Senior Mechanical Commissioning Engineer - Data Centres

The Role:

The CX Mechanical Engineer is responsible for the planning, execution, and management of commissioning activities for mission-critical mechanical systems within hyperscale data center environments. This role ensures that all mechanical and thermal infrastructure is installed, tested, integrated, and handed over in full compliance with project requirements, safety standards, and operational objectives, supporting high-availability and energy-efficient operations.

Commissioning Management

• Lead and manage the end-to-end commissioning process for mechanical systems, from pre-functional testing through integrated systems testing (IST) and final handover.
• Ensure commissioning activities are executed in accordance with approved commissioning plans, project schedules and quality standards.
• Coordinate phased and systems-based commissioning strategies typical of hyperscale delivery model

Mechanical Systems Testing & Validation

Commission and validate critical mechanical infrastructure, including but not limited to:

• Chilled water systems (chillers, pumps, cooling towers, heat exchangers)
• Airside systems (CRAC/PAHUs, AHUs, FWUs)
• Direct-to-chip, liquid cooling, or hybrid cooling systems (where applicable)
• HVAC distribution systems (ductwork, piping, valves, dampers)
• Fuel oil and lube oil systems supporting standby generation
• Make-up water, water treatment, and blowdown systems
• Verify system performance under normal, abnormal, and failure conditions.
• Validate thermal performance, capacity, control response, and efficiency against design intent and client requirements.

Project Coordination & Oversight

• Plan, coordinate and lead mechanical commissioning activities in collaboration with design engineers, construction teams, vendors, controls specialists and operations stakeholders.
• Act as the primary technical authority for mechanical commissioning issues on site.
• Support construction readiness, system turnover and commissioning sequencing in fast-track hyperscale environments.

Mechanical & Controls Integration

• Ensure seamless integration of mechanical systems with:
  • Electrical power systems
  • Controls, BMS, and EPMS
  • Fire/life safety systems
  • IT load and white-space requirements
• Validate system redundancy (N, N+1, 2N), fault tolerance, and maintainability to support mission-critical operations.
• Lead functional performance testing and integrated systems testing involving mechanical failure scenarios.

Documentation & Reporting

Develop and manage commissioning documentation, including:

• Commissioning plans and schedules
• Mechanical test procedures and functional performance scripts
• Method statements and risk assessments
• Final commissioning reports, as-built records and handover documentation
• Provide clear, accurate progress, risk and readiness reports to project and client stakeholders.

Standards & Compliance

• Ensure all mechanical systems and commissioning activities comply with applicable codes, standards and best practices, including:
  • ASHRAE (including TC 9.9)
  • CIBSE, SMACNA, IPC
  • IEC, ISO, and local authority requirements
  • Uptime Institute Tier Standards
  • TIA-942 and client-specific hyperscale standards
• Support third-party audits, peer reviews and certifications where required.

Factory & Site Acceptance Testing (FAT & SAT)

• Plan, coordinate and lead FAT and SAT activities for mechanical equipment and packaged systems.
• Review vendor submittals, test data and corrective actions to ensure equipment readiness for site installation and integration.
• Witness performance testing of major plant (chillers, PAHUs, cooling towers, packaged plant).

Risk Management & Troubleshooting

• Identify technical, schedule, operational and safety risks related to mechanical commissioning.
• Implement mitigation strategies and lead root-cause analysis and troubleshooting to resolve issues efficiently.
• Support rapid issue resolution in live or partially energized data hall environments.

Health, Safety & Environmental Compliance

• Demonstrate a strong understanding of mechanical and process safety, particularly when working with:
  • Pressurized systems
  • Rotating equipment
  • Chemical treatment systems
  • Live data center environments
• Ensure all commissioning activities comply with health and safety regulations, permit-to-work systems, confined space requirements and lock-out/tag-out (LOTO) procedures.
• Promote and enforce a strong safety culture across all commissioning activities.

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead and support contractors, and subcontractors.
• Provide technical guidance, training and oversight to ensure consistent commissioning quality and hyperscale delivery standards.
• Interface effectively with client operations teams to ensure a smooth transition to steady-state operations.

Continuous Improvement

• Adhere to company policies, procedures and quality management systems.
• Capture lessons learned and promote continuous improvement in commissioning methodologies, energy performance and reliability outcomes across hyperscale data center projects.