Staff Spotlight: Bobby Almeida
By Jordan Klotzle
Verdical Group’s Staff Spotlight series highlights the incredible contributions that each of our team members make through their expertise. The series is also a great way to delve into what our team members do on a day-to-day basis to mitigate the climate crisis.
Meet Bobby Almeida, Verdical Group’s Director of Commissioning! Bobby joined the VG team in January 2022 with over a decade of green building industry experience. He earned his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Southern California (USC) and holds a multitude of credentials, including: LEED AP BD+C; LEED AP O+M; Professional Engineer (PE); Certified Building Commissioning Professional (CBCP); and Certified Energy Manager (CEM).
As Director of Commissioning, Bobby leads the Commissioning branch of our Projects team in ensuring that our clients’ building projects are functioning just as sustainably as they were designed. Well-versed in building systems, Bobby is an expert in optimizing HVAC controls to minimize energy use without compromising user comfort or ongoing maintenance needs.
Bobby’s work on Commissioning looks different at any given time, with each day bringing a new environment and new tasks. Some weeks may see him flying across the country to visit a client’s project in Florida, while others might find him at his home office completing documentation and attending virtual project meetings.
Commissioning plays an important role in helping green buildings fight the climate crisis by ensuring that equipment is functioning properly at all times, helping to save energy and minimize waste. Additionally, Bobby believes that “sustainable buildings should be more comfortable and more enjoyable for people to be in than a standard or code minimum building.”
He explained that commissioning a sustainable project helps create a favorable reputation for green buildings: “In addition to energy savings, the equipment is going to be operating better when it’s commissioned. People will be happy in a green building, and they’re going to associate that with a better building.”
One of Bobby’s favorite projects to work on has been Johnson & Johnson’s Irvine campus. Verdical Group is providing LEED Fundamental and Enhanced Commissioning, CALGreen Code Commissioning, LEED Project Management, and Energy Modeling services for 15 buildings on the campus, collectively representing over 290,000 square feet. From a commissioning perspective, Bobby enjoyed working on Building 25 in particular, a laboratory building including a clean room. Due to its 100% electric design, “it’s a great case study to show that you can have laboratories with an all-electric building, and you don’t need gas to make these specialty types work correctly.”
Johnson & Johnson Irvine is just one of many innovative and high-performance projects in Verdical Group’s portfolio, which is one of Bobby’s favorite parts about being a part of the VG team.
“The fun clients and complex projects we get to work with keeps things varied and challenges me, and at the same time we get to help address the climate crisis and do good in the world,” Bobby shared.
You can learn more about commissioning, along with our wide array of other green building services, on our website.
Still have questions about where we fit into your project? Reach out through our contact form, and one of our team members will connect with you as soon as possible.
