AECOM is seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineer to join its Data Center and Mission Critical team for the east region. This is a remote, client-facing role focused on designing and optimizing HVAC and heat rejection systems for high-profile, fast-paced data center projects across the U.S., with opportunities for career growth and global collaboration.
What You'll Do
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Preparing and/or directing preparation of models and analysing the results to recommend design modifications and optimize the Heat rejection and HVAC system performance.
- Coordinating the required changes and resulting effects with other trades on project.
- 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.
- Designing backup cooling systems, automatic switchover mechanisms, and monitoring systems.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
What We're Looking For
- Familiarity with the tech sector, mission critical and data center industry
- Understanding of the requirements of scale, speed, and consistency in data centers
Technical Stack
- HVAC systems
- Heat Rejection systems
- Fan wall units
- Computer room air handlers (CRAHs)
- Chilled water systems
- DX systems
- CRAC units
- In-row cooling
- Containment solutions
- Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis
- Economizers
- Variable speed drives
- Energy recovery systems
- Airflow management techniques
Team & Environment
Work as part of a robust teams environment within AECOM’s global data center consulting team with presence in Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia.
Benefits & Compensation
- Flexibility of a remote work schedule
- Opportunity to work with global teams on high-profile, fast-paced data center projects
- Client-facing role with opportunity for upward career mobility
- Occasional travel scheduled in advance for client meetings, key project milestones, onsite collaboration sessions, or other business-critical activities
Work Mode
Primarily remote with occasional scheduled travel for client meetings, milestones, and collaboration sessions. Position is remote within the U.S. with periodic travel to AECOM offices or project sites as needed.
AECOM is committed to EEO and welcomes candidates of all backgrounds.
