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HVAC engineer jobs.

The role

What the job involves.

Perigon Search recruits HVAC engineers for building services contractors, FM providers and manufacturers. The job is keeping commercial buildings at the right temperature: planned maintenance, fault finding, repairs and commissioning on split and VRF air conditioning, heat pumps, AHUs, rooftop units and the heating plant alongside them, on Daikin, Mitsubishi Electric, Toshiba, Fujitsu and LG kit. Most HVAC service engineer roles also take in the ventilation and controls that tie it together.

The best HVAC engineers aren't one-trick. A contract might put a VRF fault, a failed AHU fan and a boiler lockout on the same engineer in the same week. Engineers who can cover the lot, and who can trace a comms fault without swapping boards until something works, are the ones clients chase. That's what separates an HVAC role from a straight air conditioning one, and why the money climbs with breadth.

Mobile or static. Most roles are mobile. You cover a patch from a van, on planned visits and reactive callouts, with an on-call rota. Static roles put you on one site or estate, often as a mechanical maintenance engineer for an FM provider, alongside other trades. Manufacturer roles usually add commissioning on new installs and training on their own kit.

Salary and progression

What it pays.
Where it leads.

Salary

What HVAC engineers earn.

With overtime and call-outs, earnings run well past these base salaries. Most mobile roles come with a van and fuel card, paid travel and a paid on-call rota. When an offer comes in, we negotiate it for you, base and package. Typical UK base salaries, updated October 2026.

HVAC engineer
£40,000 to £50,000 base
Senior engineer
£45,000 to £55,000 base
Supervisor or lead engineer
£55,000 to £65,000 base
Where it leads
Commissioning engineer
Bringing new systems online on fit-outs and new builds, and signing them off.
Service or contract manager
Running the engineers, the contracts and the client relationship.
Project engineer or manager
Running replacements and new installs, from survey to handover.
Estimating and technical sales
Pricing and specifying systems, where knowing how they fail counts.
Controls
BMS work, for engineers who'd rather fix the strategy than the plant.
Critical cooling
Chiller and data centre cooling roles, where AC and refrigeration experience carries straight across.
Latest jobs

Live HVAC jobs.

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Shortlisting

What gets you shortlisted.

F-Gas is a given. What moves a CV up the pile is the systems and the makes behind it.

Systems
VRFSplit systemsHeat pumpsAHUsRooftop units
Makes
DaikinMitsubishi ElectricToshibaFujitsuLG
Skills
Fault findingCommissioningPlanned maintenanceControlsCommercial gas
Sites
OfficesRetailHotelsSchoolsIndustrial
FAQ

HVAC engineer questions.

What does an HVAC engineer do?
An HVAC engineer installs, services, repairs and commissions heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems in commercial buildings. That covers split and VRF air conditioning, heat pumps, air handling units, rooftop units, boiler plant and the BMS controls that tie it together. Day to day it's planned maintenance, fault finding and reactive callouts, usually on a mobile patch covering a region.
What's the difference between an HVAC engineer and an air conditioning engineer?
An air conditioning engineer works on cooling and heat pump systems. An HVAC engineer covers that plus ventilation and often heating, so the role is broader. Plenty of adverts use the titles interchangeably, so it's worth reading what the job actually covers.
Do HVAC engineers need Gas Safe as well as F-Gas?
Not usually. Most HVAC service roles ask for F-Gas Category 1 and an NVQ Level 2 or 3 in refrigeration and air conditioning. Gas Safe and commercial ACS are needed for work on gas appliances, so engineers holding both can pick from more roles.
Can I move into HVAC from another trade?
Yes. Electricians, plumbers and heating engineers make the move by adding F-Gas and refrigeration training, and domestic engineers move into commercial work regularly. Heat pumps have opened another route, because heating engineers now work on refrigeration circuits. Employers look for fault finding, a tidy job and a willingness to learn new kit.
Do you recruit HVAC engineers outside the UK?
Yes. We recruit across the UK and EMEA, including Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and Scandinavia. Manufacturers in particular hire across borders, so there's work for engineers open to it.