Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing Engineer (Data Centers & Mission-Critical Facilities)

Senior MEP Engineer (Data Centers & Mission-Critical Facilities)

Location: Houston, TX (Hybrid)

Role Type: Full-Time (W-2)

Start Date: ASAP

Company: Guardian Engineering Enterprises, LLC – https://guardianengent.com

Company Overview

Guardian Engineering Enterprises is a premier engineering and project management firm serving the energy, rail, and industrial infrastructure sectors. With 30+ years of experience, we deliver end-to-end support—from engineering design and consulting through project management and design-build execution—grounded in innovation, safety, and long-term client partnerships. As an MBE, SDVOSB, and SBE, we’re building a high-performing team that takes pride in technical excellence, collaborative delivery, and doing the job right.

Role Description

The Senior MEP Engineer will serve as a hands-on technical leader responsible for the integrated mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection design of mission-critical data center facilities. This role is ideal for a true designer—someone who remains deeply involved in engineering execution rather than functioning solely as a project or people manager.

You will lead complex MEP system designs for facilities ranging from edge and enterprise data centers to large-scale hyperscale campuses (10–300+ MW), supporting Guardian’s expanding in-house data center practice across commercial, federal, and government-facing programs.

Responsibilities

• Lead integrated MEP design for mission-critical data center facilities, with primary technical ownership of mechanical cooling systems
• Design and engineer advanced HVAC and cooling infrastructure including air-cooled, water-cooled, adiabatic, economized, and liquid cooling solutions
• Engineer high-density thermal environments (20–100+ kW/rack) including CRAH/CRAC units, chilled water plants, cooling towers, pumping systems, hot/cold aisle containment, in-row cooling, rear-door heat exchangers, and direct-to-chip liquid cooling
• Perform detailed cooling load calculations, psychrometric analysis, airflow modeling, and CFD simulations to optimize thermal performance and eliminate hot spots
• Develop mechanical system designs including chilled water system hydraulics, pump curves, piping layouts, duct sizing, controls sequences, and redundancy strategies (N+1, N+2, 2N)
• Coordinate plumbing systems including chilled and condenser water distribution, water service, sanitary and storm drainage, and specialty humidity-control systems
• Design and coordinate fire protection systems including pre-action sprinklers, VESDA early detection, clean agent suppression, and smoke control
• Collaborate closely with electrical engineers on power density planning, UPS and generator room cooling, redundancy requirements, and system resiliency
• Optimize designs for Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) and Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) through efficient equipment selection, economization strategies, and sustainable design approaches
• Manage BIM coordination using Revit MEP and Navisworks for system routing, clash detection, and constructability reviews
• Support construction administration activities including equipment submittal reviews, RFI responses, site observations, commissioning coordination, test and balance verification, and integrated systems testing
• Ensure compliance with applicable codes and standards including ASHRAE, NFPA, International Mechanical Code, Uptime Institute Tier III/IV requirements, and client-specific design standards
• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to technical quality control of design deliverables

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical Engineering preferred; ABET-accredited program strongly preferred)
• Professional Engineer (PE) license required or obtained by time of hire
• 5–8+ years of engineering experience with a strong focus on data centers or mission-critical facilities
• Demonstrated hands-on design experience (not a purely managerial background)
• Proven experience with HVAC and cooling infrastructure for mission-critical environments
• Strong understanding of thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid dynamics, and psychrometrics as applied to data center design
• Ability to independently own and deliver complex, multi-discipline engineering designs

Preferred Qualifications

• 7+ years total experience with at least 4–5 years focused on data center or critical facilities design
• Experience leading medium to large, multi-discipline projects exceeding $50M in construction value
• Strong working knowledge of ASHRAE standards, NFPA codes, and Uptime Institute Tier III/IV requirements
• Experience designing N+1, N+2, and 2N redundant mechanical and MEP systems
• Proficiency with AutoCAD, Revit MEP, Trane TRACE, Carrier HAP, or similar analysis tools
• Experience with hyperscale or large enterprise data center campuses
• Familiarity with emerging cooling technologies such as liquid cooling, immersion cooling, or advanced economization strategies
• Federal facility or DoD data center experience (active or prior clearance a plus)

Tools & Technologies

• Design & Analysis: AutoCAD, Revit MEP, Navisworks, CFD tools (e.g., 6SigmaRoom, TileFlow)
• Mechanical Systems: HVAC, chilled water plants, cooling towers, pumping systems, liquid cooling
• Codes & Standards: ASHRAE, NFPA, IMC, Uptime Institute Tier standards

Compensation & Benefits

• Base Salary: $130,000 – $165,000
• Employment Type: Full-time W-2
• Benefits: Health, dental, and vision insurance; 401(k) plan
• Career Growth: Opportunity to grow into senior technical or leadership roles as Guardian scales its data center practice

Additional Job Application Terms

This job is part of LinkedIn’s Full-Service Hiring beta program. Eligibility is limited to candidates located in and performing services in the United States, excluding those based in Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, South Carolina, or West Virginia.

We’re committed to making our hiring process as smooth and timely as possible. If you’re a potential fit, our team will reach out within two weeks regarding next steps. If you don’t hear from us in that time, we encourage you to explore future opportunities with Guardian Engineering Enterprises.