Principal Engineer - Mechanical Systems

Datacenter People are currently supporting a specialist digital infrastructure investment and engineering consultancy in the search for a Principal Mechanical Engineer - Data Centers.

This is a senior technical role focused on the design and development of mechanical infrastructure for large-scale data center projects, with particular emphasis on HVAC, cooling and thermal management.

Working consultancy-side, you will advise major customers on mechanical strategy and take projects from early-stage concept and system architecture through design development, tendering, construction and commissioning.

The Opportunity

You will act as a senior mechanical engineering specialist across international data center projects, developing cooling strategies and translating customer requirements into practical, resilient and commercially viable designs.

The role covers traditional air and water-based data center cooling alongside the rapidly developing requirements associated with high-density computing and liquid cooling.

You'll work as part of a small, highly experienced multidisciplinary team across data center, power, energy and connectivity infrastructure, with considerable autonomy and direct exposure to customers.

What the Job Involves…

• Develop mechanical and cooling strategies for large-scale data center projects
• Produce concept and schematic mechanical designs and Basis of Design documentation
• Design and evaluate chilled-water, airside, hydronic and heat-rejection systems
• Support the integration of liquid cooling and high-density compute environments
• Develop specifications, calculations, equipment schedules and technical reports
• Assess mechanical architectures for resilience, efficiency, sustainability, CapEx and OpEx
• Review designs against customer and hyperscaler technical requirements
• Coordinate mechanical infrastructure with electrical, controls/BMS and wider building systems
• Manage and review work undertaken by external design consultants and contractors
• Provide technical input into tenders and evaluate contractor/vendor submissions
• Support data center master planning, feasibility studies and technical due diligence
• Provide engineering support throughout construction and commissioning
• Work directly with customers, contractors, consultants and technology vendors
• Identify value-engineering and energy-efficiency opportunities throughout project development

The position combines hands-on mechanical engineering, technical consultancy and client advisory work, rather than being solely a design-management position.

We're Looking for Someone Who...

• Strong background in mechanical/HVAC design within a consultancy or engineering environment
• Experience designing cooling systems for data centers or other technically demanding facilities
• Strong knowledge of chilled water, hydronics, airside systems and heat rejection
• Experience producing and reviewing mechanical designs, calculations and specifications
• Understanding of resilience and redundancy within mission-critical environments
• Experience with Revit, AutoCAD and BIM-based design environments
• Knowledge of relevant UK/EU and ASHRAE mechanical standards
• Experience coordinating multidisciplinary engineering designs
• Strong client-facing and stakeholder management capability
• Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Building Services Engineering or a related discipline

Data center experience would be strongly preferred, particularly exposure to hyperscale or colocation environments. Experience with liquid cooling, CDUs, CFD modelling and high-density infrastructure would be particularly relevant.

Candidates from specialist MEP/data center consultancies, engineering design houses or mission-critical engineering teams would be of particular interest.

What Makes This Role Interesting...

• Opportunity to influence mechanical strategy from the earliest stages of major data center developments
• Consultancy-side position offering exposure to multiple customers, geographies and design approaches
• Work across both established cooling architectures and next-generation liquid cooling technologies
• Broad involvement from feasibility and concept design through construction and commissioning
• Direct customer exposure rather than operating solely within a large engineering delivery team
• Opportunity to influence CapEx, OpEx, resilience and sustainability decisions rather than simply designing to a predetermined specification
• Work alongside specialists covering power, energy and wider digital infrastructure
• Small, agile environment offering significant technical autonomy and responsibility

We regret that due to the high volume of applications we are unable to acknowledge each one. Please bear in mind that if you are selected for interview we will contact you within the next seven days.