Senior Engineer - Mechanical Design

National Design Build Services•Maryland Heights, MO

About The Position

The Senior Engineer supports the Lead Engineer on data centers, mission-critical facilities, and large industrial plants delivered through design-build and design-assist. The role owns day-to-day mechanical design for assigned projects, including calculations, equipment selection, drawings and models, and coordination with other disciplines to produce complete, accurate construction documents. The Senior Engineer also supervises and mentors Design Engineers by assigning work, reviewing quality, and supporting professional development. This role is described as a direct path toward a Lead Engineer position. The work spans mechanical systems for data centers and industrial facilities, including chilled water, HVAC, refrigeration, process, and utility systems. The position also coordinates prefabrication, construction execution, commissioning support, and project documentation. The role is mostly office or remote design work, with regular visits to active construction sites and fabrication shops. Site and shop visits require standard PPE and compliance with NDBS and client safety programs.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in an engineering field; mechanical engineering is preferred.
At least 5 years of HVAC/R design experience.
Professional Engineer (PE) license preferred, or EIT with the ability to obtain a PE.
Hands-on experience with chilled water, hydronic, and process piping design.
Working knowledge of ASHRAE, International Codes, NFPA, and ASME piping codes.
Experience guiding or mentoring junior engineers or designers.
Ability to meet deadlines while managing several projects and changing priorities.
Self-motivated, with strong time and task management skills.
Strong organization and communication skills, and ability to work well in a team.

Nice To Haves

Data center, mission-critical, or industrial experience.
Industrial process experience, including process exhaust, compressed air, boilers, and natural gas systems.
Liquid cooling and high-density (AI/HPC) data center experience.
Experience with design-build and design-assist delivery.
Experience with Procore and Autodesk Construction Cloud.
Experience with prefabricated mechanical systems such as skids, pipe spools, or utility racks.
Fluency in Revit MEP and AutoCAD; experience with Navisworks clash detection.
Experience with load software such as Trane TRACE or Carrier HAP.

Responsibilities

Adhere to NDBS core values, including Safety, We Answer Our Phones, Always Innovating, Collaborative Partnerships, Reputation, and Entrepreneurship.
Develop mechanical designs for assigned projects from basis of design and P&IDs through milestone reviews and issued-for-construction drawings.
Perform heat load, hydraulic, psychrometric, and pipe-sizing calculations, and select equipment such as chillers, air handlers, pumps, and CDUs.
Prepare drawings, schedules, details, and Revit models; run Navisworks clash detection with other disciplines.
Coordinate day-to-day with plumbing, structural, electrical, civil, and controls designers and sub-consultants, and bring open issues to the Lead Engineer.
Draft sequences of operation and support controls partners with PLC logic and Building Management Systems.
Track deliverables, engineering hours, and review comments on assigned work, and report status to the Lead Engineer.
Design data center cooling systems, including chilled water plants, CRAH/CRAC units, fan walls, economizers, and containment, applying the redundancy specified in the basis of design.
Support liquid-cooling design for high-density and AI workloads, including CDUs, technology cooling system (TCS), and facility water loops.
Design HVAC, process exhaust, compressed air, boiler, and hot water systems; size natural gas, process, and utility piping for industrial facilities.
Prepare RFIs to close gaps in owner and process-equipment data.
Assign and schedule work for the Design Engineer and set expectations for scope, quality, and deadlines.
Check the Design Engineer’s calculations, drawings, and models.
Coach the Design Engineer on design methods, codes, software, and NDBS standards, and provide regular performance and development feedback.
Identify opportunities for prefabricated pipe spools, skids, and modules, and design them for constructability and repeatability.
Confirm design concepts early so prefabricated piping can be released without rework.
Review and witness factory acceptance tests and support commissioning and integrated systems testing.
Participate in internal turnover meetings and help define scope, schedule, and resources for assigned work.
Support preconstruction with design quantities and scope reviews for estimating.
Review trade-partner submittals and draft RFI responses for Lead Engineer approval.
Attend coordination meetings with owners, general contractors, and trade partners, and use Procore and Autodesk Construction Cloud to manage documents.
Support quality control through site visits, field verification, and punch lists.