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Job Description Principal Mechanical Engineer - Data Center Cooling Infrastructure Position Overview A Houston EPC company is developing a mission-critical facilities group and needs a Principal Mechanical Engineer to lead its mechanical engineering capability. The role centers on the design of scalable and dependable thermal infrastructure for high-density computing environments. As the mechanical technical authority, this engineer will set design expectations, guide project teams, advise clients, and help shape the organization's approach to both conventional and next-generation cooling.

The position will have meaningful influence over engineering methods, supplier relationships, project pursuits, and staff development. Key Accountabilities Define mechanical design criteria, standard details, specifications, calculations, and review procedures for data center projects. Lead the evaluation and design of chilled-water plants, air-cooled systems, cooling towers, pumping systems, CRAH and CRAC units, heat exchangers, and associated controls.

Develop cooling architectures that meet project requirements for availability, maintainability, scalability, and phased expansion. Apply N, N+1, 2N, and other redundancy strategies based on the consequences of equipment or distribution-system failure. Evaluate air cooling, rear-door heat exchangers, direct-to-chip liquid cooling, and other high-density thermal solutions.

Coordinate heat rejection, water use, electrical demand, control sequences, and emergency operating modes with other disciplines. Optimize system performance using lifecycle cost, climate, load profile, water availability, energy efficiency, and operational risk. Support project energy targets and realistic power usage effectiveness objectives without sacrificing resilience.

Lead mechanical design reviews, equipment-layout studies, model reviews, constructability sessions, and commissioning planning. Engage clients to define technical requirements, compare system options, and communicate tradeoffs. Prepare or review equipment specifications and lead technical evaluations for chillers, cooling towers, pumps, air-handling equipment, and packaged cooling systems.

Work with manufacturers and fabricators on modular plants, cooling skids, and other prefabricated assemblies. Provide senior technical support during construction, start-up, functional testing, and integrated systems testing. Contribute to proposals, interviews, project estimates, and market-development activities.

Mentor mechanical engineers and create a consistent technical foundation for the growing practice. Required Qualifications Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering. At least 15 years of progressive mechanical engineering experience.

Meaningful experience designing mission-critical cooling or other high-availability mechanical infrastructure. Strong knowledge of large central plants, chilled-water distribution, air-cooled equipment, controls, and redundancy planning. Working knowledge of ASHRAE guidance and environmental requirements applicable to data center equipment.

Demonstrated ability to coordinate complex mechanical systems with electrical, controls, architectural, structural, and construction teams. Strong client-facing communication and technical leadership skills. Ability to direct work across multiple projects with aggressive delivery schedules.

Preferred Experience Professional Engineer license. Hyperscale or colocation data center design. Application of ASHRAE TC 9.9 guidance

Direct-to-chip liquid cooling or other high-density thermal-management technologies. Modular and prefabricated mechanical infrastructure. EPC or design-build delivery.

Commissioning and integrated testing of mission-critical facilities. Leadership Mandate The selected engineer will be expected to build a durable mechanical engineering practice-not simply complete individual designs. That includes establishing standards, developing staff, improving execution, and delivering cooling systems that remain dependable as computing loads and thermal technologies evolve.