Principal, System Architect (Pre-sales)

MISSION

The System Architect – Mechanical is the thermal engineering authority for assigned strategic accounts within the zone. This role owns the end-to-end cooling and thermal system design for datacenter solutions, from primary chiller plant through in-rack liquid cooling delivery. Working as a core member of the account fighting unit with the Key Account Manager and Segment Solution Architect, the SAM-Mechanical strengthens technical positioning and drives successful deal closure. The role is accountable for thermal solution quality, technical standards compliance, and building deep customer credibility at the mechanical engineering level.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Thermal System Design (Core Engineering)

Design complete cooling and thermal management systems for datacenter solutions:

• Primary chiller plant: water-cooled and air-cooled configurations, sizing, redundancy strategies (N, N+1, 2N)

• Heat rejection systems: cooling towers, dry coolers, adiabatic cooling, seasonal performance modeling

• Chilled water distribution: primary/secondary loop design, variable flow optimization, delta-T management

• Precision air systems: CRAH/CRAC sizing, hot aisle/cold aisle containment, airflow design

• In-row cooling and rear-door heat exchangers (RDHx) for high-density environments

• Liquid cooling systems: CDU sizing for 30–200+ kW clusters, warm water interfaces (up to 45°C), OCP OLC-compliant manifolds

• AI DC thermal design: GPU cluster-scale cooling, NVL72/GB200 CDU configuration, hybrid air+liquid architectures

• Energy modeling: PUE contribution from cooling, WUE analysis, free-cooling availability, economization strategies

Solution Engineering Deliverables

Produce all cooling engineering outputs for bids:

• Cooling load calculations and psychrometric analysis

• Equipment sizing schedules and specifications

• P&ID diagrams (concept and scheme level)

• Piping layout sketches and CDU configuration schedules

• Bill of Materials (BOM) for cooling scope

• OG vendor specifications (third-party product selection)

• Design handover packages when solutions are won

Customer & Consultant Engagement

• Lead cooling-scope technical discussions with customers; defend design decisions at engineer-to-engineer level

• Conduct cooling-specific technical workshops with design consultants; embed Schneider standards in RFP briefs

• Support EPC contractor engagement: pre-construction design reviews, technical clarifications, interface resolution

• Present cooling technology roadmap to primary accounts, especially AI DC thermal futures

• Build and maintain direct technical relationships with customer mechanical engineering teams

Fighting Unit & Bid Support

• Work as core member of the account fighting unit: SSA (solution strategy), SAE-Electrical (power train), SAM-Mechanical (thermal train), Digital Solution Architect, KAM (customer relationship)

• Co-design with System Architect – Electrical: align cooling loads with electrical BoM, CDU power inputs, BMS integration points

• Submit qualifying bid designs through Principal Architect review; address technical feedback and rework notices

• Participate in win/loss debrief reviews: capture cooling-scope decisions and lessons for reference architecture updates

• Support solution integration: ensure cooling design is competitive, technically correct, and aligned with customer needs

Technical Standards & Continuous Improvement

• Design to Principal Architect-defined cooling reference architectures; document deviations when customer requirements necessitate variation

• Provide active project inputs to Principal Architect for reference architecture evolution

• Propose new OG products for qualified list when bids require capabilities not currently available

• Complete required technical certifications (ASHRAE, Uptime Institute ATD, OCP OLC)

• Deliver internal technical sessions to zone SSAs on cooling fundamentals, AI DC thermal management, and liquid cooling

TECHNICAL COMPETENCY REQUIREMENTS

Expert-level competency required across all thermal domains. This person must be the most technically credible voice in the room on cooling when presenting to hyperscaler and large enterprise engineering teams.

Core Technical Domains

• Primary Plant & Heat Rejection: Water-cooled and air-cooled chillers, cooling towers, adiabatic coolers, free-cooling analysis, hybrid economization, primary/secondary loop optimization

• Precision Air Systems: CRAH/CRAC selection and sizing, hot aisle/cold aisle containment (full and partial), in-row cooling, variable speed drives, economizer modes, airflow modeling basics

• Liquid Cooling: CDU design and sizing (30–200+ kW clusters), RDHx application, OCP OLC-compliant manifold design, warm water cooling (direct-to-chip), quick-disconnect fittings, leak detection, glycol/DI water specifications

• AI Datacenter Cooling: GPU cluster thermal profiles (Nvidia NVL72/GB200/HGX), ASHRAE A5 addendum liquid cooling classes, warm water circuits up to 45°C, NVLink/NVSwitch cooling specifications, immersion cooling feasibility

• Standards & Design Tools: ASHRAE 90.4, ASHRAE A5, Uptime Institute Tier requirements, EN 50600, OCP Open Liquid Cooling (OLC). Tools: HAP/IES-VE (cooling load calcs), AutoCAD/Revit (P&IDs, layouts), psychrometric tools, CDU sizing calculators

Essential

• Degree in Mechanical Engineering or Building Services Engineering (MEng or BE preferred)

• 8–14 years in datacenter cooling design, commissioning, or presales; minimum 5 years specifically in DC environments

• Demonstrated design experience: chiller plant, CRAH systems, chilled water distribution (≥2 MW cooling capacity)

• Working knowledge of liquid cooling: CDU application, RDHx, basic manifold design

• Experience producing engineering deliverables: cooling calcs, P&IDs, equipment schedules, BoMs

• Ability to present and defend cooling designs to customer mechanical engineering teams

• Familiarity with ASHRAE 90.4 and Uptime Institute Tier criteria for cooling

Preferred / Advantageous

• Uptime Institute Accredited Tier Designer (ATD) certification – cooling module

• ASHRAE Data Center Academy or similar formal certification

• Direct AI DC experience: GPU cluster cooling, NVL72/HGX thermal requirements, CDU sizing for 100kW+ densities

• Background with hyperscalers (AWS, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Equinix) or Tier 1 consultants (Arup, WSP, Mott MacDonald, Syska)

• Immersion cooling experience (single-phase or 2-phase design/feasibility)

• Presales or solutions engineering background – comfort with pre-RFP design and customer pressure environments