Principal Mechanical Engineer, Chillers

About the role

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.

Responsibilities

• 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.
• 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.
• Carefully 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.
• 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.
• 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.

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

• Knowledge of centrifugal chillers, including application considerations in industrial and data center cooling systems.
• Experience with Modular Chiller Plant (MCP) modular plants, or packaged skid systems, including exposure to design, manufacturing, or supplier coordination and interface definition.
• Experience coordinating with MCP / modular plant suppliers, including scope definition, interface split, and responsibility alignment across multiple parties.
• Experience working with Dry Cooler or other heat rejection equipment suppliers, with an understanding of integration considerations at a system and interface level.
• Familiarity with applicable U.S. standards and certifications such as UL/CSA, ASME, NFPA, NEC, and how they impact system configuration and supplier deliverables.
• Experience with factory and site activities, including FAT/SAT, commissioning, and field troubleshooting support.
• Supplier audit or development experience, such as SQA/SDE activities, including evaluation of technical capability, quality systems, and execution readiness.
• Familiarity with U.S.-based tendering, RFQ, and proposal workflows, including front-end technical clarification and alignment during bid phases.