Lead Mechanical Engineer – Data Center Design

Looking for a new career opportunity?

About the Company

A high-growth, US-based data center owner-developer deploying gigawatts of AI compute infrastructure at scale. Backed by significant capital investment, this is one of the fastest-moving hyperscale programs in the country – with multiple large-scale sites across the US currently under development.

The team is lean, technically driven, and operates at a pace most organisations can’t match.

About the Role

A newly created senior leadership position within the Design and Engineering function. As Lead Mechanical Engineer, you will own the full mechanical cooling strategy across a multi-site portfolio of high-density AI data centers – from chip-level thermal interfaces through to chilled water plants and heat rejection systems.

This is an owner-developer role, not a consultancy position. You will set technical direction, define standards, manage a growing mechanical team, and drive design delivery across concurrent programs from concept through IFC and into commissioning.

The portfolio includes some of the largest AI-focused data center programs in development today, with rack densities of 75-150+ kW and an emphasis on rapid deployment and compute-refresh flexibility.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and own the mechanical cooling strategy across the portfolio – coolant chemistry, chiller topology, CDU elimination strategies, and heat rejection plant design
• Develop and maintain basis of design, master specifications, standard drawings, and sequence of operations for all cooling systems
• Lead innovation on energy efficiency – free cooling, water-side economizers, waste-heat reuse – targeting best-in-class PUE and WUE
• Define requirements for modular, prefabricated mechanical assemblies designed for rapid site deployment
• Own mechanical design delivery across multiple concurrent programs, coordinating external MEP consultants and internal discipline leads
• Review and enforce deliverable quality at 30/60/90/IFC milestones; manage RFIs, design changes, and value engineering through construction
• Conduct CFD modelling and thermal capacity planning to validate airflow, pressure drop, and temperature targets
• Build and manage a mechanical engineering team; manage vendor relationships across chillers, pumps, dry coolers, and CDUs
• Support FAT, site quality inspections, and commissioning of mechanical systems including chilled water loop flushing and hydraulic testing

Required Experience

• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent
• 10+ years designing mechanical and cooling systems for data centers, with hyperscale or HPC exposure
• Deep knowledge of chilled water systems, air-cooled and water-cooled chillers, direct liquid cooling, and heat rejection plant
• Experience leading a mechanical team and directing external MEP consultants through a full design lifecycle
• Working knowledge of ASHRAE TC 9.9, liquid cooling best practices, and relevant mechanical codes (IMC, ASME, NFPA)
• Demonstrated ability to develop design standards and basis of design documents across a multi-site portfolio
• Willingness to travel to US project sites (20-30%)

Preferred

• PE licence or Chartered Engineer credential
• Experience with modular/prefabricated mechanical system design and off-site manufacturing coordination
• CFD experience (6SigmaET, Ansys Icepak, Flotherm) and proficiency with Revit/BIM
• Background in medium-voltage (4.16 kV+) chiller applications and 800VDC power distribution
• Owner/developer-side experience with direct accountability for system performance and reliability
• AI/HPC cooling exposure: high rack densities (75-150+ kW), GPU thermal management

Compensation

• Base salary: $250,000 – $300,000 (DOE)
• Equity (stock options)
• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• Generous PTO and retirement plan

Interested? Apply today to find out more.