Lead Mechanical Commissioning Engineer

Overwatch Mission Critical•Remote,

About The Position

The Lead Mechanical Commissioning Engineer directs the mechanical validation program for large-scale, mission-critical data center construction projects, managing the end-to-end commissioning process across Levels 1 through 5 (L1–L5). The role provides technical oversight to Mechanical Commissioning Engineers, field technicians, and trade contractors, bridging design requirements and field conditions to ensure HVAC, cooling, and automation systems meet uptime requirements under realistic failure scenarios. The position leads commissioning from factory acceptance testing and initial L1 activities through L5 Integrated Systems Testing and turnover to Operations. It oversees documentation and installation checks, equipment startup, functional performance testing, and integrated testing of system redundancy, interlocks, failovers, and transient behaviors. The Lead Engineer reviews designs and commissioning documents, authors and approves test scripts and procedures, troubleshoots mechanical and controls issues, tracks deficiencies, directs field teams, and coordinates with clients, contractors, vendors, and controls engineers. The role requires hands-on expertise with chilled water systems; air handling and evaporative cooling systems; advanced liquid cooling; BAS, DDC, and PLC controls; and support infrastructure such as fuel oil, fire suppression, and plumbing systems. Work is closely tied to deployment sites and may require 50% to 65% travel.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, HVACR, Construction Management, or equivalent technical field experience.
Minimum 3 years of direct mechanical commissioning, engineering, or mission-critical facilities construction experience.
Minimum 2 years of dedicated data center project experience.
Demonstrated experience leading L1–L5 programs on hyperscale, colocation, or enterprise builds.
Ability to navigate construction sites, climb ladders, and lift up to 30 lbs.

Responsibilities

Direct the full commissioning lifecycle from factory acceptance testing (FAT/L1) through Integrated Systems Testing (IST/L5) and turnover to Operations.
Oversee Level 2 documentation verification, installation and construction-readiness checks, and Level 3 equipment and vendor startup validation.
Lead Level 4 functional performance testing and validate sequences of operation for complex mechanical systems.
Design, coordinate, and lead Level 5 heat-load testing to validate redundancy, interlocks, failovers, and transient behaviors.
Review mechanical design packages, P&IDs, sequences of operation, control scripts, and engineering submittals for risk and commissionability.
Author and approve site-specific test scripts, Method Statements (MOPs), and pre-functional checklists.
Root-cause analyze mechanical failures and controls errors found during testing.
Contribute to project issue logs and ensure mechanical deficiencies are categorized by risk, tracked, and remediated by vendors without affecting the master schedule.
Manage and prioritize assignments for internal field commissioning engineers and third-party technicians.
Serve as the primary mechanical point of contact for clients, general contractors, mechanical/MEP subcontractors, equipment vendors, and controls engineers.
Represent mechanical commissioning in master schedule reviews, construction coordination meetings, and client-facing performance updates.
Validate installation, tuning, and failure modes of chilled water, air handling, advanced liquid cooling, controls and automation, and support infrastructure systems.