Data Center Design Lead North America

Mott MacDonald•Houston, TX

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

At Mott MacDonald, we trust our brilliant people to do brilliant things in engineering, management, and development services, supporting multisector project work in over 150 countries. As one of the largest employee-owned companies in the world, we pride ourselves on our ability to deliver exceptional outcomes through our network of 20,000+ talented consultants. With sustainability and innovation at the heart of all our sectors in North America, including, Buildings, Energy, Transportation, and Water. We believe in empowering our people to excel, learn, and grow, offering diverse opportunities to contribute to career-defining work. Join us and be part of a collaborative environment where your ambitions are united with ours, and you can truly shape your story. If you share that vision, even if you don’t meet every requirement listed, we’d still love to hear from you. We value potential and diverse perspectives as much as experience. Let’s explore how we can support your growth and help you take the next step in your career, while contributing to an exciting new chapter for Mott MacDonald in North America. We are seeking a North America Data Center Design Lead to drive the growth, capability development, and market leadership of our Data Center business across North America and beyond. Reporting into the NASA CEO and coordinating with global leadership, this role will be a key member of the global practice leadership team, helping shape strategy, influence technical standards, and support the long-term evolution of the business worldwide. While the primary focus is accelerating growth across North America and building a high-performing Delivery team, this leader will also play an important role in the continued development of our global delivery model, including supporting the growth and expansion of technical capabilities in India serving client programs in other key locations. Acting as the bridge between North America market opportunities and global delivery resources, this individual will help ensure scalable growth, technical excellence, and industry-leading client outcomes. This role sits at the intersection of business growth, technical leadership, client engagement, and organizational development. The successful candidate will be responsible for growing the North American Data Center business, strengthening client relationships, developing high-performing teams, and partnering with global leadership to influence the future direction of the practice. The ideal candidate combines deep expertise in data center and mission-critical infrastructure with a proven ability to grow a business, lead multidisciplinary teams, and build long-term client relationships. Experience across hyperscale, cloud, AI, colocation, and mission-critical environments will be critical to success.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Architecture, Construction Management, or related technical discipline.
MBA or advanced technical degree preferred.
Professional Engineer (PE), Chartered Engineer, Registered Architect, or equivalent credential.
20 years of experience in data centers, mission-critical, industrial, or complex infrastructure environments.
20+ years of experience leading multidisciplinary engineering, design, and technical delivery teams.
Experience working across North America and collaborating with global teams.
Demonstrated success by growing a global business, technical practice, or engineering organization.
Experience with and knowledge of technical standards of one or more major hyperscale programs such as MSFT, META, GOOGLE, AWS, ETC.
Proven ability to build client relationships, win work, and support revenue growth.
Experience developing and leading distributed teams across multiple geographies.
Strong understanding of: Critical power systems, Electrical distribution, Cooling and thermal management, Facility architecture, Network infrastructure, Commissioning and operations.
Experience supporting AI and high-performance computing infrastructure environments.
Exceptional communication, executive presence, and stakeholder management skills.
Experience influencing technical strategy and organizational direction within a global business environment.
Knowledge of Uptime Institute Tier Standards, LEED, ASHRAE, and applicable building codes.

Responsibilities

Lead the growth and market strategy for the Data Center business across North America, expanding market share, revenue, and client relationships.
Develop and execute a multi-year growth plan across hyperscale, cloud, AI, colocation, enterprise, and mission-critical infrastructure sectors.
Serve as a trusted advisor to strategic clients, supporting business development through client engagement, major pursuits, proposals, and thought leadership.
Build, lead, and grow a high-performing Data Center practice across North America while supporting capability expansion within India and other global delivery centers.
Drive workforce planning, recruitment, succession planning, and leadership development to support long-term growth objectives.
Foster a culture of technical excellence, innovation, collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.
Serve as a member of the global Data Center leadership team, helping shape technical strategy, standards, governance, and capability development.
Provide executive-level oversight for key pursuits, major programs, and complex project delivery.
Champion innovation in AI-ready infrastructure, advanced cooling technologies, sustainability, digital delivery, and emerging industry trends.
Establish scalable operating models that effectively integrate North American client-facing teams with global delivery capabilities.
Drive excellence in project execution, ensuring consistent performance across quality, schedule, cost, and client satisfaction metrics.
Partner with Development, Construction, Operations, Commercial, and Executive Leadership teams to align growth, delivery, and talent strategies.
Promote collaboration and knowledge sharing across North America, India, EMEA, and APAC, leveraging global expertise and best practices.
Represent the organization at executive forums, industry events, and key client engagements while contributing to the long-term evolution of the global Data Center practice.