Basic FunctionSB Energy is seeking a manager with deep industry and OEM experience to lead the mechanical and thermal procurement engineering team for owner-furnished, contractor-installed (OFCI) cooling equipment supporting AI data centers. You will own the cooling product roadmap, procurement technical requirements, basis of design and equipment acceptance decisions for high-density computing.
Working directly with SB Energy's clients, OEMs, and vendors, you will deliver highly reliable cooling at the best total cost of ownership (TCO). From day one, you will make independent decisions under ambiguity, advance new technologies and equipment fungibility, and enable multi-sourcing. You will build a team with the capacity and domain expertise needed to deliver the full cooling equipment scope.
ResponsibilitiesEquipment coverage includes but is not limited to the categories below.
Cooling equipment- Cooling and heat rejection: air- and water-cooled chillers, cooling towers, dry coolers, adiabatic/fluid coolers, and heat exchangers.
- Airside cooling: CRAH/CRAC units, air-handling units, fan walls, in-row cooling, and rear-door heat exchangers.
- Liquid cooling: coolant distribution units, direct-to-chip and immersion cooling packages, manifolds, cold plates, hoses, and quick disconnects.
- Hydronics and water: pumps and integral drives, piping/valve skids, strainers, buffer/expansion/storage tanks, pressurization, makeup water, filtration, and water treatment.
- Packaged cooling: modular plants and cooling skids, integral controls, instrumentation, and leak detection.
Role accountabilities - Personally lead mechanical and thermal technical decisions from day one. Prioritize deliverables and specialist support, identify capability gaps, and propose hiring as workload and business needs expand.
- Once staffed, coach, develop, and manage direct reports to establish LLE ownership across central cooling, airside systems, liquid cooling, and hydronics.
- Own cooling equipment specifications, Basis of Design (BOD), configurations, and thermal/hydraulic interfaces. Translate client requirements and Engineering/EOR design intent into procurement requirements. Own cooling-package performance and integral controls, coordinating power-feed interfaces with Electrical.
- Own the cooling product roadmap: thermal capacity and efficiency requirements, technology evaluation, pilots, standard product families, refresh cycles, and obsolescence. Align with clients' computing roadmaps and vendor capabilities to improve reliability and TCO.
- Own cooling equipment fungibility criteria and technical equivalence decisions across OEMs, generations, and projects. Validate duty points, footprints, fluid chemistry, materials, connections, controls, and service requirements. Define limits on interchangeability and required adaptations.
- Enable multi-sourcing through vendor-neutral specifications and technical approval of alternate cooling products. Supply product assessments to Supplier Engineering, which owns OEM/factory qualifications. Category Procurement owns sourcing awards, negotiations, and contracts.
- Challenge vendor selections, performance curves, calculations, and exclusions with clients and Engineering. Validate ambient and part-load performance, redundancy, maintainability, failure response, and compatibility. Own product acceptance and deviation decisions within delegated authority.
- Own cooling equipment TCO comparisons covering acquisition, installation, energy, water, fluids, maintenance, spares, replacement, and downtime exposure. Use client operating needs and vendor evidence to recommend the most reliable, cost-effective solution.
- Define equipment-specific Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT), Factory Witness Testing (FWT), and Site Acceptance Testing (SAT) criteria, including thermal, hydraulic, leak, and controls performance. Own cooling technical acceptance under Supplier Engineering's common test framework.
- Own cooling impact assessments for client/design changes and engineering dispositions for equipment defects. Resolve thermal and mechanical issues through manufacturing and commissioning, providing decisions to TPM and technical input to Quality-led corrective actions.
- Use operating results and field lessons to improve the cooling roadmap. Engineering/EOR retains project design ownership; Quality owns audits and nonconformance processes; Construction/Commissioning owns field execution. Electrical owns facility-side power/protection interfaces; TPM coordinates milestones and decision closure.
Qualifications/Requirements- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related engineering discipline with substantial thermal systems specialization required. A master's degree or Professional Engineer (PE) license is an advantage.
- 12+ years of progressively responsible experience in mechanical equipment engineering, thermal systems, procurement engineering, or OEM engineering, including substantial responsibility for mission-critical cooling equipment serving data centers.
- Demonstrated mechanical and thermal subject matter expertise and success in building and leading engineering teams. Experience hiring and developing category specialists, delegating decisions, managing performance, and ensuring adequate coverage across complex cooling portfolios.
- Extensive experience within cooling equipment OEM or directly leading technical engagements with OEM engineering and manufacturing teams. Proven ownership of equipment selection, supplier design reviews, performance testing, and difficult commissioning or operating issues.
- Deep understanding of thermodynamics, heat transfer, hydronics, heat rejection, redundancy, controls, and maintainability. Strong practical experience with high-density cooling and liquid-cooling interfaces, including fluid quality, materials compatibility, and leak management.
- Ability to interpret equipment drawings, piping and instrumentation diagrams, performance maps, control sequences, and test evidence, and apply relevant mechanical, pressure-system, environmental, and equipment standards.
- Strong commercial acumen, including total cost of ownership (TCO) analysis, technical bid evaluation, value engineering, and assessment of energy, water, service, and schedule of tradeoffs. Ability to turn technical findings into clear business decisions.
- A record of developing cooling product roadmaps, qualifying new technologies, and enabling fungibility and multi-sourcing. Ability to prove technical equivalence and make independent decisions with incomplete information and competing deadlines.
- Credibility with client technical leaders, OEMs, vendors, and internal partners. Clear executive communication and constructive resolution of technical and commercial tradeoffs. Willingness to travel domestically and internationally to factories, test facilities, client locations, and project sites.
Working arrangementsAssignments may span projects, equipment categories, suppliers, and locations and may change with business needs. The role includes supplier, factory, warehouse, and active construction site visits, coordination across time zones, and compliance with site safety and access requirements. Managers lead execution through qualified suppliers and project resources.
Location: Redwood City, Denver, San Diego, Austin.
Remote may be considered on case-by-case basis
Base Pay - $140,000 - $170,000
The pay range mentioned above is a guideline. We tailor each offer based on your unique skills, experience, location, and market benchmarks-while ensuring internal parity across our teams. The compensation range provided reflects base pay. Total rewards may also include performance-based bonuses, equity grants, and a market leading comprehensive health and wellness benefits package. Final details will be discussed during the later stages of the hiring process.
Our Health & Wellness BenefitsAt SB Energy, we invest in our people and their families with benefits designed for flexibility, support, and peace of mind. Full-time employees enjoy:
- 100% Company-Paid Medical, Dental & Vision (for employees and dependents)
- 401(k) with Company Match
- Generous Paid Time Off + 11 Paid Holidays
- 12 Weeks Parental Leave
- Life, AD&D & Long-Term Disability Coverage
- Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) for Medical, Dependent Care, Transit & Parking (with company contributions)
- Mental, Physical & Social Wellness Support (with company contributions)
- Flexible Work Arrangements & Hybrid Office Setup Benefits
- Monthly Reimbursement for Phone, Internet & Data
- Optional Legal & Pet Insurance Plans
- Device Purchase Support
