Senior Mechanical Engineer
About The Position
Microsoft’s Cloud Operations & Innovation (CO+I) organization delivers core infrastructure and foundational technologies for Microsoft online services, including Bing, Office 365, Xbox, OneDrive, and Azure. The Senior Mechanical Engineer serves as the on-site technical authority for critical mechanical infrastructure at Microsoft data centers in the Charlotte Metro. The role ensures safe, reliable, efficient, and compliant operation while supporting 24x7x365 data center operations alongside Information Technology and Critical Environment teams. The position supports chilled water plants, air handling systems, liquid cooling systems for high-density computing, evaporative and adiabatic cooling, cooling water treatment and Legionella risk management, generator mechanical systems, fire protection system interfaces, and building management system controls. The engineer provides leadership across operations and maintenance, incident management, water efficiency, vendor oversight, construction support, commissioning, and continuous improvement to protect safety, availability, redundancy, and operational excellence. The role also supports engineering design and infrastructure upgrades, equipment lifecycle and capacity planning, technical documentation, and the professional development of Critical Environment technicians and engineers. Success is measured by the safe operation, reliability, availability, efficiency, and continuous improvement of Microsoft’s critical mechanical infrastructure while supporting business growth.
Requirements
- Doctorate in Mechanical Engineering or a related field; or a master's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field and 3+ years of related technical engineering experience; or a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field and 4+ years of related technical engineering experience; or equivalent experience.
- Ability to meet Microsoft, customer, and/or government security screening requirements, including the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire or transfer and every two years thereafter.
Nice To Haves
- 10+ years of related technical engineering experience; or a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field and 8+ years of related technical engineering experience; or a master's degree and 6+ years; or a doctorate and 4+ years; or equivalent experience.
- Experience operating or maintaining mission-critical facilities such as data centers, hospitals, semiconductor facilities, or manufacturing plants.
- Hands-on knowledge of chilled water, air handling, liquid cooling, and evaporative cooling systems, including psychrometrics, thermodynamics, and fluid dynamics.
- Experience with building management systems, controls sequences, and trend analysis.
- Experience leading water efficiency or water treatment programs.
- Experience managing vendors, OEMs, and service contractors.
- Professional Engineer (PE) license, or ability to obtain one.
Responsibilities
- Act as the technical authority for on-site operation of large-scale mechanical systems and designs.
- Serve as the final technical approver for mechanical Methods of Procedure (MOP), Method Statements of Work (MSOW), and high-risk maintenance activities.
- Review Technical Service Bulletins and work with Critical Environment Operations Managers and Program Managers to prioritize, schedule, mitigate risks, and execute corrective actions.
- Participate in Change Advisory Board reviews and provide technical approval for changes affecting critical mechanical infrastructure.
- Establish and coordinate maintenance and safety procedures for redundant cooling systems and backup-power mechanical systems.
- Review preventive maintenance activities and reports for compliance with manufacturer requirements and Microsoft standards.
- Monitor and trend mechanical system performance through the building management system; analyze alarms, validate control sequences and setpoints, and drive reliability improvements.
- Lead response to mechanical service incidents, including cooling loss, thermal excursions, water leaks, and generator fuel or cooling issues.
- Perform root cause analysis and drive corrective and preventive actions to completion.
- Support rotational on-call duties and provide engineering leadership during high-severity incidents.
- Own site Water Usage Effectiveness performance by tracking water consumption, finding savings opportunities, and improving evaporative cooling operation, cycles of concentration, and makeup and blowdown control.
- Work with water treatment vendors on water chemistry, Legionella risk management, and sump and basin cleaning programs.
- Support Power Usage Effectiveness optimization through airflow management, economization, and setpoint optimization.
- Represent the site in water efficiency and sustainability working groups and share practices across Microsoft’s data center fleet.
- Assist with supplier selection and oversee mechanical supplier and contractor execution.
- Hold OEMs and service contractors accountable for safety, quality, scope, and schedule; review service reports, quotes, and scopes of work.
- Manage OEM escalations and warranty claims, and support critical spare-parts strategies.
- Collaborate with Operations and Design teams to develop mechanical designs from project conception through issue for construction for new builds and major upgrades.
- Manage mechanical engineering programs, including equipment lifecycle and obsolescence planning, cooling capacity planning, and system reliability improvements.
- Maintain engineering documentation, building modifications, as-built drawings, and asset records in Microsoft systems and repositories.
- Promote a culture of safety, security, and compliance in data center activities.
- Provide technical mentoring, equipment training, and professional development for Critical Environment technicians and engineers.
- Drive continuous improvement in safety, security, availability, operational efficiency, and infrastructure resilience.
- Learn, live, and coach the One Microsoft culture and values; lead through change by bringing clarity, generating energy, and delivering success.
- Partner with Design, Construction, Commissioning, and Operations teams throughout project delivery and turnover.
- Perform site inspections, punch walks, and operational readiness reviews to identify and resolve deficiencies before handover.
- Review mechanical designs, equipment submittals, OEM documentation, test and balance reports, and commissioning results for operational suitability and maintainability.
- Participate in Level 3–5 commissioning activities, including integrated systems testing, and validate system performance before production service.
- Ensure Day-1 operating procedures, training requirements, documentation packages, building management system readiness, and turnover deliverables are completed before facility acceptance.
- Support integration of new infrastructure while maintaining operational safety, availability, and reliability standards.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
