Mechanical Lead – Data Centres
Location: London / Remote Working
Salary: £180,000 – £200,000 + package
Sector: Data Centres / Mission Critical / Infrastructure
Employment Type: Permanent
Working Arrangement: Remote-first, with occasional travel
The Opportunity
We are seeking an exceptional Mechanical Lead to take technical ownership of the mechanical engineering function across major data centre and mission-critical projects.
This is a senior leadership position for an experienced mechanical engineer with a strong background in data centres, hyperscale, colocation or other mission-critical environments.
You will lead the mechanical design strategy from concept through detailed design, construction, commissioning and operational handover, acting as the senior technical authority for mechanical and cooling systems.
The successful candidate will have the technical credibility to challenge designs, lead engineering teams, engage directly with clients and stakeholders, and shape mechanical engineering standards across major data centre developments.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the mechanical engineering and design strategy for major data centre developments.
- Take ownership of mechanical design from concept and feasibility through detailed design, construction and commissioning.
- Develop and approve mechanical design philosophies, specifications and engineering standards.
- Lead data centre cooling strategies, including chilled water, DX, air-cooled and water-cooled systems.
- Oversee the design of chillers, cooling towers, dry coolers, heat exchangers, pumps and associated mechanical infrastructure.
- Lead the design of CRAH/CRAC systems, air handling systems and precision cooling solutions.
- Develop mechanical resilience strategies including N, N+1, 2N and 2N+1 configurations.
- Lead cooling capacity planning and thermal load assessments.
- Develop cooling strategies for high-density and AI/GPU data centre environments.
- Provide technical leadership on liquid cooling and direct-to-chip cooling solutions.
- Oversee chilled-water, condenser-water and LTHW distribution systems.
- Lead ventilation, smoke control and associated mechanical building services.
- Coordinate mechanical systems with electrical infrastructure, BMS, EPMS, controls and specialist systems.
- Lead technical design reviews, peer reviews, value engineering and design assurance.
- Review and approve mechanical calculations, specifications, drawings and technical submissions.
- Provide technical direction to consultants, contractors, suppliers and specialist subcontractors.
- Act as the senior mechanical point of contact for clients and key stakeholders.
- Lead engineering workshops and technical meetings.
- Develop and mentor senior engineers, associates and wider engineering teams.
- Support project bids, proposals, technical strategies and client presentations.
- Establish and maintain mechanical engineering quality standards and best practice.
- Drive energy efficiency, water efficiency and PUE/WUE optimisation across projects.
- Support procurement and technical evaluation of major mechanical plant and equipment.
- Review contractor technical submissions and equipment selections.
- Support construction, installation, testing and commissioning activities.
- Develop commissioning philosophies and support FAT, SAT and Integrated Systems Testing.
- Lead technical investigations, root-cause analysis and resolution of mechanical issues.
- Identify project risks and develop appropriate technical mitigation strategies.
- Drive standardisation and repeatable mechanical design solutions across the data centre portfolio.
Technical Expertise
The successful candidate will have extensive experience with:
- Data centre cooling systems
- Chilled water systems
- DX cooling
- CRAH / CRAC units
- Chillers
- Cooling towers
- Dry coolers
- Adiabatic cooling
- Heat rejection systems
- Pumps and pumping systems
- Chilled-water distribution
- Condenser-water systems
- LTHW systems
- HVAC and ventilation
- Airflow management
- Hot aisle / cold aisle containment
- Liquid cooling
- Direct-to-chip cooling
- Rear-door heat exchangers
- AI / high-density computing environments
- Thermal modelling
- CFD
- BMS and controls
- Mechanical resilience and redundancy
- Capacity planning
- Energy efficiency / PUE
- Water efficiency / WUE
- Commissioning and IST
- Plant optimisation
- Mechanical reliability and maintainability
Leadership Responsibilities
This is not simply a design position.
The Mechanical Lead will act as the senior technical authority for mechanical engineering, providing direction across multiple projects and engineering teams.
You will be expected to:
- Set technical direction and design standards.
- Review and challenge engineering solutions.
- Lead senior engineering teams.
- Develop technical talent and future engineering leaders.
- Represent the mechanical discipline at executive and client level.
- Build strong relationships with clients, developers, contractors and specialist suppliers.
- Drive technical innovation across the organisation.
- Ensure projects are delivered safely, efficiently and to the highest engineering standards.
Experience & Qualifications
- Degree-qualified in Mechanical Engineering, Building Services Engineering or equivalent.
- Chartered Engineer (CEng) preferred, ideally through CIBSE or IMechE.
- Significant senior-level mechanical engineering experience.
- Extensive experience in data centres / mission-critical infrastructure.
- Proven experience leading major mechanical design programmes.
- Experience with hyperscale, colocation or Tier III / Tier IV environments.
- Strong understanding of UK mechanical engineering standards and regulations.
- Demonstrable experience with large-scale cooling infrastructure.
- Experience working with clients, contractors, consultants, utilities and equipment manufacturers.
- Experience leading and mentoring senior engineering teams.
- Strong commercial and project awareness.
- Excellent client-facing and stakeholder-management skills.
- Ability to operate strategically while maintaining strong technical understanding.
