Cost Analysis:

o   Develop and utilize an energy and sustainability dashboard platform with data analytics/visualization to convey energy and water use data to internal and external stakeholders.

o   Support the Sustainability Supervisor in preparing presentations for both capital projects with existing facilities on life cycle cost analysis from major HVAC equipment decisions – deep energy retrofits towards ZNE/Zero Carbon. Provide energy data analysis and technical input on energy efficiency and/or sustainability projects to support project proposals with justifications for the Trial Court Facility Modification Advisory Committee process for funding approval.

o   Collaborate with the Sustainability unit to develop a system for monitoring energy and water data in 3 metrics: use, cost, and GHG emissions, powerful data visualizations that measure progress against baselines and sustainability goals, and a mechanism for reporting.

o   Prepare monthly energy/water reports with data preparation, quality assurance, and coordinate annual refresh cycles. 

       Investigate various programs and evaluate financing mechanisms toward the planning, feasibility, photovoltaics analysis, and management of renewable energy and battery storage, as well as the implementation of energy efficiency projects. Potential projects may be solar, wind power, fuel cells or zero net energy designs:

o   Provide technical engineering support to the Sustainability Supervisor in developing any Solar Master Plan and/or approach to Deep Energy Retrofit to ZNE/Zero Carbon Master Planning. Potential projects may be solar, wind power, fuel cells, or zero net energy, building decarbonization, or zero carbon designs.

o   Assist in planning, feasibility design, and management of renewable energy and/or battery storage systems. Provide energy analysis, LCCA, benefits in 3 sustainability metrics, EM&V and ongoing monitoring to benchmark energy performance.

       Present or coordinate Energy Efficiency Technical Training and Educational seminars for the Facility Management field staff and other JCC staff:

o   Coordinate with Supervisor to facilitate presentations on recently introduced technologies that may complement the goals of the Judicial Council: Zero Net Energy, Fuel Cells, Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), Energy Management Systems, Solar Upgrades of Panels and Inverters, Grid Optimization, Building Decarbonization, or others.

o   Train Service Providers on new energy management tools, procedures, and reporting requirements. 

o   Maintain energy management databases and systems, troubleshoot technical issues with energy data systems, and coordinate with IT for system improvements.

       Provide energy engineering support of Capital Projects and Facilities Operations, such as Capturing Incentives, Energy Performance design criteria, and strategies to meet JCC targets:

o   Initiate, track, and manage California Energy Design Assistance Program (CEDA) applications (formerly Savings by Design) for new construction, and/or lighting or express efficiency design and equipment installations at the beginning of the project. Track the design team's activities and ensure the utility process is completed through final inspection/audit and receipt of rebate checks.

o   Schedule and participate with the Sustainability Supervisor in “kick-off” meetings with the architects, project manager, mechanical/electrical contractor, the commissioning agent, and the utility representative to plan energy efficiency or water conservation projects and provide a timeline for necessary documentation.

o   Review and approve the Energy Pro/DDE 22 models for energy performance to meet JCC Owner’s Project Requirement standards.

o   Coordinate with the utility for the incentive approval inspections and the transfer of utilities to JCC.

       GHG Inventory, Compliance, and Regulatory Reporting:

o   Compile Portfolio Annual Calendar Year data for GHG Inventory, including refrigerant losses, diesel consumption, fleet fuel usage (Facilities Services and Executive Office), and JCC staff travel data.

o   Complete Portfolio Annual Calendar Year Greenhouse Gas Inventory compilation using appropriate protocols (e.g., The Climate Registry, CARB methodologies).

o   Perform Annual Greenhouse Gases Inventory CRIS (California Reporting Information System) upload and prepare a comprehensive GHG report.

o   Support AB-802 Compliance activities, including data cleaning, preparation, CEC (California Energy Commission) liaison coordination, and compliance submissions.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS 

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE 

Bachelor’s degree, preferably in a directly related field that would provide the knowledge and skills necessary for technical facility and construction engineering. An additional four (4) years of professional experience as noted above may substitute for the bachelor’s degree. Or, additional directly related experience and/or education may be substituted on a year-for-year basis. 

LICENSING AND CERTIFICATIONS - Valid driver’s license.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS and EXPERIENCE

       Licensed PE, LEED AP, and CEM

       Project Management Certification – PMP

       Water Conservation Qualification – CWEP, QWEL, or CWM

       Energy Star Portfolio Manager benchmarking experience preferred

       Energy Modeling experience preferred

       Familiarity with ZNE buildings, LEED EBOM v4, T24/Cal Green preferred

       GHG Inventory Management & Calculation experience preferred

       Controls System Programming Logic experience

       Experience with Strategic Energy Management (SEM) initiatives such as ISO500001, Superior Energy Performance, Better Buildings Initiative

OTHER

Please note, if you are selected for hire, verification of employment eligibility or authorization to work in the United States will be required.

HOW TO APPLY

This position requires the submission of our official application, responses to the supplemental questions, and a resume. To ensure consideration of your application for the earliest round of interviews, please apply by December 8, 2025.

To complete an online application, please visit www.courts.ca.gov/careers and search for Job ID #6553. 

The Judicial Council provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities who request such accommodation. Reasonable accommodation needs should be requested through Human Resources at (415) 865-4260. Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) is available by dialing 711. Once connected, provide the relay operator with the number for Human Resources: 415-865-4260.

PAYMENT & BENEFITS 

$6,909.00 - $9,673.00 per month

Please note that due to statewide fiscal conditions, the posted salary range is subject to a temporary 3% reduction. In exchange for this reduction, judicial branch employees accrue an additional 5 hours of paid personal leave per month through June 30, 2027.

Some highlights of our benefits package include:

       Health/Dental/Vision benefits program

       14 paid holidays per calendar year

       Choice of Annual Leave or Sick/Vacation Leave

       1 personal holiday per year

       Up to $130 per month reimbursement for qualifying commuting costs 

       CalPERS Retirement Plan

       401(k) and 457 deferred compensation plans

       Employee Assistance Program

       Basic Life and AD&D Insurance

       FlexElect Program

       Pretax Parking

       Long Term Disability Program (employee paid/optional)

       Group Legal Plan (employee paid/optional)

The Judicial Council of California Is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Supplemental Questions

To better assess the qualifications of each applicant, we will review your responses to the following questions. 

1.     Do you have a current, valid California driver's license? 

2.     Describe your level of expertise working with utility data and what data analysis systems and visualization tools you are familiar with.  

3.     Do you have any other employment by the State of California that is not already provided on your application? If yes, please list the specific departments or agencies for which you worked. If you have no prior state service, please state “none.” 

4.     Please describe your experience in performing cost-benefit analysis of proposed energy or water efficiency improvements.  

5.     What exposure have you had to building science concepts, energy efficiency projects, or water conservation projects for large facilities?  Please describe. 

6.     Please submit any supplemental samples of your relevant experience in Life cycle cost-benefit analysis, energy audit, energy/water efficiency retrofit work, or green building standards.

7.     Describe what you consider to be one of your most successful "sustainability" projects.  Why do you consider it a success?  What would you do differently the next time? How do you measure a successful “sustainability” project? 

8.     Describe your experience with policy and procedure development and establishing best practices for a sustainability or facilities program.