Reliability Engineer, Thermal Systems & Cooling

IREN•Fort Worth, TX

12h•Hybrid

About The Position

The Reliability Engineer, Thermal Systems & Cooling holds technical accountability (TA1) for thermal and cooling asset classes across IREN's data center portfolio, including central utility plants, chilled-water and dry-cooler plants, hydronics and heat exchangers, liquid cooling loops and distribution units, and cooling-water and coolant chemistry. This senior individual contributor develops asset strategies, operating envelopes, and water-quality limits, while providing functional direction and mentoring to campus reliability engineers in the discipline. The role owns reliability strategies and cooling-water and coolant chemistry programs across operating campuses. It leads failure analysis, defines monitoring requirements and asset-health analytics, and contributes thermal and cooling expertise to lifecycle, risk, investment, and OEM service decisions. It also supports new-campus operational readiness by reviewing designs and commissioning deliverables, defining thermal acceptance criteria, and confirming strategies, spares, and operating limits are in place before handover. The position is based in the Dallas/Fort Worth area with a hybrid/remote work location type. Travel to campuses across the portfolio is required as needed, including extended onsite periods during commissioning and start-up. Candidates may be subject to pre-employment background checks and substance testing. The employee must provide their own steel-toed work boots; other PPE will be supplied.

Requirements

Degree in mechanical or process engineering; professional registration is an asset.
At least 10 years of reliability or plant-engineering experience in mission-critical or industrial cooling and utility plants.
Liquid-cooling experience, or the ability to transfer similar knowledge and become proficient quickly.
Knowledge of cooling-water and coolant chemistry, including treatment programs, water-quality limits, and monitoring.
Process and thermal engineering knowledge, including heat and mass balance, plant optimization, redundancy philosophies, and the consequences of cooling failures for IT load.
Reliability-method experience with RCM/FMECA, criticality-based maintenance strategies, operating limits, failure analysis, and root-cause analysis; experience loading strategies into a CMMS.
Working literacy in BMS/SCADA controls and electrical systems sufficient to coordinate with controls and electrical engineers.
Experience with condition monitoring for rotating and thermal equipment.
Ability to provide non-authoritative technical leadership, set and defend standards with site engineers and operations managers through functional direction, write clearly, and work both on the plant floor and in design reviews.
Ability to travel to campuses across the portfolio as required, including extended periods onsite during commissioning and start-up.
Must provide own steel-toed work boots; other PPE will be supplied.
May be required to complete pre-employment screening, including background checks and substance testing, according to company policies.

Nice To Haves

Mechanical engineering background combined with mission-critical chiller-plant experience.
Chemical or process engineering background combined with industrial utilities and water-treatment experience.
CMRP/CRL, CEM, or refrigeration credentials.
Professional registration.

Responsibilities

Own portfolio-wide asset strategies for thermal and cooling asset classes, including criticality-based maintenance strategies, spares criticality, and OEM service requirements; load strategies into the CMMS and ensure adoption at every operating campus.
Set thermal-system operating envelopes and limits and cooling-water and coolant quality limits; hold technical accountability for deviations and escalate enterprise-level deviations to the Senior Manager and Global Director.
Own the cooling-water and coolant chemistry program, including treatment specifications, vendor performance requirements, monitoring, audits, and responses to exceeded limits.
Provide functional direction for campus mechanical and HVAC reliability engineers, including profiling, participation in hiring panels, onboarding, technical objectives, appraisal input, mentoring, and development.
Lead root-cause analysis for severity 1 and repeat thermal and cooling failures; translate findings into strategy and limit changes and provide design lessons to Engineering.
Specify monitoring requirements and thresholds for each thermal asset class, along with asset-health analytics that inform strategy.
Support operational readiness for new campuses by reviewing cooling-plant design and commissioning deliverables for operability and maintainability, defining thermal acceptance criteria at each readiness level, and confirming strategies, spares, and limits are in place before handover.
Provide thermal and cooling inputs to lifecycle, risk, and investment decisions and establish the technical basis for OEM service decisions.

Benefits

100% company-paid health insurance premiums (medical, dental, and vision) for employees and 75% company-paid coverage for dependents.
Company-paid short-term and long-term disability insurance.
Voluntary life, critical illness, and accident coverage.
Health Savings Accounts when combined with the High-Deductible Health Plan.
Employee Assistance Program and wellness resources.
401(k) retirement plan with company match.
Paid professional development and access to financial planning and legal services.
Paid Time Off and paid holidays.
Professional development to support certifications, continuing education, or role-related training.
Company events and team-building activities.
Relocation assistance, as applicable and based on the successful candidate's circumstances.
Total compensation may include short-term and long-term incentives.