About the Role / About the Job
The Senior Manager – Mechanical is responsible for leading the mechanical engineering design, technical coordination, and delivery of hyperscale and enterprise data centre projects from concept through commissioning and handover. This role provides technical leadership for all mechanical systems, ensuring that design solutions meet project objectives, company standards, client requirements, operational reliability, energy efficiency, sustainability objectives, and applicable international codes and regulations. The Senior Manager – Mechanical oversees the performance of internal mechanical engineering teams, external consultants, specialist vendors, and contractors to ensure integrated, innovative, and high-quality mechanical engineering solutions. This position plays a critical role in delivering resilient mission-critical cooling infrastructure, optimising system performance, supporting value engineering initiatives, and ensuring constructability throughout the project lifecycle.
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Job Role Functions
The role includes, but is not limited to, the following responsibilities:
- Lead the mechanical engineering design and technical delivery of hyperscale and enterprise data centre projects.
- Develop mechanical design strategies, engineering execution plans, and technical roadmaps aligned with business and project objectives.
- Manage the design and coordination of mechanical systems relevant to data centres, including cooling systems, plumbing, and fire protection systems.
- Lead the design of mission-critical mechanical systems to achieve high availability, redundancy, reliability, and operational resilience.
- Review and approve mechanical engineering deliverables at all project stages, including concept, schematic, detailed design, IFC, and as-built documentation.
- Ensure compliance with employer's requirements, company engineering standards, project specifications, and applicable international codes and industry best practices.
- Coordinate mechanical engineering interfaces with architectural, structural, civil, electrical, ICT, ELV, security, and specialist systems.
- Lead multidisciplinary coordination to ensure fully integrated mechanical solutions.
- Monitor consultant performance, engineering deliverables, design schedules, and project milestones.
- Establish and maintain mechanical engineering standards, specifications, design guidelines, and best practices across all projects.
- Conduct technical reviews, design audits, constructability reviews, and interdisciplinary coordination meetings.
- Support value engineering initiatives while maintaining system reliability, maintainability, energy efficiency, and operational performance.
- Identify technical risks, design conflicts, and engineering issues, and implement appropriate mitigation measures.
- Support procurement activities by reviewing technical submissions, equipment specifications, vendor offers, and shop drawings.
- Provide engineering support during construction, factory acceptance testing (FAT), site acceptance testing (SAT), commissioning, integrated systems testing, and project handover.
- Review and resolve Requests for Information (RFIs), technical queries, engineering change requests, and site design issues.
- Coordinate with project management, procurement, construction, operations, commissioning teams, consultants, contractors, and vendors to ensure seamless project delivery.
- Act as the primary mechanical engineering technical authority for internal and external stakeholders.
- Present engineering solutions, project progress, and technical recommendations to senior management and executive leadership.
- Ensure compliance with quality assurance and quality control procedures for all mechanical engineering deliverables.
- Promote innovation, sustainability, energy efficiency, decarbonisation initiatives, and continuous improvement across mechanical engineering designs.
- Lead, mentor, coach, and develop mechanical engineering teams to build technical capability and succession.
- Support recruitment and performance management processes.
Minimum Qualification & Experience
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering.
- Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering or Project Management is preferred.
- Minimum 15 years of experience in mechanical engineering design and project delivery.
- Minimum 7–10 years of experience leading mechanical engineering teams for hyperscale, mission-critical, or large-scale infrastructure projects.
- Proven experience delivering complex data centre developments from concept through commissioning.
- Extensive knowledge of mission-critical cooling technologies, including chilled water systems, direct-to-chip liquid cooling, immersion cooling (desirable), cooling towers, heat exchangers, CRAH/CRAC units, HVAC, ventilation, plumbing, and fire protection systems.
- Experience coordinating with international consultants, contractors, equipment manufacturers, and specialist vendors.
- Strong understanding of mechanical engineering coordination, procurement support, construction administration, commissioning, integrated systems testing, and operational readiness.
- Thorough knowledge of international codes and standards, including ASHRAE, SMACNA, NFPA, IPC, IMC, CIBSE, and local authority requirements.
- Strong leadership, communication, stakeholder management, and decision-making skills.
