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Posted 2mo ago

Senior Mechanical Engineer

@ TA Digital Group
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Ashburn, Virginia, United States
OnsiteFull Time
Responsibilities:Lead mechanical system strategy, Oversee external consultants, Review equipment submittals
Requirements Summary:Senior level mechanical engineer with owner-side responsibility for data center projects; 7+ years experience; strong client-facing and cross-functional leadership.
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Job Description

JOB SUMMARY

The Principal / Senior Mechanical Engineer provides internal technical leadership and risk management support for data center developments from early site evaluation through Issue-For-Construction (IFC) design. This role is responsible for client programming, oversight of external design consultants, review of equipment and system selections, and ensuring mechanical designs align with tenant requirements, utility constraints, constructability, and long-term operational objectives.


This role is not primarily a production design role, but rather an owner-side engineering position focused on technical diligence, standardization, and decision-making across turnkey and powered shell data center projects. This position plays a critical role in managing technical risk across primarily air-cooled chiller-based facilities, while also supporting the company’s evolution toward liquid cooling and AI-driven workloads.


ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Essential duties and responsibilities include the following:

  • Serve as the internal mechanical subject matter expert supporting development, design, construction, and strategy teams across assigned projects.
  • Lead mechanical system strategy, including cooling architecture selection, redundancy philosophies, and scalability planning.
  • Support early-stage site evaluation with particular emphasis on water use, heat rejection strategies, and coordination with water authorities and utilities.
  • Lead or support client (tenant) mechanical programming efforts, including review of technical matrices, performance requirements, and basis-of-design documentation.
  • Oversee and technically manage external mechanical engineering consultants to ensure alignment with internal standards, tenant requirements, codes, and schedule.
  • Review mechanical designs at all phases, including chilled water systems, CRAH/CRAC strategies, heat rejection equipment, controls/BMS integration, and make-up water systems.
  • Review major mechanical equipment selections and submittals, ensuring suitability for hyperscale, AI, and high-density deployments.
  • Support both:
    • Turnkey projects: ensuring full mechanical system compliance through the data hall.
    • Powered shell projects: ensuring base building infrastructure provides flexibility for future tenant build-outs.
  • Provide technical input to RFQs/RFPs, tenant proposals, and responses to client technical inquiries.
  • Contribute to platform standardization, including development of mechanical design standards and reference configurations.
  • Support construction and commissioning phases as required, including responses to RFIs and participation in startup or acceptance activities.
  • Represent the company in project meetings with internal stakeholders, consultants, utilities, and tenants.
  • Travel up to ~30% as required by project needs, with flexibility during early project phases.


SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

  • External consultant supervision only.
  • This role may mentor junior engineers or design managers but does not initially require direct reports.
  • This role may evolve into a discipline lead position depending on experience and organizational needs.


QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform all of the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodations. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities (and others in accordance with applicable law) to perform the essential functions of the job, consistent with applicable laws and company policy.


EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

  • Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent applicable professional experience.
  • 7+ years of experience in mechanical engineering, design management, or owner-side engineering roles.
  • Prior data center or mission-critical facilities experience required.
  • Demonstrated client-facing experience, including participation in technical workshops or programming sessions.
  • Experience overseeing third-party engineering firms and reviewing designs and equipment submittals.
  • Strong experience with air-cooled chiller systems required; exposure to liquid-to-chip or hybrid cooling solutions strongly preferred.
  • Field or field-facing experience (construction support, commissioning, or startup) preferred.
  • Ability to balance standardization with client-specific requirements in a fast-moving development environment.
  • Strong communication skills and ability to represent the company in client-facing settings.
  • Proficiency with Microsoft Office and Bluebeam.


EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

TA Digital is an Equal Opportunity Employer that is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive company culture. TA Digital does not discriminate against candidates and employees on the basis of race, religion, national origin, age, veteran status, sexual orientation, or any other protected status under law.

 

DISCLAIMER

This job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications required of employees assigned to the job.