Senior Mechanical Design Engineer

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in California.

📋 Description

• As the senior technical lead for mechanical design, you will guide the entire project lifecycle from initial concept development and load modeling to detailed engineering, construction documentation, commissioning, and operational handover.

• You will supervise mechanical engineers and designers, setting design standards, reviewing deliverables, and fostering a high-performance team culture grounded in technical excellence and knowledge sharing.

• Collaborating closely with Development, Procurement, Construction, and Operations teams, as well as Engineers of Record (EoRs), consultants, and contractors, you will tackle complex design challenges and ensure cross-disciplinary alignment.

• You will spearhead the research and implementation of emerging technologies and advanced cooling strategies to improve thermal management, energy performance, and system reliability in data center settings.

• You will be responsible for the review and quality control of all mechanical design documentation, which includes drawing sets, piping schematics, airflow diagrams, shop drawings, submittals, and commissioning reports.

• Ensuring compliance of all mechanical systems with project requirements, internal standards, ASHRAE guidelines, and relevant local building codes will be part of your responsibilities.

• You will manage schedules and budgets for the mechanical scope proactively, assessing value engineering proposals, tracking key milestones, and holding EoR and contractor partners accountable for deliverables.

• Leading factory witness testing, site inspections, TAB coordination, and commissioning activities, you will confirm system readiness and integration with building management systems (BMS).

• You will work in collaboration with electrical, structural, and controls disciplines to ensure cohesive and coordinated mechanical system designs.

• Your role will involve driving project risk assessments by identifying mechanical-related risks and formulating mitigation strategies.

• Supporting the operations team during system handover, you will provide design intent context and ensure the maintainability and operability of mechanical systems following turnover.

• You will lead continuous improvement initiatives by integrating lessons learned into updates for internal design tools, standards, templates, and delivery processes.

• Providing expert field support during construction, you will offer technical guidance and resolve installation challenges in collaboration with the construction team.

⛳️ Requirements

• A Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, specializing in data center mechanical systems and mission-critical facilities.

• At least 10 years’ experience in the A/E industry with hands-on experience in hyperscale, colocation, or enterprise data center projects.

• Proficiency in Revit BIM design is essential, including coordination of large-scale mechanical rooms, central plants, and equipment layouts.

• Extensive knowledge of data center cooling system design, encompassing chilled water plants, cooling towers, air-based and liquid-based cooling solutions, rear-door heat exchangers, and direct-to-chip cooling.

• Demonstrated expertise in thermal load calculations, airflow modeling, and energy analysis utilizing tools such as HAP, TRACE, IES, CFD software, or similar platforms.

• A comprehensive background in the design, construction, testing, and commissioning of mission-critical mechanical systems, including chillers, pumps, AHUs, CRAH/CRAC units, and their control systems.

• A Professional Engineering (PE) license is mandatory.

• Proven experience with redundancy strategies (N, N+1, 2N), maintainability, and fault-tolerant design for high-uptime data center environments.

• Knowledge and hands-on experience in estimating, mechanical system design, operation, and commissioning of data center cooling plants, including integrated systems testing (IST) and the development of MOPs and SOPs.

• A strong understanding of data center performance metrics such as PUE and WUE, along with effective strategies to enhance energy and water efficiency.

• A thorough comprehension of professional services from conceptual planning and site selection through detailed design, construction administration, and project close-out.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, organizational abilities, and the capacity to lead and collaborate effectively across cross-functional teams.

• A passion for optimizing workflows and promoting continuous improvement within the mechanical discipline.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Productivity Suite products.

🏝️ Benefits

• Fully Remote

• Opportunity for continuous improvement

• High-performance team culture