Senior Mechanical Engineer, Data Centers - Remote (U.S.)

AECOM is a global infrastructure consulting firm serving complex challenges across buildings, engineering, and related infrastructure sectors. The company is seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineer to design and optimize heat rejection and HVAC systems for data centers and mission-critical facilities, including CFD analysis, capacity planning, redundancy, energy efficiency, air quality, and coordination with other engineering disciplines.

Responsibilities:

• Data Center Heat Rejection and HVAC System Design: Developing and designing Heat Rejection and HVAC systems specifically tailored for data centers, considering factors such as type of cooling requirement as air cooled or direct fluid cooled, associated cooling loads, future flexibility of the system to accommodate variable heat distribution scenarios, phased construction and operation, airflow management, humidity control, system redundancy providing concurrent maintainability, energy efficiency, and compliance with industry standards and best practices
• Cooling System Selection: Selecting appropriate air/water side cooling systems for data centers, including Fan wall units, computer room air handlers (CRAHs), chilled water systems, DX systems and CRAC units, in-row cooling, and containment solutions, based on the specific cooling requirements of the data center and the criticality of the equipment
• Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Analysis: Conducting internal CFD simulations to optimize airflow distribution, transient period analysis, identify hotspots, and ensure efficient cooling throughout the data center. Conducting external CFD on individual buildings and/or campus-wide to simulate effects of different electrical and mechanical components on each other and effects on design day selection criteria capacity of each component. For both types, prepare and/or direct preparation of models and analyse the results to recommend design modifications and optimize the Heat rejection and HVAC system performance. Coordinate the required changes and resulting effects with other trades on project
• Redundancy and Fault Tolerance: Designing HVAC systems with redundancy and fault-tolerant features to ensure continuous operation of the data center in the event of equipment failure or maintenance activities. This includes the design of backup cooling systems, automatic switchover mechanisms, and monitoring systems
• Heat Load Calculation and Capacity Planning: Performing heat load calculations for data centers to determine the cooling requirements based on the IT equipment, power density, anticipated growth, and phasing of the construction and operational steps. Conducting capacity planning to ensure the HVAC system can accommodate future expansions and upgrades. Performing HVAC loads for admin and common sections of the facility
• Energy Efficiency and Sustainability: Implementing energy-efficient HVAC design strategies, such as utilizing economizers, variable speed drives, energy recovery systems, and optimizing airflow management techniques, to minimize energy consumption and support sustainability initiatives
• Air Quality and Filtration: Ensuring the data center's air quality is maintained at optimal levels by designing appropriate filtration systems and implementing air quality monitoring mechanisms. Addressing concerns related to particulate matter, humidity control, and contaminant removal to protect sensitive IT equipment
• Coordination with Electrical and Mechanical Systems: Collaborating with electrical engineers and mechanical engineers to integrate the heat rejection and HVAC system seamlessly with the electrical infrastructure, UPS systems, emergency power systems, fire suppression systems, and other critical infrastructure components

Requirements:

• Bachelor's Degree with 8+ years of relevant experience or demonstrated equivalency of experience and or education
• Experience in data center mechanical and electrical equipment installation and operation
• P. E. registration is required
• Preference would be given to candidates with a master's degree or advanced coursework in HVAC systems or energy management
• Knowledge of data center TER Standard Topology as per Uptime Institute, TIA 942, ANSI/BICSI 002
• Professional certifications related to HVAC engineering, such as Certified Energy Manager (CEM), Building Energy Modeling Professional (BEMP), or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) accreditation, would be advantageous