Mechanical Designer - Mission Critical

About the Role: Mechanical Designer - Mission Critical

Our Mechanical Engineering team at HED is looking to add an experienced team member to our group of talented engineers. The Mechanical Designer - Mission Critical is a seasoned contributor with advanced Revit expertise, proven documentation skills, and growing leadership capability.

About HED

We are a team that is full of ideas, experience, creativity, passionate opinions, insatiable curiosity, uncompromising integrity, commitment, and skill. Our culture is about aspiration, embracing change and challenges, listening to (and learning from) each other, encouraging continual learning, and inspiring collective growth. As an inclusive, integrated architecture and engineering practice, we value the diversity of perspectives, experiences, abilities, and expertise that advance both the work we do, and the world we share.

Position Summary

This role balances deep technical contributions with oversight responsibilities, including mentorship, QAQC, and project coordination. The Mechanical Designer - Mission Critical operates independently on complex tasks, delegates work to others, and acts as a key resource for system integration and design strategy across the team.

Essential Functions

• Lead the development of medium-to-large scale mechanical design packages in Revit with minimal redlines or rework.
• Develop and enforce mechanical Revit standards, families, and workflows across teams.
• Create advanced mechanical system layouts and manage complex modeling tasks independently.
• Oversee drawing production, ensuring code compliance and graphic clarity across all mechanical documents.
• Generate and review technical documentation including Division 21, 22, 23 specifications and report narratives.
• Perform and validate mechanical equipment sizing and load calculations without oversight.
• Lead cross-discipline coordination meetings and resolve system conflicts with internal and external teams.
• Oversee energy code compliance and ensure documentation supports performance verification.
• Develop and apply standard calculation methods and templates for internal use (such as psychrometric, refrigerant concentration limits, storm drainage).
• Coordinate the BIM Execution Plan with input from multiple disciplines and ensure adherence.
• Manage mechanical portions of the project scope independently, delegating drafting or research tasks to staff.
• Estimate, track, and manage hours for self-performed and delegated work.
• Lead field surveys, mechanical construction administration responses, and mechanical RFI reviews as a primary contact.
• Train and mentor mechanical team members on design practices, tools, and standards.
• Delegate work strategically based on skill level and workload capacity of team members.
• Lead QAQC efforts on both self-produced and delegated work, ensuring conformance to HED standards.
• Provide constructive feedback and contribute to mechanical staff development through mentorship.
• Act as the lead mechanical representative in client meetings, confidently presenting technical design intent.
• Document meeting outcomes and action items related to mechanical systems clearly, sharing responsibility for technical coordination follow-up.
• Engage in early project scoping discussions and support proposal efforts with technical narratives and fee input for mechanical system design.

Mission Critical Specific Functions

• Have a working understanding of mission critical HVAC systems, including but not limited to Fan Coil Walls, MDR/MMR CRAHs, air and water cooled chiller systems, and liquid cooling systems.
• Have a working knowledge of CFD analysis.
• Has the ability to understand impacts to equipment performance and use to inform design decisions.
• Ability to estimate loads for equipment sizing and work with team members to oversee detailed load calculations.
• Knowledge of IEEC, ASHRAE 90.1 & 90.4 requirements for equipment/system efficiency requirements.
• Knowledge of typical redundancy requirements for data centers and impact on design requirements for specific tier.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, or equivalent, required.
• 5+ years of experience in the AEC industry preferred.
• Written and verbal communication skills commensurate with the position required.
• Strong organizational skills preferred.
• Revit experience required.
• Experience with computers, specifically for word processing, spreadsheet use/creation and email required.
• Detail-oriented, self-motivated, enthusiastic, flexible and curious personalities required.
• Ability to work well with others under deadline situations required.

Physical Requirements

Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer. Must be able to effectively communicate in writing and verbally via phone, video conferencing, and in-person. Visual acuity to perform responsibilities.

Work Environment

We embrace a hybrid model that promotes both autonomy and collaboration, including the freedom to work from home, with regular in-office days to connect with teammates and build culture. The office is a professional, open-space environment for collaborative and independent work.

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Key skills/competency

• Revit
• HVAC Systems
• Mechanical Design
• Project Coordination
• QAQC
• BIM Execution Planning
• Energy Code Compliance
• Technical Specifications
• Client Management
• Mentorship