The Opportunity

Tetra Tech is seeking a Vice President, Data Center Engineering Lead to help grow and lead our data center engineering practice. This is a high-visibility leadership role for an accomplished mechanical engineer with deep mission-critical experience and a proven ability to guide complex data center projects from strategy and basis of design through delivery.

This leader will serve as a senior technical and market-facing advisor for data center clients, with a focus on mechanical infrastructure, high-performance building systems, resilient operations, energy efficiency, and emerging cooling technologies. The successful candidate will help shape Tetra Tech's data center engineering strategy, support business development, provide technical leadership across multidisciplinary teams, and strengthen our position in the rapidly growing mission-critical market.
Your Impact

As Vice President, Data Center Engineering Lead, you will play a key role in expanding Tetra Tech's data center capabilities and market presence. You will work with clients, internal technical leaders, and multidisciplinary delivery teams to develop innovative engineering solutions for hyperscale, colocation, enterprise, and other mission-critical facilities.

You will provide senior mechanical engineering leadership, support strategic pursuits, mentor technical staff, and help advance Tetra Tech's approach to data center design, including air-cooled and liquid-cooled environments, energy-efficient systems, infrastructure resiliency, and scalable campus development.
Position Summary

The Vice President, Data Center Engineering Lead will be responsible for providing senior leadership for data center engineering pursuits and projects, with an emphasis on mechanical systems, cooling infrastructure, plumbing, fire protection coordination, integrated building systems, and the development of high-performing technical teams.

This role will support business planning, client development, technical strategy, quality assurance, project execution, staff development, and technical team leadership across the data center market.

The ideal candidate is a licensed mechanical engineer with extensive experience in mission-critical facilities, including large-scale data center campuses, hyperscale or colocation environments, mechanical basis-of-design development, and coordination with owners, contractors, architects, and multidisciplinary engineering teams.
Essential Job Functions

The following duties are considered essential to the role. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.
• Lead Tetra Tech's data center engineering strategy with a focus on technical excellence, market growth, client service, and profitable project delivery.
• Serve as a senior mechanical engineering subject matter expert for data center projects, pursuits, and strategic client engagements.
• Provide leadership for mechanical, plumbing, fire protection, and cooling infrastructure design for mission-critical facilities.
• Lead, mentor, and develop high-performing technical teams across mechanical engineering and related disciplines, including establishing clear technical standards, supporting career growth, developing future discipline leaders, and ensuring consistent delivery of high-quality data center engineering work.
• Support the development and refinement of data center basis-of-design standards, including traditional air-cooled systems and emerging liquid-cooled environments.
• Lead or advise on large-scale hyperscale, colocation, enterprise, and campus-style data center projects.
• Partner with market sector, operations, and technical leaders to grow Tetra Tech's data center portfolio and expand client relationships.
• Support business development activities, including client meetings, capture strategy, proposal development, interviews, and go/no-go evaluations.
• Provide senior technical review and quality assurance for design documents, specifications, calculations, studies, and engineering deliverables.
• Guide teams through concept design, detailed design, construction documentation, permitting, construction administration, commissioning support, and project closeout.
• Collaborate with architects, electrical engineers, structural engineers, civil engineers, environmental specialists, contractors, equipment vendors, and owner representatives.
• Evaluate and apply innovative technologies related to high-density computing, heat rejection, liquid cooling, energy efficiency, water use, modular infrastructure, and resilient operations.
• Mentor and develop engineering staff, including project managers, discipline leads, and emerging technical leaders.
• Support resource planning, staffing strategies, risk management, contract review, and financial performance for data center work.
• Represent Tetra Tech in industry organizations, client events, conferences, technical forums, and thought leadership opportunities.

Required Qualifications
• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related engineering discipline.
• Active Professional Engineer license.
• 12+ years of progressive mechanical engineering experience, with significant experience in mission-critical or data center environments.
• Demonstrated experience leading mechanical engineering design for data centers, central plants, high-density technical facilities, or other complex building infrastructure.
• Experience with hyperscale, colocation, enterprise, or multi-building data center campus projects.
• Strong knowledge of HVAC, cooling, plumbing, fire protection coordination, heat rejection, controls interfaces, redundancy strategies, and resilient mechanical infrastructure.
• Experience developing or applying basis-of-design standards for data center or mission-critical facilities.
• Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary teams and coordinate complex technical work across offices, disciplines, and project stakeholders.
• Strong client-facing communication skills, including the ability to advise owners, developers, contractors, and executive stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to support business development, proposals, interviews, client strategy, and market growth.
• Experience managing technical quality, project budgets, schedules, staffing, and risk.
• Familiarity with applicable building codes, mechanical codes, energy codes, ASHRAE guidance, and industry best practices for mission-critical facilities.
• Proficiency with engineering design and coordination platforms such as Revit, AutoCAD, and Microsoft Office.
• A valid driver's license and clean driving record is required for this position.
• Must be able to pass a background check.
• Must be a U.S. citizen.
Preferred Qualifications
• Experience with large-scale data center portfolios, including projects ranging from tens of megawatts to campus-scale developments.
• Experience with liquid cooling, high-density compute environments, AI data center infrastructure, or next-generation cooling strategies.
• Experience with computational fluid dynamics tools such as 6Sigma, Autodesk CFD, TileFlow, Star CCM+, or similar platforms.
• Experience working with owners, operators, manufacturers, contractors, and consulting engineering teams across the full data center lifecycle.
• Background in mechanical equipment manufacturing, engineering sales, consulting design, or owner/operator environments.
• Strong industry network within the data center, mission-critical, technology, or advanced facilities markets.
• Experience recruiting, mentoring, and developing senior technical staff and future market leaders.
Leadership Competencies

The successful candidate will be a strategic, collaborative, and technically credible leader who can:
• Build trusted relationships with sophisticated data center clients.
• Translate client goals into practical, scalable, and resilient engineering solutions.
• Balance innovation, risk, constructability, cost, schedule, and long-term operational performance.
• Lead teams through ambiguity and complexity.
• Communicate effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Grow a practice through technical excellence, client service, and disciplined execution.
• Mentor the next generation of mission-critical engineering leaders.
Work Environment and Location

This position may be performed from a Tetra Tech office, remotely, or in a hybrid arrangement, depending on business needs and candidate location. Travel may be required for client meetings, project workshops, site visits, industry events, and internal coordination.

The role will require collaboration with multidisciplinary teams across multiple offices and geographies.
Compensation

Salary range: commensurate with experience and depending on location and qualifications.

Actual salaries will be determined based on location, experience, responsibilities, and qualifications. Salary is one component of Tetra Tech's total compensation package, which may include benefits, professional development opportunities, and additional incentives.
Life at Tetra Tech

The perks of working at Tetra Tech include:
• Comprehensive and market-competitive benefits.
• Merit-based financial rewards.
• Flexibility and a company-wide commitment to work/life balance.
• A collaborative team atmosphere that values the contributions of all employees.
• Learning and development opportunities for ongoing professional growth.
• The opportunity to work on high-impact projects that support resilient, sustainable, and future-ready infrastructure.