Senior Data Center Critical Facilities Engineer (Mechanical)

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Job Summary

A senior, highly skilled specialist responsible for ensuring the reliability, availability, and safe operation of mechanical and cooling infrastructure within a mission‑critical data center environment. The Senior Critical Facilities Engineer (Mechanical) applies deep domain expertise and seasoned judgment to operate, maintain, and improve cooling and environmental systems, respond to incidents, and support operational excellence. The role operates with a high degree of independence within standard operating procedures and actively supports the team through technical leadership, risk identification, and continuous improvement.

Responsibilities

Facility / Infrastructure Maintenance

• Performs specialized preventive and corrective maintenance on mission‑critical cooling and mechanical infrastructure, ensuring environmental stability and data center resilience.
• Operates, maintains, and supports critical cooling systems, including chillers, cooling towers, CRAH/CRAC units, pumps, valves, heat exchangers, and chilled water systems, ensuring temperature and humidity remain within defined SLA limits.
• Leads advanced repairs, maintenance activities, installations, and inspections across mechanical systems, understanding the operational risk and impact of each activity.
• Monitors the Building Monitoring System (BMS) and independently resolves complex alarms related to cooling, mechanical plant, and environmental systems, assessing downstream impact and recommending corrective actions.
• Supports critical power systems (e.g. generators, UPS interfaces) from a mechanical integration and cooling dependency perspective, working in close coordination with electrical engineers where required.
• Operates and maintains plumbing, fuel, fire suppression, and life‑safety systems, ensuring alignment with overall mechanical and safety requirements of the data center.
• Implements and supports energy efficiency and thermal optimisation initiatives, including airflow management, cooling efficiency improvements, and capacity optimisation.
• Coordinates with team members during critical cooling activities, maintenance windows, and risk‑sensitive operations such as plant shutdowns or load transitions.
• Works on assignments requiring significant judgment and initiative, fully understanding the impact of cooling or environmental failures on customer infrastructure and making well‑reasoned recommendations for mitigation and long‑term improvements.

Vendor Support

• Coordinates and directs vendors performing specialised mechanical and cooling maintenance activities, ensuring compliance with site standards, safety requirements, and approved procedures.
• Assists with the creation, review, and submission of maintenance scripts and Maintenance Operation Protocols (MOPs) related to mechanical systems.
• Manages the work approval process for service providers performing critical mechanical maintenance, including pre‑work briefings, oversight during execution, and final validation of completed work.
• Works with vendors to update technical documentation, drawings, and asset records related to mechanical plants, ensuring as‑built accuracy and completeness.

Site Administration & Incident Support

• Prepares and maintains specialised site documentation required for permits, mechanical maintenance execution, and operational tracking.
• Identifies Single Points of Failure (SPOFs) and operational risks within cooling and mechanical systems and provides risk‑based mitigation recommendations.
• Responds to on‑site incidents involving cooling failures, thermal alarms, mechanical plant faults, or environmental excursions.
• Leads or contributes to Root Cause Analysis (RCA) for mechanical and environmental incidents and recommends corrective and preventive actions.
• Supports on‑site staff during incidents by providing mechanical expertise, guidance, and decision support.
• Ensures mechanical operating procedures and safety processes are followed consistently during normal operations and incident response.

Work Orders & Additional Projects

• Completes skilled work requests and supports mechanical aspects of infrastructure installations and modifications.
• Performs advanced troubleshooting of mechanical and auxiliary systems to minimise downtime and operational risk.
• Makes approved changes to mechanical and specialised systems in support of operations and improvement projects.
• Executes and supports complex mechanical infrastructure projects, including plant upgrades, retrofits, and system optimisations.
• Supports life‑cycle maintenance, end‑of‑life replacement, and critical upgrades for mechanical and cooling equipment.
• Recommends mechanical infrastructure improvement or replacement projects based on observed risks, ageing assets, and performance trends.

Collaboration

• Collaborates with cross‑functional teams (Electrical CF, Operations, Vendors, Projects) to resolve complex or high‑impact facility incidents.
• Works effectively within the Critical Facilities team and may mentor engineers on advanced mechanical maintenance, troubleshooting, and incident response.
• Informs stakeholders of inventory and spare‑part needs for critical mechanical systems.
• Acts as a technical mentor during incidents and complex tasks, sharing expertise and mechanical decision‑making rationale.

Qualifications

• Proven experience supporting mechanical and cooling systems in mission‑critical environments such as data centers, industrial facilities, utilities, or large‑scale commercial buildings.
• Diploma or Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Building Services Engineering, or related field preferred.