Manager Applications Engineering Data Center Cooling

Pkaza•Charlotte, NC

9d•Hybrid

About The Position

Our client is a niche provider / OEM / Manufacturer of Industrial Air Cooled / Liquid Cooled equipment used in critical facilities industries. They provide design, commissioning oversight and consulting expertise as it pertains to the company’s OEM rapidly expanding data center cooling business. This company provides an OEM product offering of Cooling Equipment solutions to many of the world's largest organizations: Enterprise Clients, Colocation Providers, Hyperscale Companies, AI / HPC and Bitcoin Providers. Their product optimizes thermal-management strengths and ecosystem capabilities into standardized, customer-ready and commercially executable Data Center / AI infrastructure solutions. This career-growth minded opportunity offers exciting projects with leading-edge technology and innovation as well as competitive salaries and benefits. Our client is looking for a Manager, Applications Engineering to lead, develop and grow their Applications Engineering organization in support of their expanding data center air cooling / liquid cooling business. This role will build a high-performing applications team that delivers accurate, competitive and timely equipment selections, performance data, submittals, technical proposals and application support across the company’s air- and liquid-cooling portfolio. The Manager will serve as the primary technical partner to Sales, manufacturers’ representatives, customers, consulting engineers and internal engineering and product teams, ensuring solutions are properly selected, positioned and supported throughout the sales and project lifecycle. This is a hands-on leadership role. In addition to managing and developing the Applications Engineering team, the Manager will personally support complex and strategic opportunities, resolve technical escalations, improve application processes and tools, and establish standards that enable the organization to scale effectively. Ideal candidate will combine strong technical expertise in HVAC, refrigeration, chillers and data center cooling with proven people leadership, customer-facing communication and commercial awareness.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a closely related engineering discipline
8+ years of applications, sales, or systems engineering experience with HVAC, refrigeration, precision cooling, or thermal equipment, including direct experience with chillers and heat rejection equipment
5+ years as a Design Manager
Demonstrated command of precision cooling applications, including capacity and efficiency ratings, part-load and ambient performance, fluid/glycol considerations, refrigerant circuits, redundancy configurations, hydronics, and controls interfaces
Experience preparing and defending submittal packages, equipment schedules, and technical responses to consulting engineers, contractors, and end users
Demonstrated ability to lead, coach, or formally supervise technical staff, or clear readiness to take on first-line people management
Working knowledge of applicable industry standards and rating methods, with the ability to substantiate published performance claims
Ability to translate complex technical concepts into business value for customers, engineers, contractors, and non-technical stakeholders
Willingness and ability to travel to customer, consulting engineer, representative, and project sites as required, approximately 25%
Willingness and ability to travel onsite monthly to Company location to meet with internal team and other internal customers
Team player able to build relationships with individuals who are part of the business development process
Excellent communication skills, with the ability to translate complex technical concepts into business value for clients
Proficient with MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, etc.) and CRM platforms such as Salesforce
Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple clients and opportunities simultaneously

Nice To Haves

Professional Engineer (PE) license or Certified Energy Manager credential a plus
Direct experience with data center cooling applications is a plus, including hyperscale, colocation, or enterprise facilities
Experience with liquid cooling, coolant distribution units (CDUs), fan walls, rack-level thermal products, or heat-reuse applications is a plus
Experience supporting an independent manufacturers’ representative channel is a plus
Experience building or substantially improving selection software, performance libraries, or applications engineering processes is a plus
Experience supporting new product introduction from an applications engineering position is a plus

Responsibilities

Lead, coach and develop the Applications Engineering team, establishing performance expectations, priorities and development plans; recruit, onboard and develop additional engineers as the business grows
Allocate resources and balance workload based on sales priorities, project requirements and deadlines; build organizational depth and succession planning
Own the accuracy, completeness, competitiveness and timely delivery of equipment selections, sizing, performance calculations, technical proposals, drawings, schedules and submittals
Establish and manage standard turnaround times for selections and budget pricing support; review and approve technical deliverables before release to customers, consulting engineers, contractors and representatives
Establish consistent engineering processes, review procedures and quality controls across the team
Personally lead the most complex, strategic and high-risk applications; provide technical guidance on chillers, heat rejection, CRAH / FanWall systems, liquid cooling, CDUs, hydronics and controls
Support non-standard operating conditions, system configurations, redundancy strategies and application challenges; serve as the escalation point for complex technical issues
Serve as the primary technical resource for the Sales organization and manufacturers' representatives, supporting opportunity development through selections, system design guidance, competitive comparisons, technical presentations and value-engineering responses
Participate in customer and consulting-engineer meetings to establish technical credibility and support specifications; provide training to Sales and channel partners on routine technical questions
Develop and continuously improve selection tools, calculation methods, performance databases, templates and standard technical details
Establish standardized processes that allow Applications Engineering to scale with increasing sales volume without sacrificing quality or turnaround; implement document control and version management
Work closely with Product Management, Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain and Service to resolve technical, configuration, capacity, quality and lead-time issues
Provide market and customer feedback to Product Management and Engineering to influence product development and roadmap priorities
Support new product introductions by ensuring selections, performance data, submittals, training and application tools are ready at launch
Ensure applications work complies with applicable industry standards, certification programs and rating methods, and that published performance claims are substantiated and defensible
Maintain records, calculations and issued documentation so that any released selection can be reconstructed and defended