Senior Director – Mechanical Engineering | Hyperscale Data Centres – North America

Hunter Philips Executive Search is a fast-scaling private data centre developer focused on building high-performance campuses for demanding digital workloads. They are seeking a Senior Director of Mechanical Engineering to lead the mechanical design vision for hyperscale data centre campuses, ensuring alignment with business objectives and overseeing a high-performing design team.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the mechanical design strategy for hyperscale campuses
• Develop and execute a 3–5 year mechanical design strategy, aligning with business growth objectives, technology evolution, and global delivery goals
• Serve as the senior mechanical SME from concept through detailed design, construction, and commissioning
• Define and maintain mechanical design standards, prototypes, and performance benchmarks
• Direct HVAC, chilled water, economisation, and advanced cooling system designs to meet performance and sustainability goals
• Oversee consultant and contractor performance, ensuring technical quality, schedule, and scalability
• Recruit, lead, and manage a high-performing mechanical design team - driving collaboration, accountability, and delivery excellence
• Mentor and develop engineering talent to ensure capability growth and long-term team success
• Champion next-generation cooling innovation, including liquid-to-chip, modular, and prefabricated solutions
• Collaborate across disciplines to align mechanical design solutions with commercial, operational, and sustainability targets

Requirements:

• 5–10 years' experience in mechanical engineering within hyperscale, mission-critical, or large industrial projects
• Proven leadership of large-scale MEP design programmes and prototype development
• Expertise in HVAC, chilled water, and heat rejection systems
• Strong grounding in design management, system optimisation, and innovation delivery
• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering
• Excellent communication, leadership, and stakeholder management skills
• A proactive, solutions-oriented mindset with the ability to drive outcomes in a fast-growing environment
• Advanced cooling experience preferred
• Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering preferred
• Professional Engineer (PE) licence strongly preferred
• LEED accreditation a plus