MEP Project Manager

Sentinel Data Centers, LLC; United States; On-site; USD 130,000 - 155,000; Full time

Job summary

Sentinel Data Centers, LLC seeks an experienced MEP Project Manager for Greater Philadelphia area data center facilities. You’ll oversee procurement, field coordination, testing, and commissioning to align with Power to the Rack milestones.

Work with contractors, vendors, and the Development team, coordinating across disciplines and managing site activities. Regular travel to project sites is expected to support delivery and commissioning success.

Qualifications

• Typically 5+ years of relevant experience in MEP construction, electrical or mechanical contracting, data center delivery, or a related field.
• Strong technical proficiency in at least one discipline (electrical or HVAC) and ability to coordinate across systems.
• Strong project management fundamentals with the ability to organize complex work, anticipate risks, and drive resolution.
• Ability to review technical, cost, schedule, contractor, and vendor information and provide clear recommendations.
• Safety-first mindset around energization, startup, and live systems.
• Excellent communication with field presence across contractors, vendors, consultants, development leadership, tenants, utilities.

Responsibilities

• Review vendor proposals and provide feedback to Development and Procurement teams as equipment orders are finalized.
• Work with Vice Presidents and Directors to confirm equipment meets design criteria, schedule needs, and utility requirements before orders.
• Track equipment through submittals, fabrication, delivery, and required vendor support, raising issues early.
• Attend Factory Acceptance Tests and ensure material issues are resolved before shipment.
• Serve in procurement and buyout for Mechanical, Electrical, Low Voltage, Access Control, AV, Security, and DAS scopes.
• Coordinate field visits by MEP design teams, equipment vendor technicians, and other specialists for reviews and startups.
• Monitor field progress, manage punch lists, and coordinate across contractors, vendors, consultants, and the Development team.

Skills

MEP systems knowledge

Project management

Vendor coordination

Field oversight

Technical problem solving

Education

Experience in data center delivery

Tools

Submittals tracking

Commissioning coordination

Job description

Location: Greater Philadelphia area, PA (preferred, including commutable areas of neighboring states). Also open to candidates based in New Jersey, Virginia, the Tampa Bay area, FL, or the Dallas–Fort Worth area, TX.

This is a site-based role. Depending on where you’re based, regular travel to project sites will be required, and candidates comfortable with weekly travel are encouraged to apply.

Salary range: $130,000–$155,000 base + annual bonus

Sentinel Data Centers is a vertically integrated data center developer, owner, and operator. We develop ground-up facilities for hyperscale cloud providers, financial institutions, and other mission-critical users, and remain involved through delivery and operation of the asset.

Position Overview

Our commitments to tenants ultimately center on delivering reliable power to the rack, at the required capacity and quality, by the dates set in the lease. The MEP Project Manager is a key part of the team responsible for getting us there. The role works backward from the committed Power to the Rack date and coordinates everything that must come together across equipment procurement, trade buyout, utilities, construction, startup, and commissioning.

The role is involved from procurement of major mechanical and electrical equipment through fabrication and Factory Acceptance Tests. It continues through field installation, energization, startup, commissioning, and turnover. The MEP Project Manager works across contractors, vendors, consultants, utility providers, and the Development team. The goal is to identify gaps early, bring in the right resources at the right time, and resolve issues that could put the delivery commitment at risk.

Key Responsibilities

• Review vendor proposals and give technical feedback to the Development and Procurement teams as equipment orders are finalized. As needed, issue or coordinate RFIs, obtain design team confirmation, and verify conformance with tenant requirements before purchase.
• Work with the relevant Vice Presidents and Directors to confirm equipment meets design criteria, schedule needs, utility requirements, and other project requirements before orders are released.
• Track equipment through submittals, fabrication, delivery, and required vendor support, and raise technical, quality, or schedule issues early.
• Attend Factory Acceptance Tests and other vendor witness testing as required, and make sure material issues are resolved before equipment is released for shipment.

MEP Trade Procurement & Scope Coordination

• Serve as an integral part of procurement and buyout for the relevant technical subcontractor scopes. These include Mechanical, Electrical, Low Voltage, Access Control, Audio Visual, Security, and Distributed Antenna Systems.
• Participate in bidder interviews and de-scope meetings and review scope coverage. Help identify exclusions, overlaps, interface points, and gaps between subcontractors, equipment vendors, the General Contractor, consultants, and the design documents.
• Help the project team make informed subcontractor award recommendations. Recommendations should weigh scope completeness, technical capability, price, schedule, manpower, and ability to support startup and commissioning.
• Track technical questions and pre-award clarifications so unresolved scope issues do not become field change orders or commissioning gaps later in the project.

Field Technical Oversight & Consultant Coordination

• Maintain an active field presence and work with the General Contractor and MEP trades to identify installation, sequencing, access, controls, and equipment interface issues before they affect critical milestones.
• Plan, monitor, and coordinate field visits by the MEP design team, equipment vendor technicians, and other technical specialists so reviews, inspections, and startup support happen when needed.
• Coordinate quality assurance and quality control reviews, and make sure identified issues are documented, assigned, and tracked to closure.
• Monitor field progress for the relevant MEP systems and help the Development team assess percent complete during monthly requisition and lender reviews.
• Manage punch lists for the relevant MEP systems as they reach completion, coordinating contractors, vendors, consultants, and the design team through final resolution.

Cost, Change Orders & Schedule

• Review MEP change orders, vendor invoices, contractor pay applications, estimates, takeoffs, and schedule impacts for assigned systems and equipment packages.
• Validate technical basis, quantities, pricing, entitlement, and schedule impact before recommending approval, rejection, or negotiation.
• Prepare concise recommendations for leadership. Each should explain the issue, the options, and the cost, schedule, tenant, commissioning, and operational implications of the recommended course of action.
• Track long-lead equipment, critical testing dates, utility milestones, energization dates, startup sequences, and commissioning activities against the master project schedule.

Energization, Startup & Commissioning

Depending on project staffing and the candidate's experience, the MEP Project Manager may support or own portions of the energization, startup, and commissioning process. On larger projects, these responsibilities may be assigned to a dedicated Commissioning Manager. Experience in the following areas is a plus:

• Supporting the procurement, onboarding, and management of a commissioning agent.
• Coordinating Level 1 through Level 5 commissioning with the General Contractor, commissioning agent, equipment vendors, consultants, and Development team.
• Tracking readiness for energization, startup, testing, and commissioning activities.
• Organizing regular on-site commissioning coordination meetings during active startup and testing.
• Driving commissioning deficiencies and open items to closure in support of Power to the Rack and Substantial Completion.

Qualifications

• Typically 5+ years of relevant experience in MEP construction, electrical or mechanical contracting, data center delivery, equipment manufacturing, or a related field.
• Strong technical proficiency in at least one relevant discipline, such as electrical systems or HVAC. You should also understand MEP broadly enough to coordinate across adjacent systems and know when additional expertise is needed.
• Strong project management fundamentals, with the ability to organize complex work, anticipate risks, solve problems, perform root cause analysis, and drive issues through resolution.
• Able to review technical, cost, schedule, contractor, and vendor information critically and give leadership clear, reasoned recommendations.
• A safety-first mindset, particularly around energization, startup, and live systems, with the judgment to question, stop, or elevate work when appropriate.
• A strong communicator with a confident field presence who works effectively across contractors, vendors, consultants, Development leadership, tenants, utilities, and other stakeholders.