Senior Project Engineer – Electrical (Data Centre Retrofit)

Ethos•Irvine, CA

63d

About The Position

As a Senior Project Engineer – Electrical, you will work within Ethos’ Data Centre Retrofit area to support complex upgrades across mission-critical data centre environments. You will lead the design, specification and delivery of electrical systems, ensuring safe, efficient delivery to high technical standards while maintaining continuity of operations in live environments. The role includes managing project delivery, mentoring junior engineers and serving as a technical point of contact for clients and contractors across major European data centre markets. You will contribute to business development and to the continued improvement of Ethos’ retrofit delivery model. The position focuses on live electrical power distribution upgrades, including UPS changeovers, busbar modifications and generator integration.

Requirements

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering or a related discipline.
At least 8 years’ experience in building services engineering, including at least 3 years focused on data centre or mission-critical projects.
Demonstrable experience in live, operational data centre environments, including brownfield upgrades, M&E replacements or phased refurbishments.
Chartered Engineer status or actively working towards Chartership with Engineers Ireland or an equivalent body.
Track record managing multi-million-euro MEP projects from concept to completion.
Expertise in electrical building services design for live data centres, including LV/MV power distribution, UPS systems, standby generation, busbar upgrades and life safety systems.
Experience delivering electrical upgrades in operational mission-critical facilities, including live switchgear replacements, UPS changeovers and phased distribution upgrades.
Working knowledge of AutoCAD, Revit MEP, Bluebeam and Microsoft Office; experience with ETAP, Amtech or DIALux for calculations.
Understanding of IEC, CIBSE, BS, IS and EN standards applied to retrofit and live-environment projects.
Experience producing single-line diagrams, schematics and technical drawings for complex electrical retrofit scopes.
Familiarity with commissioning, power system coordination studies and compliance documentation for live data centre upgrades.
Excellent communication and presentation skills, with confidence in client-facing settings.
Strong organisational and problem-solving abilities, including the ability to manage multiple concurrent retrofit projects.
Collaborative approach across multidisciplinary mechanical, electrical, sustainability and BIM teams.
Proactive, detail-oriented approach with a strong focus on risk management and technical quality in live environments.
Ability to remain calm under pressure and make sound engineering decisions in constrained operational environments.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of LEED/BREEAM and the EU Energy Efficiency Directive.
Familiarity with BMS/EPMS integration and smart building systems in mission-critical environments.

Responsibilities

Lead the design and delivery of electrical building services upgrades in live data centre environments, including M&E upgrades, capacity increases, technology refreshes, phased refurbishments and lifecycle replacements.
Develop and manage retrofit-specific design strategies, including live-system tie-ins, redundancy planning, outage and staging strategies, and resilience design.
Conduct or oversee technical due diligence of existing data centre facilities, including assessments to unlock power, cooling and white-space capacity.
Prepare and review detailed design drawings, schematics, schedules, technical reports and tender documentation.
Manage project scope, budget, programme and contracts, identifying and mitigating scope creep, risks and live-environment constraints.
Liaise with hyperscale, colocation and enterprise clients, contractors and vendors to achieve project goals without operational disruption.
Drive quality assurance and governance across assigned projects, following WAP/PTW protocols in live environments.
Mentor and support junior engineers and graduate staff in the retrofit workstream.
Support business development through proposals, client presentations and technical strategies for retrofit opportunities across EMEA.
Champion innovation in live-environment engineering and contribute to continual improvement of Ethos’ retrofit delivery model.
Lead electrical tie-in strategies for live power distribution upgrades, including UPS changeovers, busbar modifications and generator integration in operational environments.