Senior Mechanical Project Manager

James Lewis Recruitment; Egham; On-site; GBP 81,000 - 99,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company car

Bonus

Private medical insurance

Job summary

James Lewis Recruitment is seeking a Senior Mechanical Project Manager to lead delivery of a major data centre new build along the M25 corridor. You will manage programme, procurement, subcontractors, QA and handover, ensuring safety and quality on a high-density, mission-critical project.

This role demands strong leadership, technical depth and experience with AI-ready cooling, plantrooms, and complex mechanical interfaces across campus infrastructure.

Qualifications

• Extensive data centre M&E delivery experience.
• Experience with high-density cooling and AI-ready infra.
• Ability to manage design coordination and procurement end-to-end.
• Strong health and safety and site discipline awareness.

Responsibilities

• Manage mechanical delivery across a large-scale data centre new build.
• Oversee programme, procurement, labour, subcontractors, QA and handover.
• Lead mechanical works in data halls, plantrooms, cooling systems and pipework.
• Coordinate interfaces with campus infrastructure, energy centres and external services.
• Resolve technical issues with design, engineering and construction teams.
• Manage subcontractors and suppliers on a busy data centre site.
• Review drawings, RAMS, commissioning plans and handover documentation.
• Support commissioning, witness testing and final handover.

Skills

Mechanical project management

Data centre experience

AI-ready data centre

Budgeting & procurement

Subcontractor management

SMSTS

CSCS

Education

Degree or equivalent building services

Job description

Senior Mechanical Project Manager

M25 Corridor | Data Centre | Permanent

Up to £90,000 + car + bonus + private medical

If you're a Senior Mechanical Project Manager who wants to work on a proper data centre new build rather than another standard commercial M&E scheme, this is a strong opportunity.

You’ll be joining the next phase of a major AI-ready data centre campus development, delivering large-scale mechanical infrastructure across a high-density, mission-critical environment.

The first phase of the campus delivered significant IT capacity and the wider development is planned around multiple purpose-built data centres, with the next stage expected to include a new high-capacity data centre building, vertical extensions to existing buildings and upgrades to supporting infrastructure across the site.

This is not a small upgrade job or a basic plantroom package. The project is being built around high-density compute, AI workloads, resilient services, cooling flexibility, energy infrastructure and long-term operational performance. It needs someone who understands how to manage mechanical delivery properly from design coordination and procurement through to installation, commissioning and handover.

The role

You’ll take responsibility for mechanical delivery across a major new-build data centre project.

That means managing programme, technical coordination, procurement, subcontractors, labour, QA, commissioning, client reporting, commercial performance and close-out.

The mechanical package is expected to include critical cooling, chilled water systems, plantrooms, pumps, pipework, valves, ventilation, CRAH / CRAC units, pressurisation, flushing, pressure testing, BMS interfaces, commissioning support and integration with wider campus infrastructure.

The project is expected to require flexibility around advanced air cooling, liquid cooling and hybrid cooling solutions, so previous exposure to high-density or AI-ready data centre environments would be a strong advantage.

You’ll be working closely with the project director, design team, commercial team, construction managers, supervisors, specialist subcontractors, vendors, commissioning teams and client-side representatives to make sure the mechanical package is delivered safely, correctly and to programme.

This is a role for someone who can lead from the front, manage detail and keep the supply chain accountable.

What you’ll be doing

• Managing mechanical delivery across a large-scale data centre new build.
• Taking responsibility for programme, procurement, labour, subcontractors, technical coordination, QA and handover.
• Leading mechanical works across data halls, plantrooms, cooling systems, pipework, ventilation and associated critical infrastructure.
• Coordinating mechanical interfaces with wider campus infrastructure, energy centres, external services, electrical infrastructure and phased building works.
• Working with design, engineering and construction teams to resolve technical issues before they affect site progress.
• Managing subcontractors, supervisors and specialist suppliers across a busy data centre construction environment.
• Reviewing drawings, technical submissions, RFIs, RAMS, inspection records, commissioning plans and handover documentation.
• Coordinating chilled water systems, critical cooling, pumps, valves, pipework, plant, ventilation, BMS interfaces and commissioning requirements.
• Supporting design coordination around high-density cooling, air cooling, liquid cooling or hybrid cooling strategies.
• Keeping tight control of short-term planning, progress reporting, programme risk, cost movement, change and project close-out.
• Supporting commissioning, witness testing, snagging, O&M production and final handover.
• Working closely with the commercial team to manage change, risk, subcontractor performance and project margin.
• Maintaining high standards around health and safety, quality, coordination and site discipline.
• Representing the business professionally with clients, consultants, subcontractors and third parties.

What you’ll need

• You’ll need strong mechanical project management experience within data centres, mission-critical projects, major M&E schemes, infrastructure, pharmaceutical, healthcare, life sciences or technically demanding building services environments.
• Data centre experience would be strongly preferred, especially if you have worked on new-build data halls, critical cooling, chilled water, plantrooms, CRAH / CRAC units, pipework, ventilation, BMS interfaces, commissioning-heavy projects or large-scale campus infrastructure.
• Experience with high-density data centres, AI-ready infrastructure, liquid cooling, advanced air cooling or hybrid cooling systems would be a strong advantage.
• You should be confident managing mechanical packages from pre-construction and design coordination through to installation, commissioning and handover.
• You’ll need to be able to manage subcontractors, supervisors, technical teams, specialist vendors and client-side stakeholders in a high-pressure project environment.
• A strong mechanical background is essential. You may come from a trade, HNC / HND, degree or equivalent building services background, but you must be able to hold your own technically on mechanical delivery.
• You’ll need to understand programme control, procurement, QA, commissioning, client reporting, commercial risk, variations and handover.
• SMSTS, CSCS and relevant mechanical qualifications would be useful.

The right person

You’re organised, technically strong and delivery-focused.

You can deal with the client, push subcontractors, challenge design issues, support the site team and keep the programme moving without letting quality slip.

You understand that data centre work is different from standard commercial M&E. The systems are more critical, the coordination is heavier and commissioning needs to be planned properly from the start.

You do not wait for problems to escape. You walk the job, understand what is happening, identify what is missing and push the right people for answers.

This role will suit a Senior Mechanical Project Manager who has already delivered complex mechanical packages and wants to work on a major data centre project with proper technical depth, scale and long-term career value.

The salary is up to £90,000 plus car, bonus and private medical.