Associate Director Research Development

Vantage Consulting

Charlotte (NC)

On-site

USD 143,000 - 259,000

Full time

9 days ago

Get more replies from employers

Send a job-specific resume in minutes.

Benefits offered by this job

Short-term cash incentive

Medical, dental and vision insurance

Wellness incentives

Paid vacation, sick and personal leave

Paid holidays

Parental, family and medical leave

Disability insurance

Life insurance and AD&D

Health spending accounts

Job summary

Vantage Consulting is seeking a Director of Systems Engineering to lead the development of advanced HVAC and cooling solutions for data centers. This senior role focuses on translating customer requirements and emerging trends into scalable products, guiding architecture, requirements, and program execution across engineering, product, sales and operations.

You will drive a team to deliver on time and within budget while shaping product strategy, system-level specifications and costs.

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Electrical or Industrial Engineering required.
15+ years of industry experience with data center cooling solutions.
Proven leadership of engineering teams and complex NPD programmes.
Strong understanding of HVAC systems and data center technologies.
Experience translating customer requirements into system specifications.

Responsibilities

Analyze emerging trends in data center construction, operation and cooling technologies.
Assess customer requirements across hyperscalers, colocation providers and other data center customers.
Evaluate competitive technologies and identify opportunities for product and system differentiation.
Develop product and solutions strategies based on customer and market requirements.
Define solution architecture and establish system-level technical requirements.
Lead engineering teams through New Product Development (NPD) projects.
Ensure engineering projects are delivered on time, within budget and against program performance requirements.
Drive the development of new HVAC products and solutions for the data center market.
Evaluate HVAC equipment and systems across the full customer use chain and analyse technical trade-offs.
Collaborate with engineering, product management, sales, marketing and operations to develop commercially viable solutions.
Work with customers and global stakeholders to align technical requirements and develop scalable, cost-efficient solutions.
Establish priorities, workflows and resource allocation to support product strategy and execution.
Build strong relationships across the organisation to ensure alignment and successful delivery of data center projects.

Skills

Engineering leadership

Systems engineering

HVAC systems

Data center cooling

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Electrical or Industrial Engineering

Master's degree in engineering (preferred)

Job description

Salary: $143,000 – $259,000 + bonus and benefits

The Role

A global leader in climate and energy solutions is seeking a Director of Systems Engineering to lead the development of advanced HVAC and cooling solutions for the data center market. This is a senior engineering leadership role focused on understanding emerging data center trends, customer requirements and technologies, and translating them into new products and scalable HVAC solutions.

You will work closely with engineering, product management, sales, marketing and operations to define system architecture, technical requirements and product strategy. The role will lead an engineering team responsible for delivering new product development projects on time, within budget and to required performance standards.

Key Responsibilities

Analyse emerging trends in data center construction, operation and cooling technologies.
Assess customer requirements across hyperscalers, colocation providers and other data center customers.
Evaluate competitive technologies and identify opportunities for product and system differentiation.
Develop product and solutions strategies based on customer and market requirements.
Define solution architecture and establish system-level technical requirements.
Lead engineering teams through New Product Development (NPD) projects.
Ensure engineering projects are delivered on time, within budget and against program performance requirements.
Drive the development of new HVAC products and solutions for the data center market.
Evaluate HVAC equipment and systems across the full customer use chain and analyse technical trade-offs.
Collaborate with engineering, product management, sales, marketing and operations to develop commercially viable solutions.
Work with customers and global stakeholders to align technical requirements and develop scalable, cost-efficient solutions.
Establish priorities, workflows and resource allocation to support product strategy and execution.
Build strong relationships across the organisation to ensure alignment and successful delivery of data center projects.

What We're Looking For

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Electrical or Industrial Engineering.
15+ years of industry experience working with data center customers on cooling system solutions and/or leading New Product Development projects or teams.
Proven experience leading engineering teams and delivering complex product development programmes.
Strong understanding of HVAC systems and cooling technologies.
Experience developing new products from customer or market requirements through engineering and delivery.
Experience working with customers, product management and cross-functional business teams.
Strong understanding of system architecture and translating requirements into system and sub-system specifications.
Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
Ability to make confident technical and commercial decisions in a fast-paced environment.
Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to develop alternative solutions in highly constrained environments.

Preferred Qualifications

Master's degree in an engineering or industrial discipline, such as Mechanical Engineering.
Experience with industrial HVAC business models, preferably within the data center market.
Proven track record of building strong cross-functional relationships and achieving consensus across multiple stakeholders.
Experience working directly with hyperscalers, colocation providers or other major data center customers.
Strong NPD/NPI leadership experience within HVAC, cooling, refrigeration or related industries.

Why Join?

This is an opportunity to take a senior leadership position within a rapidly growing data center cooling market and have significant influence over the development of next-generation HVAC products and solutions.

You will combine engineering leadership, product development, customer requirements and commercial strategy, working across the organisation to develop scalable solutions for some of the most demanding data center applications.