Reliability Engineer, Thermal Systems & Cooling

Iris Energy; Fort Worth (TX); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation assistance

Health insurance

401(k) match

Professional development

Job summary

IREN, a data-center focused engineering leader, seeks a Reliability Engineer for Thermal Systems & Cooling. You’ll own asset strategies for cooling assets, set operating envelopes, and oversee water chemistry programs across campuses.

This senior individual contributor role directs campus reliability engineers and drives RCA-driven improvements. You will coordinate with controls, electrical, and operations teams to ensure operability, maintainability, and strategic alignment with lifecycle

Qualifications

• 10+ years in reliability or plant engineering on mission-critical cooling/utilities.
• Experience with cooling-water chemistry and water-quality limits.
• Knowledge of RC(M)/FMECA, maintenance strategies and RCA.
• Ability to lead cross-functional teams on site and in design reviews.
• CMMS usage and reliability analytics experience.

Responsibilities

• Own asset strategies for thermal/cooling across the portfolio; manage maintenance strategies.
• Set operating envelopes and water-quality limits for thermal systems.
• Oversee cooling-water chemistry program: specs, monitoring, audits, responses.
• Direct campus reliability engineers; mentor and develop discipline objectives.
• Lead RCA for thermal/cooling events and feed design lessons to engineering.
• Define monitoring, thresholds, and asset-health analytics for deployments.
• Support readiness for new campuses with operability and maintainability reviews.
• Provide inputs to lifecycle, risk and OEM service decisions.

Skills

Reliability engineering

Plant engineering

BMS/SCADA literacy

Technical leadership

Water chemistry knowledge

Education

Mechanical or process engineering degree

Tools

CMMS

Hydronics & cooling systems

Controls systems (BMS/SCADA)

Job description

Job Type: Full Time | Location: Dallas/Fort Worth | Department: Engineering | Reporting to: Senior Manager, Asset Management & Governance | Work Location Type: #hybrid#remote

IREN is a vertically integrated AI Cloud provider, delivering large-scale datacenters and GPU clusters for AI training and inference. IREN’s platform isunderpinned by its expansive portfolio of grid-connected land and power inrenewable-rich regions across North America, Europe and APAC.

The Reliability Engineer, Thermal Systems & Cooling holds the technical accountability (TA1) for the thermal and cooling asset classes across IREN's data center portfolio: central utility plant, chilled-water and dry-cooler plants, hydronics and heat exchangers, liquid cooling loops and distribution units, and the cooling-water and coolant chemistry behind them. The role sets the asset strategies, operating envelopes and water-quality limits for these systems, and provides the functional direction and mentoring for the campus reliability engineers in the discipline (site focused, functionally directed). A senior individual contributor: does the engineering as well as directing it.

With 100% renewable energy, we build, own and operate our data centers and take pride in being at the forefront of sustainable solutions for the ever-evolving applications of high-performance compute. We believe that human progress is invaluable, but it should be done in the right way – responsibly, sustainably and having a positive impact on the communities we operate in.

Job Requirements

• Degree in mechanical or process engineering; professional registration an asset.
• 10+ years in reliability or plant engineering on mission-critical or industrial cooling and utility plant; liquid cooling experience or the ability to transfer similar knowledge and come up to speed on it quickly.
• Cooling-water and coolant chemistry: treatment programs, water-quality limits and their monitoring.
• Process and thermal engineering: heat and mass balance, plant optimization, redundancy philosophies and the consequence of a cooling failure for IT load.
• Reliability method: RCM/FMECA, criticality-based maintenance strategies, operating limits, failure analysis and RCA; has loaded strategies into a CMMS.
• Working literacy in controls (BMS/SCADA) and electrical systems sufficient to coordinate with the controls and electrical engineers; condition monitoring for rotating and thermal equipment.
• Non-authoritative technical leadership: sets and defends a standard with site engineers and operations managers through functional direction; clear technical writing; at home on the plant floor and in a design review.
• Preferred: mechanical engineering plus mission-critical chiller plant. Chemical/process engineering plus industrial utilities and water treatment advisable; CMRP/CRL, CEM or refrigeration credentials.

Other important requirements

• Pre-employment screening, including background check and substance testing may be required according to company policies.
• Must provide own steel-toed work boots; other PPE will be supplied.
• Travel to campuses across the portfolio as required, including extended periods on site during commissioning and start-up.

Job responsibilities

• Own the asset strategies for the thermal and cooling asset classes across the portfolio: criticality-based maintenance strategies, spares criticality and OEM service requirements, loaded into the CMMS and adopted at every operating campus.
• Set the operating envelopes and limits for thermal systems and the water-quality limits for cooling water and coolant; hold technical accountability (TA1) for deviations from them; elevate enterprise-level deviations to the Senior Manager and the Global Director.
• Own the cooling-water and coolant chemistry program: treatment specifications, vendor performance requirements, monitoring and audit, and the response when limits are exceeded.
• Provide the functional direction for the campus mechanical and HVAC reliability engineers (TA2): profile, hiring panel, onboarding, technical objectives and appraisal input; mentor and develop them in the discipline.
• Lead failure analysis for thermal and cooling events: RCA for severity 1 and repeat failures, findings converted into strategy and limit changes, design lessons fed to Engineering.
• Specify what is monitored on each thermal asset class, the thresholds, and the asset-health analytics that feed strategy.
• Support operational readiness for new campuses: review cooling plant design and commissioning deliverables for operability and maintainability, define the thermal acceptance criteria at each readiness level, and confirm strategies, spares and limits are in place before handover.
• Provide the thermal and cooling inputs to lifecycle, risk and investment decisions and the technical basis for OEM service decisions.

Benefits

At IREN, we offer a comprehensive,market-competitive total rewards package designed to support employees’well-being, career advancement, and financial wealth. Our offerings reflect ourcommitment to Proceed with Purpose while rewarding high performanceand long-term growth.

• Actual compensation will bedeterminedbased on factors such as experience, qualifications, and market data for the region.
• Total Compensation packagemay beinclusive of short-term and long-term incentives.
• Relocation (as applicable and based on successful candidate circumstances)
• 100% company paid health insurance premiums (medical, dental, and vision) for employees, 75% company paid coverage for dependents
• Company-paid short-term and long-term disability insurance
• Voluntary life, critical illness, and accident coverage available
• Health Savings Accounts (HSA) – when combined with the High-Deductible Health Plan
• Employee Assistance Program and wellness resources
• 401(k) retirement plan with company match
• Paid professional development and access to financial planning and legal services

We value diverse perspectives and believe that skills can be developed. If you’re passionate about this role, we want to hear from you — whether you meet every criteria or not. Your unique experiences might be exactly what we need!

IE US Operations Inc., the employing entity and proud member of the IREN group is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to creating an inclusive workplace. We are committed to evaluating qualified applicants and do not discriminate against protected characteristics under applicable legislation.

IE US Operations, Inc. “IREN” participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the United States.