Data Center Design Jobs in Houston, TX (NOW HIRING)

Company Description Fortis Engineers, founded in 2000, is an MEP engineering and construction management firm specializing in complex building systems. The company delivers integrated mechanical, electrical, and plumbing solutions for clients in highly technical environments, including data centers and mission-critical facilities. Fortis emphasizes quality engineering, reliable project execution, and collaborative partnerships with owners, architects, and contractors. Team members join a technically focused, growth-oriented environment that values professional development and practical problem-solving.

Electrical Engineer – Data Center Design

Position: Electrical Engineer – Data Center Design

Department: Electrical Engineering

Reports To: Electrical Engineering Manager / Project Manager

Employment Type: Full-Time

Location: Dallas or Remote

Position Summary

We are seeking an Electrical Engineer with data center and mission-critical design experience to join our engineering team. The successful candidate will be responsible for the electrical design, analysis, documentation, and coordination of data centers and other mission-critical facilities.

The engineer will participate in projects from conceptual design through construction administration, developing reliable, energy-efficient, code-compliant electrical systems capable of supporting high-availability computing environments.

The ideal candidate understands the unique requirements of data centers, including utility service, medium-voltage distribution, generators, UPS systems, battery energy storage, switchgear, PDUs, STS systems, redundancy, grounding, lightning protection, arc-flash studies, and critical power distribution.

Key Responsibilities1. Electrical System Design

Develop electrical designs for data centers, including:

• Utility service and electrical service entrances
• Medium-voltage distribution systems
• MV switchgear and transformers
• Low-voltage switchgear and switchboards
• Generator plants and emergency power systems
• Automatic transfer switches
• UPS systems
• Battery systems and BESS
• Power distribution units (PDUs)
• Remote power panels (RPPs)
• Static transfer switches (STS)
• Busway systems
• Rack-level power distribution
• Mechanical equipment power distribution
• Lighting and lighting controls
• Emergency and egress lighting
• Fire alarm power requirements
• Security and low-voltage system power
• Grounding and bonding
• Lightning protection
• Surge protection
• Electrical metering and monitoring

2. Critical Power & Reliability

Develop electrical architectures supporting high-availability data center environments, including:

• 2N
• N+1
• N+2
• Distributed redundancy
• Concurrently maintainable systems
• Fault-tolerant systems
• A/B power distribution
• Critical load segregation
• Generator paralleling systems
• UPS redundancy
• Electrical selective coordination
• Critical power pathways

Evaluate electrical system configurations for reliability, maintainability, resiliency, and scalability.

3. Electrical Calculations & Studies

Perform or coordinate:

• Load calculations
• Short-circuit calculations
• Voltage-drop calculations
• Feeder sizing
• Conductor and raceway sizing
• Transformer sizing
• Generator sizing
• UPS sizing
• Battery sizing
• Equipment loading
• Arc-flash studies
• Protective-device coordination
• Selective coordination
• Grounding calculations
• Lighting calculations
• Emergency power calculations
• Harmonic analysis
• Motor starting analysis
• Electrical system capacity studies

4. Engineering Documents

Prepare and review:

• Single-line diagrams
• Electrical floor plans
• Power plans
• Lighting plans
• Equipment connection schedules
• Panel schedules
• Load summaries
• Electrical details
• Equipment specifications
• Basis-of-design documents
• Design narratives
• Electrical riser diagrams
• One-line diagrams
• Short-circuit and coordination study information
• Construction documents
• Commissioning documentation

5. Codes & Standards

Ensure designs comply with applicable codes and standards, including as applicable:

• NFPA 70 – National Electrical Code (NEC)
• NFPA 70E
• NFPA 110
• NFPA 111
• NFPA 780
• International Building Code (IBC)
• International Energy Conservation Code (IECC)
• Local electrical and building codes
• IEEE standards
• NEMA standards
• UL standards
• ANSI standards
• ASHRAE requirements applicable to electrical systems
• Utility requirements
• Owner standards
• Data center design standards and guidelines

Mechanical Engineer – Data Center Design

Position: Mechanical Engineer – Data Center Design

Department: Mechanical Engineering

Reports To: Mechanical Engineering Manager / Project Manager

Employment Type: Full-Time

Location: Dallas or Remote

Position Summary

We are seeking a Mechanical Engineer with data center and mission-critical design experience to join our engineering team. The engineer will be responsible for the design, analysis, documentation, coordination, and construction administration of mechanical systems for data centers and other mission-critical facilities.

The ideal candidate has strong experience with data center cooling, chilled-water systems, air-cooled and water-cooled cooling systems, CRAH/CRAC units, cooling towers, heat rejection, pumping systems, controls, redundancy, and high-density/AI computing environments.

The engineer should understand how to design mechanical systems that provide high availability, energy efficiency, maintainability, scalability, and reliable thermal performance.

Key Responsibilities1. Data Center Cooling System Design

Design and develop mechanical systems including:

• Chilled-water cooling systems
• Air-cooled chiller systems
• Water-cooled chiller systems
• CRAH units
• CRAC units
• In-row cooling
• Rear-door heat exchangers
• Direct-to-chip liquid cooling
• Liquid-to-liquid cooling systems
• CDUs (Coolant Distribution Units)
• Cooling towers
• Dry coolers
• Fluid coolers
• Condensers
• Heat exchangers
• Pumps
• Primary/secondary/tertiary pumping systems
• Cooling distribution systems
• Computer room air distribution
• Supply and return air systems
• Economizer systems
• Free cooling systems

2. Thermal Load Analysis

Perform and review detailed thermal calculations for data centers, including:

• IT equipment loads
• Rack heat loads
• High-density rack loads
• AI/HPC loads
• UPS heat loads
• Electrical equipment heat loads
• Lighting loads
• Occupancy loads
• Envelope heat transfer
• Infiltration
• Process loads
• Equipment room loads
• Generator room loads
• Battery room loads

Develop:

• Block load calculations
• Room-by-room cooling loads
• Cooling capacity calculations
• Sensible/latent load calculations
• Airflow calculations
• Chilled-water flow calculations
• Heat rejection calculations
• Pumping calculations

3. Mission-Critical Redundancy

Develop mechanical systems based on the required reliability and availability strategy, including:

• N+1
• N+2
• 2N
• Distributed redundancy
• Concurrently maintainable systems
• Fault-tolerant systems

Evaluate failure scenarios such as:

• Chiller failure
• Pump failure
• CRAH failure
• Cooling tower failure
• Cooling loop failure
• Electrical power failure
• Control system failure
• Valve failure
• Loss of a mechanical room
• Loss of a cooling plant
• Loss of a distribution pathway

Ensure that the mechanical infrastructure maintains required cooling capacity under appropriate failure and maintenance scenarios.

4. High-Density & AI Data Center Cooling

Support the mechanical design of high-density computing and AI data centers.

Responsibilities may include:

• Evaluating rack densities
• Designing cooling for 50–100+ kW racks
• Supporting liquid-cooled rack deployments
• Designing CDUs
• Designing facility water systems
• Designing secondary cooling loops
• Coordinating direct-to-chip cooling
• Designing rear-door heat exchanger systems
• Evaluating hybrid air/liquid cooling
• Developing cooling capacity for GPU clusters
• Planning future increases in rack density
• Developing phased cooling capacity

The engineer should understand that modern AI data centers can have dramatically higher rack densities than traditional enterprise data centers.

5. Chilled-Water System Design

Develop complete chilled-water systems including:

• Chillers
• Pumps
• Headers
• Distribution piping
• Primary/secondary systems
• Variable-primary-flow systems
• Heat exchangers
• Expansion tanks
• Air separators
• Water treatment
• Strainers
• Control valves
• Isolation valves
• Balancing systems
• Differential-pressure control

Perform:

• Pipe sizing
• Pressure-drop calculations
• Pump head calculations
• Flow calculations
• Equipment sizing
• Control valve sizing
• Expansion calculations

6. Airside Systems

Design and coordinate:

• CRAH/CRAC systems
• Supply-air systems
• Return-air systems
• Outside-air systems
• Economizers
• Air distribution
• Ductwork
• Dampers
• Filters
• Airflow control
• Containment systems
• Hot-aisle containment
• Cold-aisle containment
• Fan systems
• Smoke control interfaces

Perform airflow and pressure calculations to ensure appropriate air distribution and thermal performance.

7. Heat Rejection Systems

Design and coordinate:

• Cooling towers
• Dry coolers
• Fluid coolers
• Condensers
• Heat exchangers
• Condenser-water systems
• Heat rejection piping
• Pumps
• Water treatment systems
• Water makeup systems
• Blowdown systems
• Freeze protection

Evaluate site-specific environmental conditions and their effect on cooling capacity.

8. Mechanical Equipment Selection

Select and specify:

• Chillers
• CRAH units
• CRAC units
• Pumps
• Cooling towers
• Dry coolers
• Heat exchangers
• CDUs
• Air handling units
• Fans
• VAV systems
• Valves
• Expansion tanks
• Filtration equipment
• Water treatment equipment

9. Engineering Calculations

Perform or coordinate:

• Heating and cooling load calculations
• Airflow calculations
• Duct sizing
• Pipe sizing
• Pressure-drop calculations
• Pump sizing
• Fan sizing
• Chiller sizing
• Cooling tower sizing
• Heat exchanger sizing
• Equipment selection
• Psychrometric analysis
• Energy calculations
• Equipment heat rejection calculations

Experience with BIM coordination and clash detection is strongly preferred.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field
• 3–8+ years of mechanical engineering/design experience, depending on level
• Experience with commercial HVAC systems
• Strong understanding of mechanical systems
• Strong knowledge of HVAC design principles
• Experience developing construction documents
• Knowledge of applicable mechanical codes
• Ability to perform engineering calculations
• Ability to read and develop mechanical plans and diagrams
• Strong communication and coordination skills