Vice President, Mechanical Innovation

IREN•Fort Worth, TX

3d•Remote

About The Position

IREN is a vertically integrated AI Cloud provider, delivering large-scale data centers and GPU clusters for AI training and inference. The VP, Mechanical Innovation is the senior mechanical engineering leader in IREN's Innovation organization, leading a team of principal mechanical engineers who serve as the subject matter experts in mechanical engineering across the Innovation organization. This team provides deep technical authority across the Next-Generation Data Center Architecture program, the Industrialized Delivery & Modular Construction program, and the broader engineering, construction, and commissioning organizations. This role ensures that mechanical systems strategy — spanning cooling infrastructure, fluid systems, thermal management, and structural integration — is developed with a unified approach and applied consistently across every program that shapes how IREN designs, builds, and operates its data center infrastructure.

Requirements

15+ years of progressive mechanical engineering experience with demonstrated expertise in cooling system design, thermal management, fluid systems, and standards development within data center, mission-critical, energy, or industrial infrastructure.
Proven track record as a senior mechanical authority on complex, multidisciplinary programs — establishing technical standards, governing interface decisions across mechanical, electrical, and structural disciplines, and delivering high-performance mechanical systems at scale.
Deep expertise in air-side and liquid cooling architectures, cooling distribution design, fluid system engineering, thermal modeling and CFD, and mechanical system commissioning — with working familiarity across applicable codes and standards (ASHRAE, SMACNA, ASME, NFPA).
Experience working across the innovation-to-execution boundary — developing concepts in ambiguous, research-stage environments and translating them into rigorous standards adopted by construction-stage teams; strong cross-functional influence and executive communication skills.
Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering required.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree or PE registration preferred.
Hyperscale or owner-operator data center experience highly valued.
Willingness to travel domestically and internationally as required (estimated 20–35%).

Responsibilities

Define and own IREN's mechanical innovation roadmap — establishing the strategic direction for how cooling, fluid, thermal, and structural systems are architected and standardized across the next-generation portfolio, with a mandate to drive improvements in PUE, deployment speed, reliability, and cost per MW.
Translate emerging developments in advanced air-side cooling architectures, liquid cooling distribution, high-density thermal management, and computational fluid dynamics into concrete design positions and engineering standards that shape IREN's long-term infrastructure strategy.
Monitor the frontier of mechanical engineering innovation — including next-generation cooling topologies, modular mechanical plant designs, prefabricated fluid systems, and advanced structural integration — identifying opportunities that could materially improve IREN's infrastructure performance or competitive position.
Partner with the VP, Next-Gen Data Center Architecture to define the mechanical architecture of future-state data center concepts from the earliest design stages — evaluating cooling topologies, thermal envelopes, fluid system layouts, and structural integration options before concepts are committed to prototype.
Partner with the VP, Industrialized Delivery & Modular Construction to define the mechanical architecture of IREN's modular systems — ensuring cooling distribution units, mechanical skids, fluid handling assemblies, and prefabricated plant modules are designed for factory assembly, FAT validation, and rapid field installation.
Establish mechanical interface standards for all modular systems — defining pipe connection points, fluid system boundaries, structural attachment interfaces, and field tie-in procedures — to ensure industrialized components integrate predictably into IREN's broader mechanical infrastructure without field rework.
Serve as the primary mechanical interface between Innovation and IREN's engineering, construction, and commissioning teams — ensuring that mechanical standards and design decisions are clearly communicated, formally adopted, and consistently applied across all downstream project execution.
Coordinate technical handoffs from innovation to engineering, ensuring designs are accompanied by complete documentation, thermal and fluid system specifications, and interface requirements that enable downstream teams to execute without rework.
Support commissioning planning and troubleshooting for mechanical systems, and feed field learnings — including thermal performance, fluid system behavior, and installation findings — back into innovation standards and future design cycles.
Own IREN's mechanical engineering standards library — maintaining and evolving design criteria, equipment specifications, thermal and fluid system standards, and testing protocols that reflect current best practices, applicable codes (ASHRAE, SMACNA, ASME, NFPA), and IREN-specific lessons learned.
Conduct technical reviews of mechanical designs and specifications across the innovation pipeline, resolving cross-discipline interface conflicts — particularly at the mechanical-electrical and mechanical-structural boundaries — and ensuring deliverables meet the bar required for adoption at scale.
Represent IREN in external technical forums, vendor engagement, and industry discussions; identify and escalate material mechanical risk — including thermal performance gaps, fluid system vulnerabilities, and safety hazards — to the CIO with clear mitigation recommendations.
Recruit, build, and lead the principal mechanical engineering team — attracting engineers with deep expertise in data center cooling, thermal systems, and fluid engineering, structured to provide coverage across both the Next-Gen Architecture and Industrialized Manufacturing programs.
Foster a culture of technical excellence and cross-functional collaboration; mentor principal engineers in mechanical architecture, standards development, and stakeholder engagement, building organizational depth as IREN's innovation programs scale.
Define and own the mechanical innovation performance scorecard — tracking technical milestone achievement, standard adoption rates in downstream execution, and field performance of mechanical systems against design specifications, including thermal efficiency and fluid system reliability targets.
Report program health and pipeline status to the CIO and executive leadership; drive year-over-year improvement in the quality and adoptability of IREN's mechanical engineering standards.

Benefits

Highly competitive compensation package
Base salary
Annual performance incentives
Equity programs
Total rewards package
100% company paid health insurance premiums (medical, dental, and vision) for employees
75% company paid coverage for dependents
Company-paid short-term and long-term disability insurance
Voluntary life, critical illness, and accident coverage available
Health Savings Accounts (HSA) – when combined with the High Deductible Health Plan
Employee Assistance Program and wellness resources
401(k) retirement plan with company match
Access to financial planning and legal services
Paid Time Off (PTO) and paid holidays
Internal skills training and advancement pathways
Professional development to support certifications, continuing education, or role related training
Company events and team-building activities