The Data Center Mechanical Technical Director manages the utilisation, growth, and development of professionals within the Mechanical Engineering discipline, including Mechanical Engineers, HVAC Specialists, CFD Engineers, and Critical Environment (CE) Specialists. This role ensures the technical excellence, reliability, and innovation of mechanical systems across all data center projects and operations. We are looking for a Data Center Mechanical Technical Director to join our talented team at one of our offices in either the UK or Europe.
The Data Center Mechanical Technical Director Shall
- Be Responsible and Accountable for the Data Center Mechanical Engineering discipline.
- Ensure consistent, high-quality deliverables via QA/QC reviews, technical audits, and commissioning oversight.
- Support business development with technical expertise, proposal generation, and project work‑hour estimates.
- Possess deep technical proficiency in data center mechanical systems (cooling, hydronics, chiller plants, CRAH/CRAC, heat rejection, energy optimisation, CFD modelling).
- Support strategic company initiatives focused on energy efficiency, sustainability, uptime, and digital transformation for critical environments.
- Act as an SME for all data center mechanical systems and standards to support organisational development.
- Ensure adherence to global mechanical engineering procedures, standards, software tools, and compliance requirements (ASHRAE TC9.9, Uptime Institute, ISO, local code).
Key Responsibilities
- Coordinate with Regional Senior Directors, Project Managers, and Proposal Managers to determine scope, cost, complexity, planning, and scheduling requirements for mechanical engineering deliverables.
- Assign appropriate mechanical engineering personnel to provide cost-effective technical support.
- Define execution workflows, design philosophies, and levels of detail (LOD) needed to meet project objectives.
- Estimate work hours for mechanical deliverables, commissioning support, and design reviews.
- Ensure quality, accuracy, consistency, timeliness, and compliance of mechanical design outputs with engineering principles, codes, and internal quality standards.
- Develop a strategic business plan for mechanical engineering aligned with long‑range company goals, including cooling innovation, energy efficiency, modularisation, and digital engineering.
- Lead Mechanical Engineering Communities of Practice to promote continuous development of data center mechanical standards, guidelines, and best practices.
- Liaise globally with other Directors to ensure consistent mechanical design methodology across all projects.
- Drive innovation and technology adoption—AI applications, predictive maintenance, CFD modelling, digital twins, and automation—to increase productivity and system reliability.
- Maintain relationships with industry bodies (ASHRAE, Uptime Institute, CIBSE, etc.) and ensure team members engage in continuous professional development.
- Lead hiring, performance evaluations, salary recommendations, and development plans for the Mechanical Engineering discipline.
- Plan and schedule work to ensure effective use of manpower, tools, and resources.
- Serve as technical authority for inter‑office work sharing, outsourcing, and QA/QC of external consultants.
- Conduct capability assessments to identify knowledge gaps and implement training or recruitment strategies to close them.
- Review productivity and quality reports to ensure discipline‑wide optimisation.
- Participate in business development, including pursuits with new or existing clients.
- Contribute to sales presentations and proposals with mechanical technical content.
- Support project delivery by advising on mechanical system design, redundancy planning, cooling strategies, capacity planning, commissioning, and MEP integration.
- Ensure the quality of all mechanical deliverables, including cooling load analysis, CFD studies, mechanical one‑lines, equipment schedules, energy modelling, and commissioning documentation.
- Collaborate closely with BIM, electrical, controls, and construction teams to ensure seamless mechanical system integration.
- Support risk assessments such as HAZOP, FMEA, constructability reviews, and failure mode analysis related to mechanical systems.
- Travel to office and data center locations to support projects, commissioning, and business objectives.
- Support change management efforts to ensure a smooth transition to new organisational structures, technologies, or procedures.
- Understand and promote the organisation’s Vision and Values.
Line of Report
The Data Center Mechanical Technical Director reports to the Senior Director of Design. The Senior Director of Design reports to the Regional Operations Director, who reports to the Global CEO. The Mechanical Associate Directors and Senior Managers report to the Data Center Mechanical Technical Director.
Qualifications & Requirements
- Extensive experience in mechanical design, commissioning, and operation of mission critical data centers.
- Proven ability to plan, organise, supervise, and coordinate technical and engineering work.
- Strong analytical thinking, structured problem‑solving, communication skills and leadership ability.
- HND/HNC, Bachelor’s degree, Masters or equivalent in Mechanical Engineering.
- Expertise in mechanical cooling systems, CFD modelling, thermal management, chiller plants, hydronic systems and energy optimisation.
- Experience preparing mechanical design documents, specifications, cooling models, capacity management analyses and commissioning plans.
- Excellent interpersonal and stakeholder management skills.
- Demonstrated ability to drive inclusive, collaborative, high‑performance team cultures.
- Track record of effective change leadership, talent development and employee engagement.
- Ability to partner effectively with BIM, electrical engineering, commissioning, construction and operations functions.
All interviews are conducted either in person or virtually, with video required.
About Us
Springtide is a high‑performance engineering and construction consultancy, delivering mission‑critical infrastructure and complex projects with precision and excellence. With a growing international presence, we are expanding our operations across Europe, with a sharp focus on the data centre sector—a domain where we bring deep expertise, technical authority and trusted partnerships.
Why Join Us?
Springtide offers an exciting opportunity to lead a high‑growth business at the forefront of one of the fastest‑growing infrastructure sectors in Europe. Backed by the strength and scale of our group companies (IPS & Linesight), you’ll have the platform, resources and autonomy to make a significant impact in a leadership role that shapes the future of our business and the industry. This is a rare opportunity to shape the future of a dynamic, fast‑growing consultancy operating at the cutting edge of engineering excellence. As a strategic leader in Springtide, you will have the autonomy, support and resources to make a lasting impact on the European data centre landscape.
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