Senior Mechanical Engineer - Design (Data Centres)

PURPOSE OF THE JOB:

This is a senior technical leadership role based in THE CLIENT COMPANY's London office, responsible for the delivery of complex, mission-critical mechanical engineering design across data centres and high-performance facilities in the UK and international markets.

The role leads technical design delivery, provides authoritative engineering direction, and ensures compliance with UK regulatory requirements and international standards from concept through construction support. Proven data centre design experience is essential.

The successful candidate will:

• Lead multidisciplinary mechanical design delivery on large-scale mission-critical projects
• Provide technical governance and quality assurance across project outputs
• Support client engagement during technical discussions and design coordination
• Mentor and guide engineering teams within a high-performance delivery environment
• Contribute to construction-stage technical resolution and site support activities

JOB ACCOUNTABILITIES:

Design Leadership

• Lead mechanical design delivery for data centre and mission-critical projects.
• Oversee concept, schematic, detailed design, and construction-stage deliverables.
• Review and technically validate calculations, specifications, reports, drawings, and submissions.
• Ensure compliance with UK Building Regulations, international standards and client requirements.
• Provide technical solutions for complex design and coordination challenges.

Project & Stakeholder Management

• Manage technical delivery across multiple projects in coordination with project leads.
• Act as mechanical engineering lead in technical workshops, design reviews, and client meetings.
• Coordinate with electrical, public health, structural, architectural, and specialist disciplines.
• Monitor technical quality, design consistency, and engineering outputs across project teams.
• Support construction-stage activities including site inspections, technical assessments, and commissioning reviews.

Technical Support (Construction & Delivery Stage)

• Support construction-stage design clarifications and technical responses.
• Participate in site visits and assist in resolving design-related issues.
• Review commissioning inputs and ensure design intent is achieved on site.
• Provide technical input during project close-out and handover stages.

Business Support (Technical Input)

• Support project planning activities where required from a technical perspective.
• Provide technical input into fee proposals and bid submissions as required.
• Assist senior management with technical content for business development materials when needed.

People Leadership

• Provide technical leadership and mentoring to Senior and Intermediate Engineers.
• Support development of engineering capability within the mechanical team.
• Promote design excellence, technical consistency, and best practice standards.

Technical Knowledge:

Strong knowledge and hands-on experience required across:

• Data Centre and mission-critical facility design.
• Mechanical infrastructure resilience and redundancy philosophies (N+1, 2N, Concurrent Maintainability).
• HVAC system design and energy-efficient solutions (PUE optimisation).
• Building Management Systems (BMS) integration.
• Mechanical plant selection and equipment sizing.
• Coordination of multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• UK Building Regulations (Part L, Part F) and international standards (ASHRAE, Uptime Institute, EN 50600).

Qualifications & Education

• Degree in Mechanical Engineering (accredited university).

Experience

• 10–15 years of relevant consultancy experience.
• Essential: demonstrated delivery of large-scale Data Centre / mission-critical projects.
• Proven team leadership and client relationship management.
• Experience in international engineering consultancy environments.

Knowledge & Skills

• Chartered Engineer (CIBSE / IMechE) or equivalent professional accreditation.
• Experience with UK regulatory requirements and client base.
• Exposure to Tier III / IV data centre design.
• Strong commercial awareness and fee management.