Sr. Mechanical Engineer – Data Center Infrastructure

VDart Inc; Houston (TX); Híbrido; USD 120.000 - 180.000; Jornada completa

Descripción de la vacante

VDart Inc. seeks a Senior Mechanical Engineer - Data Center Infrastructure to lead cooling design and deployment for high-density facilities.

You will own mechanical engineering for site deployments, mentor engineers, and coordinate with internal and external teams to deliver scalable, reliable data center solutions. The role requires a PE license, 7+ years of relevant experience, and the ability to travel ~15-25% to project sites.

Formación

• PE license in Mechanical Engineering is required.
• 7+ years of mechanical engineering experience in data centers or mission-critical facilities.
• Strong knowledge of ASHRAE guidelines and building codes.

Responsabilidades

• Lead mechanical engineering for high-density data center infra across programs.
• Own and refine design standards, specs and calculation methods.
• Review and sign off on mechanical drawings, specs, and equipment schedules.
• Design and validate cooling solutions for traditional and AI/GPU data centers.
• Direct engineering for liquid cooling, CDUs, secondary loops, CRAHs, chillers and pumps.
• Perform cooling load calculations and equipment sizing; verify capacity.
• Develop chilled-water and liquid cooling distribution architectures.
• Review piping layouts, valve placements and service clearances.
• Coordinate with electrical, structural, controls, fire protection, and infra teams.
• Direct integration between modular equipment and site infrastructure.
• Lead design reviews (30/60/90/IFC) and resolve issues before construction.
• Review vendor drawings and drive equipment and vendor strategy.

Conocimientos

Mechanical design

Leadership

Cross-functional coordination

Mentoring engineers

HVAC data center cooling

Project management

Educación

Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering

Herramientas

AutoCAD

Revit

BIM

Descripción del empleo

Role: Sr. Mechanical Engineer - Data Center Infrastructure

Location: Hayward, CA; Manassas, VA; Houston, TX (with travel to project sites as needed, ~15-25%) - Hybrid

Duration: Full time

Professional Engineer (PE): Required

About the Role:

We are seeking a Sr. Mechanical Engineer - Data Center Infrastructure to lead the design, development, deployment and commissioning of high-density data center cooling solutions across multiple concurrent programs. This role owns mechanical engineering for site-level data center deployments, cooling systems, liquid cooling, piping, equipment integration, mechanical layouts, constructability and serves as the senior technical authority setting design standards across the portfolio.

The ideal candidate has deep, hands-on experience with mission-critical facilities and the mechanical requirements of high-density AI/GPU infrastructure, holds a Professional Engineer (PE) license in Mechanical Engineering, and is comfortable directing design work, mentoring engineers, and representing engineering in customer and executive discussions. The engineer will work closely with internal products, electrical, engineering, project management, construction, and operations teams, as well as external engineering firms, contractors, equipment manufacturers and customers.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead mechanical engineering activities for high-density data center infrastructure across multiple concurrent programs.
• Own and continually refine mechanical design standards, specifications, and calculation methodologies used across the portfolio.
• Develop and give final review/sign-off on mechanical designs, drawings, specifications, calculations, equipment schedules, and engineering documentation.
• Design and validate cooling solutions for traditional and high-density AI/GPU data center environments.
• Direct engineering for direct-to-chip liquid cooling, CDUs, secondary cooling loops, rear-door heat exchangers, CRAH/CRAC systems, chillers, pumps, heat exchangers, and associated piping systems.
• Perform and review cooling load calculations, equipment sizing, pressure-drop calculations, pump sizing, flow analysis, and system capacity validation.
• Develop mechanical system concepts including chilled-water and liquid-cooling distribution architectures and set direction for future-facing cooling strategy.
• Review piping layouts, valve arrangements, equipment placement, connection points, redundancy, maintainability, and service clearances.
• Coordinate mechanical designs with electrical, structural, architectural, controls/BMS, fire protection, and infrastructure teams.
• Direct mechanical integration between prefabricated/modular equipment and site infrastructure.
• Develop and give final review of mechanical site plans, equipment layouts, piping routing, connection requirements, and installation details.
• Review vendor and manufacturer drawings, submittals, technical specifications, and equipment selections; drive equipment and vendor strategy.
• Lead design reviews including 30%, 60%, 90%, IFC and construction drawing reviews.
• Identify design conflicts, constructability issues, capacity constraints, and technical risks before construction, and drive resolution.
• Direct development of Bills of Materials (BOMs), equipment specifications, scopes of work, and technical procurement packages.
• Work with suppliers and contract manufacturers to ensure equipment and assemblies meet engineering requirements.
• Review and adjudicate contractor technical RFIs, submittals, change orders, and field modifications.
• Conduct site visits and field inspections to verify installation quality and conformance with design requirements.
• Ensure designs comply with applicable U.S. building codes, mechanical codes, energy codes, ASHRAE guidance, customer requirements, and industry best practices.
• Mentor and provide technical guidance to mechanical engineers supporting individual programs.
• Represent mechanical engineering in customer meetings and executive design reviews.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering or related engineering discipline.
• Professional Engineer (PE) license required.
• 7+ years of mechanical engineering experience, including data centers, mission-critical facilities, semiconductor facilities, advanced manufacturing, or other high-availability infrastructure.
• Deep understanding of data center cooling and hydronic systems.
• Extensive experience with high-density computing and/or liquid-cooled data center environments.
• Extensive experience with CDUs, chilled-water systems, secondary cooling loops, pumps, heat exchangers, CRAHs, chillers, RDHx systems, and associated controls.
• Deep knowledge of ASHRAE thermal guidelines and mechanical design practices for missioncritical facilities.
• Strong familiarity with applicable IBC, IMC, IPC, NFPA, ASHRAE and local building-code requirements.
• Experience producing and giving final review of construction drawings, P&IDs, equipment schedules, specifications, and engineering calculations.
• Experience with AutoCAD and/or Revit; BIM coordination experience preferred.
• Experience directing mechanical contractors, equipment manufacturers, commissioning agents, and engineering consultants.
• Ability to translate engineering concepts into standardized, manufacturable products.
• Proven ability to manage multiple concurrent projects and coordinate across engineering, construction, and customer teams.
• Experience mentoring or leading other engineers.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading a mechanical engineering team or function.
• Experience delivering hyperscale or colocation data center buildouts supporting AI/high-density computing environments.
• Experience establishing or maintaining company-wide mechanical design standards and playbooks.
• Involvement with ASHRAE technical committees or similar industry bodies.