Principal, Sustainability Energy

Energy decisions made today shape patient care, resilience, and our environmental legacy for decades to come. This role puts you at the center of Stanford Health Care’s decarbonization journey—where strategy, infrastructure, and purpose intersect. 

As Principal, Sustainability Energy, you will serve as the enterprise expert driving energy, water, and carbon performance across a complex healthcare environment. Success means leading a multiyear strategy and portfolio of initiatives, from audits and capital projects to infrastructure modernization, that improve efficiency, reliability, and regulatory compliance while advancing long term sustainability goals. This is a hybrid role based in Palo Alto, operating with significant autonomy and influence, and partnering closely with Facilities Services, clinical leaders, Supply Chain, and Technology teams. You’ll guide governance, analytics, and executive reporting; build compelling business cases; engage utilities and vendors; and translate advanced engineering analysis into actionable outcomes.  

Ideal candidates bring: 

• Deep expertise in energy management and decarbonization, 

• Strong project and portfolio leadership 

• Advanced data and analytics skills 

• Ability to influence across disciplines without direct authority.  

• Experience in healthcare, large campuses, or other mission critical, highly regulated environments is especially valuable. 

The Facilities Services division enhances health through leadership, collaboration, and innovation. Our team offers essential non-clinical support 24/7, ensuring safe operations and planning for future needs. We represent the intersection of planning, construction, general services, and facilities operations. Learn more about Facilities Services at: Facilities Services | Stanford Health Care. 

The Sustainability Program Office (SPO) department is dedicated to implementing sustainable initiatives that reduce our organization’s carbon footprint, conserve resources, and enhance the health and well-being of our staff, patients, and communities. 

If you are interested in joining Stanford Health Care, please read the job description below and apply online. 

This is a Stanford Health Care job.

A Brief Overview
The Principal – Sustainability Energy serves as the organization's expert in sustainability‑related energy and water management, applying advanced professional principles and industry best practices to influence long‑term functional strategies and operational outcomes across Facilities Services and allied departments. This role leads the development, governance, and execution of Stanford Health Care (SHC) enterprise-wide energy, carbon emissions, and water strategy through a portfolio of programs, audits, capital projects, infrastructure modernization, and operational initiatives that improve efficiency, resilience, and regulatory compliance. The Principal partners across Facilities Services departments, Supply Chain, Technology & Digital Solutions, and clinical stakeholders to deliver data-driven decarbonization, utility optimization, and continuous performance improvement aligned with long-term sustainability goals and the Environmental Citizenship Composite Score. This role independently defines problems, evaluates conceptual solutions, and recommends high‑impact actions that shape energy and water performance for the enterprise and provides specialized expertise that materially informs long‑range planning, technology selection, and program evolution for decarbonization and utility optimization initiatives.

Locations
Stanford Health Care

What you will do

• Lead the execution and continuous improvement of a multi-year energy and water strategy, translating organizational goals into an actionable, prioritized portfolio of initiatives and projects.
• Establish program governance, success metrics, and reporting cadence for enterprise-wide energy, water, and carbon performance.
• Develop and maintain the Strategic Energy Management Plan (SEMP) and associated implementation roadmap in partnership with Facilities Systems Engineering, and Facilities Field Services teams.
• Conduct periodic American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) energy and water audits and/or equivalent assessments; prioritize opportunities based on operational risk, savings potential, and decarbonization impact.
• Identify and advance decarbonization strategies such as electrification, reduction/elimination of combustion sources, renewable energy evaluation, and low-carbon technology adoption.
• Facilitate and lead multi-departmental energy and water governance groups; define charters, align stakeholders, assign accountabilities, and drive timely completion of workgroup priorities related to standards, practices, and performance expectations related to energy and water management.
• Influence enterprise change through operator engagement, leader communications, and integration of sustainability practices into standard work.
• Manage a portfolio of energy and water projects from concept through scoping, budgeting, scheduling, design support, implementation, Measurement and Verification (M&V), and executive reporting; exercises full discretion and judgment in determining how work is structured, sequenced, and executed within the sustainability energy domain, recommending which issues should be elevated for broader organizational consideration.
• Develop formal business cases and funding requests, including projected costs, savings, lifecycle value, and operational impacts; provide regular status, risk, and decision updates to leadership.
• Maintain relationships with utility providers and pursue applicable rebates, incentives, and demand-side programs; ensure alignment with project pipeline and compliance requirements.
• Track, analyze, and report energy and water consumption and cost; reconcile billing and usage irregularities; quantify the impact of implemented programs.
• Develop, implement, and maintain databases and analytics systems for utility, metering, energy consumption, water supply/hydrologic data, and related datasets to enable reliable performance monitoring and executive decision-making.
• Provide oversight and direction for energy modeling and performance analysis for new construction and existing buildings; deliver actionable trend analyses for systems, buildings, and campus performance.
• Partner with Facilities Field Services to implement energy conservation measures, optimize Building Management System (BMS) sequences, and train building operators on energy and water conservation practices.
• Provide technical leadership in capital funding requests, project reviews, and design decision-making for new construction, major renovations, and infrastructure upgrades with emphasis on reliability, efficiency, and long-term performance.
• Consult project teams on sustainable design, operational strategies, and commissioning/performance verification approaches.
• Lead vendor selection (including Requests for Proposal (RFPs)), contract negotiation support, and oversight of consultants; ensure deliverables meet scope, schedule, and quality standards.
• Identifies, evaluates, and recommends solutions to complex, ambiguously defined problems requiring extensive reasoning, advanced analytics, and broad consideration of interdependencies across systems and departments; ensure technically sound analyses, calculations, and work products.
• Keep the department up-to-date on applicable legislation, codes, and standards; translate requirements into compliant practices, documentation, and operational controls.
• Support power resiliency strategies, infrastructure upgrade planning, and risk-informed prioritization of projects that protect patient care continuity.
• Support the Executive Director in building a culture of sustainability through enterprise communications, education, and engagement campaigns that drive measurable energy and water conservation behaviors.

• Bachelor’s Degree in engineering (electrical, mechanical, or related) or a work-related discipline/field from an accredited college or university.

• 8 years of progressively responsible and related work experience

• Expert‑level knowledge of energy management, sustainability engineering, and decarbonization strategies within complex healthcare environments, including emerging best practices and evolving regulatory frameworks.
• Proficiency in energy and sustainability analytics, including metering strategies, data integrity, normalization, trend analysis, and creating executive-ready performance dashboards.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and facilitate cross-functional teams and working groups; influence without direct authority; drive alignment, decisions, and execution.
• Knowledge of utility rate structures, tariffs, demand-side management programs, rebates, and incentives; ability to partner effectively with utility providers and internal finance stakeholders.
• Ability to develop comprehensive business cases and funding requests, including lifecycle cost analysis, operational risk considerations, and benefit realization plans.
• Strong project and portfolio management capability (planning, scoping, budgeting, scheduling, risk management, change control, and stakeholder communications).
• Vendor/consultant selection and oversight skills, including Requests for Proposal (RFPs), scope development, quality assurance of deliverables, and contract/relationship management.
• Ability to read and interpret Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) drawings and technical documentation; translate findings into actionable scopes.
• Ability to perform and validate technically sound energy and water calculations; develop and review spreadsheets/models that support decision-making.
• Technical report writing and executive communication skills, including clear documentation of scope, methodologies, assumptions, findings, and recommendations.
• Working knowledge of Environment of Care (EoC) standards and applicable healthcare facilities requirements; ability to incorporate requirements into energy/water initiatives.
• Working knowledge of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) standards, codes, and regulations as applicable to healthcare facility projects and infrastructure changes.
• Change management capability to drive adoption of energy and water conservation practices through operator training, communications, and engagement programs.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word), including building quantitative analyses and executive presentations.
• Strong interpersonal skills and professional judgment; ability to operate with credibility and integrity while balancing operational needs, regulatory requirements, and strategic goals.
• Ability to conceptualize, design, and refine enterprise‑scale systems, processes, and tools that support long‑term energy and sustainability objectives.
• Demonstrated capability to solve ambiguous, multi‑variable problems requiring advanced interpretation, analysis, and synthesis of technical and operational information.
• Capacity to independently develop innovative solutions and adapt work methods when no established procedures or precedents exist.
• Advanced ability to serve as a departmental or functional expert on sustainability‑related topics, interpreting complex engineering, utility, and regulatory data to inform strategic decisions.
• Ability to influence cross‑functional leaders and external stakeholders by presenting high‑impact analyses, recommendations, and risk assessments.

• Certified Healthcare Facility Manager (CHFM) preferred preferred.
• CEM - Certified Energy Manager Certification preferred.
• Professional Engineer (PE) License preferred.

• Know Me: Anticipate my needs and status to deliver effective care
• Show Me the Way: Guide and prompt my actions to arrive at better outcomes and better health
• Coordinate for Me: Own the complexity of my care through coordination