Principal Mechanical Engineer, Chillers

MHI

$110K — $140K *
Plano, TX 75025In-Person
Manufacturing & Automotive
11 - 15 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Electrical, or Controls engineering or equivalent experience.
  • At least 12 years in supplier-facing technical coordination for industrial equipment like HVAC systems or centrifugal chillers.
  • Ability to interpret technical specifications and drawings including P&IDs and electrical schematics.
  • Experience in managing project execution with issue tracking and cross-functional coordination.
  • Strong negotiation and project management skills across scope and schedule alignment.
  • Domain knowledge of data center cooling systems and centrifugal chiller applications.
  • Experience collaborating effectively in a global, cross-cultural environment with Japanese stakeholders.

Responsibilities

  • Translate customer needs into clear specifications for Modular Chiller Plants and Dry Cooler systems.
  • Define project scopes and responsibilities among various stakeholders for MCP delivery.
  • Act as the main contact for MCP manufacturers throughout project phases.
  • Align contract, schedule, and milestones to ensure timely procurement and project success.
  • Manage action items and decision logs to maintain project momentum and efficiency.
  • Develop relationships with alternative manufacturers to enhance sourcing flexibility.
  • Coordinate technical specifications and interface definitions to support project feasibility.

Benefits

  • Medical, Dental, Vision & 401K Matching
  • Growth and advancement opportunities
  • Paid vacation, sick time, and 15 holidays
  • Focus on quality products and services
  • Positive workplace culture and environment
Full Job Description
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc. (MHIA) is looking for a Principal Mechanical Engineer, Chillers to join our team. This is a hybrid role based out of our Plano, Texas, location.

SCOPE:

The Principal Mechanical Engineer, Chillers serves as the primary technical and commercial interface between customers and U.S.-based Modular Chiller Plants (MCP) and Dry Cooler manufacturers. The role ensures clear, aligned specifications and smooth execution from pre-award through commissioning. It manages system-level and interface coordination to support flexible chiller configurations across multiple suppliers. The position works cross-functionally to maintain a reliable, cost-effective supply base and ensure alignment on scope, schedule, cost, and compliance. It also develops new manufacturers by assessing capabilities, defining roles and interfaces, and building scalable, long-term partnerships.

The ideal candidate will have at least twelve (12) years of experience in supplier-facing technical coordination and oversight for industrial equipment, such as HVAC systems, centrifugal chillers, pumps, heat exchangers, packaged/skid systems, or /control systems.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

Customer & Specification Alignment
  • Translate customer requirements into clear, complete, and supplier-facing specifications for Modular Chiller Plants (MCP) and Dry Cooler systems.
  • Define MCP scope, including interface points, responsibility split, and boundary conditions among customers, MCP manufacturers, Dry Cooler manufacturers, and internal stakeholders.
  • Handle technical inquiries from customers and suppliers, ensuring timely clarification and alignment at a system and interface level.

MCP Manufacturer Oversight (Order Intake & Execution)
  • Act as the primary commercial and technical interface with MCP manufacturers throughout pre-award and post-award phases.
  • Align scope, roles, and responsibilities for MCP delivery, clearly defining who is responsible for what and where interface boundaries are set.
  • Drive contract, schedule, and milestone alignment to enable timely procurement of long-lead items and protect the overall project critical path.
  • Manage action items, escalation paths, and decision logs with MCP manufacturers and internal teams to close open points efficiently and maintain execution momentum.
  • Identify, engage, and screen alternative MCP manufacturers to support opportunity development and future sourcing flexibility.
  • Coordinate high-level specification, system configuration, and interface alignment during early project phases to support bid development and feasibility assessment.
  • Support bid competitiveness by clarifying assumptions, exclusions, and system-level responsibilities, ensuring consistent and aligned proposal content.

Dry Cooler Manufacturer Oversight
  • Collaborate with Dry Cooler manufacturers to develop project opportunities and align requirements and specifications at a front-end, system-integration level.
  • Serve as the single intake point for MCP and Dry Cooler specifications and interface definitions, ensuring consistency before downstream execution.
  • Drive cross-functional coordination across sales, engineering, supply chain, quality, and service teams, and manage risk and issue logs to mitigate technical and schedule risks.

Supplier Development & Supply Base Strengthening
  • Support the identification, qualification, and development of MCP and Dry Cooler manufacturers to build a robust, competitive, and scalable supply base.
  • Promote vendor-agnostic system coordination, enabling projects to proceed with MCP, and Dry Cooler configurations without reliance on a single supplier or technical organization.
  • Contribute to continuous improvement of specification processes, interface definition, and supplier collaboration models to support long-term business growth.
  • This list of responsibilities is not all-inclusive, and an employee may be required to perform other relevant duties as assigned.


MINIMUM REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
  • Education: Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Controls engineering or equivalent experience.
  • Experience: Minimum of twelve (12) years of experience in supplier-facing technical coordination and oversight for industrial equipment, such as HVAC systems, centrifugal chillers, pumps, heat exchangers, packaged/skid systems, or /control systems.
  • Ability to read, review, and interpret technical specifications and drawings, including P&IDs, general arrangements (GA), electrical schematics, and I/O diagrams, at a system and interface level.
  • Proven experience managing execution through issue tracking, change control, and cross-functional coordination across engineering, procurement, quality, and supply chain teams.
  • Strong negotiation and coordination skills to support pre-award alignment on scope, schedule, responsibilities, and commercial assumptions.
  • Solid project management capabilities, including action, risk, and issue tracking, escalation management, and alignment across multiple internal and external stakeholders.
  • Domain knowledge of data center cooling systems, with an understanding of centrifugal chiller applications and MCP/Dry Cooler configurations at a system and interface level.
  • Ability to front-end and triage customer and supplier specifications, clearly define scope and interface boundaries, and transition aligned inputs to internal engineering teams for downstream execution.
  • Ability to effectively collaborate and communicate with Japanese stakeholders and team members in a global, cross-cultural working environment.


PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

o Knowledge of centrifugal chillers, including application considerations in industrial and data center cooling systems.

o Experience with Modular Chiller Plant (MCP) modular plants, or packaged skid systems, including exposure to design, manufacturing, or supplier coordination and interface definition.

o Experience coordinating with MCP / modular plant suppliers, including scope definition, interface split, and responsibility alignment across multiple parties.

o Experience working with Dry Cooler or other heat rejection equipment suppliers, with an understanding of integration considerations at a system and interface level.

o Familiarity with applicable U.S. standards and certifications such as UL/CSA, ASME, NFPA, NEC, and how they impact system configuration and supplier deliverables.

o Experience with factory and site activities, including FAT/SAT, commissioning, and field troubleshooting support.

o Supplier audit or development experience, such as SQA/SDE activities, including evaluation of technical capability, quality systems, and execution readiness.

o Familiarity with U.S.-based tendering, RFQ, and proposal workflows, including front-end technical clarification and alignment during bid phases.

WORKING CONDITIONS:
  • Travel: 25%
  • Standard Monday through Friday work week. Weekend/late night work if applicable
  • Lifting/physical requirements: Regularly required to sit for long periods, stand, walk, talk and/or hear Frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds


Why Should You Apply?
  • Excellent Benefits (Medical, Dental, Vision & 401K Matching)
  • Excellent growth and advancement opportunities
  • Paid vacation, sick time and 15 holidays
  • Committed to quality products and services.
  • Great working environment and culture


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