Hydronic Systems Architect (Mechanical Distribution Focus)

Armada • Bellevue, WA

13h • $137,040 - $197,000 • Onsite

About The Position

We are looking for a Hydronic Systems Architect (Distribution Focus) to own the mechanical distribution architecture for our modular liquid-cooled data center platform. This role is responsible for the piping, valves, instrumentation, module interconnects, and serviceability strategy across both the primary water loop and secondary PG25 loop.
This is a hands-on architecture and execution role focused on building a system that is repeatable, commissionable, maintainable, and scalable across multiple deployments. The right candidate will bring deep hydronic distribution expertise and a practical understanding of what it takes to move a design from concept into manufacturing, field installation, startup, and long-term operation.
You will work closely with internal engineering teams, OEMs, fabricators, controls, manufacturing, and commissioning leads to ensure the mechanical distribution layer is robust, standardized, and ready for real-world deployment.
Location. This role is office-based at our Bellevue, Washington office.

Requirements

• 7+ years of experience in hydronic distribution design for data centers, industrial systems, mission-critical HVAC, or comparable thermal infrastructure
• Strong experience owning P&IDs, valve strategies, and instrumentation design
• Practical field knowledge of commissioning, startup, and serviceability constraints
• Experience with glycol-based cooling systems such as PG25 or equivalent
• Strong understanding of pipe sizing, flow management, pressure drop, balancing, and measurement strategies
• Proven ability to maintain documentation discipline, revision control, and interface clarity
• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills across mechanical, controls, manufacturing, and field teams

Nice To Haves

• Experience with liquid-to-liquid and liquid-to-air cooling systems for high-density compute or AI/HPC environments
• Familiarity with modular or prefabricated infrastructure systems
• Understanding and experience in AFT Fathom, Pipeflo and CFD Products
• CAD or BIM fluency sufficient for 3D coordination, clash avoidance, and clearance validation
• PE license in Mechanical Engineering, or equivalent depth of experience

Responsibilities

• Own the hydronic distribution architecture across:
• Primary water/PG25 loop
• Secondary water/PG25 loop
• Define and standardize system design rules for flow, pressure drop, balancing, and measurement
• Establish practical design approaches for PG25 and water-based systems, including pipe sizing, fluid behavior, and maintainability considerations
• Support system-level alignment between plant, distribution, and rack cooling interfaces
• Own distribution P&IDs, valve schedules, and instrumentation schedules
• Maintain revision discipline, tagging standards, and interface clarity across the mechanical distribution package
• Define boundaries and interfaces between plant equipment, CDUs, rack cooling components, and module-to-module interconnects
• Develop and maintain interface control documentation for hydronic system boundaries
• Design for startup, commissioning, and long-term operation
• Define fill, flush, vent, drain, isolation, bypass, and strainer strategies
• Establish measurement points for flow, differential pressure, and temperature
• Partner with commissioning and controls teams to define what must be measured, how it will be measured, and what acceptable startup performance looks like
• Own pipe sizing methodology and pressure drop strategy for both PG25 and water loops
• Define practical approaches to balancing and instrumentation placement
• Ensure real-world field performance aligns with design intent
• Help establish repeatable standards for distribution performance across product variants
• Own mechanical distribution layout packages and service clearance requirements
• Ensure systems are designed for safe access, maintenance, replacement, and long-term serviceability
• Support design for manufacturing by standardizing routing approaches, fittings strategy, tolerances, and assembly expectations
• Help define clear factory-built versus field-installed scope boundaries
• Define standard module interconnect approaches, including manifolds, quick connects, labeling, boundary isolation, and leak detection interfaces as applicable
• Ensure interconnect designs support rapid deployment while preserving reliability and maintainability
• Drive consistency across builds to reduce site variability and improve product repeatability
• Partner with mechanical plant, thermal, electrical, controls, manufacturing, and commissioning teams
• Coordinate system interfaces without losing baseline discipline
• Work with OEMs and fabricators while maintaining ownership of the internal distribution architecture and standards
• Support factory builds, field feedback collection, and lessons-learned incorporation into future revisions

Benefits

• Competitive base salary and equity
• Medical, dental, and vision (subsidized cost)
• Health savings accounts (HSA), flexible spending accounts (FSA), and dependent care FSAs (DCFSA)
• Retirement plan options, including 401(k) and Roth 401(k)
• Unlimited paid time off (PTO)
• 14 paid company holidays per year

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed