Mechanical Subject Matter Expert, Data Center Critical Facilities

Meta is seeking a Mechanical Subject Matter Expert to support the reliability, performance, and operational integrity of critical mechanical infrastructure across its data center portfolio.

In this role, you will serve as a technical authority on mechanical systems — including cooling infrastructure, HVAC, chilled water plants, computer room air handlers, and associated controls — ensuring these systems meet the demanding uptime and efficiency requirements of hyperscale data center operations.

You will partner with engineering, construction, and operations teams to drive continuous improvement across the mechanical systems lifecycle, from design review through commissioning and ongoing operations.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary onsite technical resource for mechanical infrastructure, with an emphasis on practical field operations. Systems include water treatment, chilled-water plants, cooling towers, CRAH units, associated piping and control, and facility liquid-cooling systems
• Provide technical escalation support for critical mechanical systems, including participation in the site's oncall rotation and hands-on response to urgent issues outside normal working hours when required
• Plan and resource mechanical work, and also author, review or approve procedures within delegated authority for troubleshooting, repair, retrofit, and maintenance. Assess and mitigate risks to personnel, critical systems, and ongoing operations
• Conduct or oversee hands-on troubleshooting, repair, retrofit, and maintenance of mechanical equipment, ensuring safe execution and system reliability
• Champion mechanical safety and Control of Hazardous Energy (COHE), including performing complex LOTO within training and authorisation requirements, and contributing to the site's mechanical safety program
• Lead or participate in root-cause analysis and failure-mode investigations for mechanical incidents. Develop and track corrective and preventive actions to reduce recurrences
• Develop, review and improve preventive and predictive maintenance programs for critical mechanical equipment, and provide site feedback on global maintenance strategies
• Oversee mechanical system configurations, modifications, and component upgrades, ensuring system integrity, appropriate testing, and adherence to approved change-control processes
• Collaborate with controls and automation teams to optimize BMS sequences of operation for mechanical plant efficiency, reliability, and redundancy
• Provide QA/QC oversight of construction, maintenance, and retrofit activities, working with project and engineering teams to identify defects and ensure readiness for safe operation
• Coordinate cross-functional collaboration and manage vendor relationships for mechanical maintenance and retrofit work, aligning local mechanical teams with relevant site and global partners
• Define and track mechanical system health indicators, including equipment runtime, thermal margin, and contributions to PUE, to identify performance issues and improvement opportunities
• Partner with capital projects and facilities engineering teams to evaluate emerging technologies and contribute to technical standards, engineering guidance, and operational runbooks. Provide feedback on global mechanical strategies and design improvements affecting mechanical systems
• Train and mentor CFEs, technicians and cross-functional teams on mechanical system theory, troubleshooting, safe work practices, procedures and changes—including mechanical, fire and life safety, industrial water and liquid-cooling systems

Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience in critical facilities mechanical engineering or operations, with direct responsibility for data center or mission-critical mechanical systems
• Experience with large-scale chilled water systems, cooling towers, heat exchangers, variable frequency drives, and associated mechanical plant equipment
• Experience conducting root cause analysis and developing corrective action plans for mechanical system failures in a 24/7 critical environment
• Experience reviewing mechanical engineering drawings, specifications, and equipment submittals for data center construction or retrofit projects
• Experience developing or auditing preventive maintenance programs and technical standards for critical mechanical infrastructure Working knowledge of ASHRAE data center thermal guidelines, COHE/LOTO practices, applicable electrical safety practices and relevant codes for critical mechanical systems
• Experience working with facility liquid-cooling systems, including CDUs, heat exchangers, pumps, piping, valves, and coolant-quality management
• Demonstrated hands-on mechanical aptitude, with proficiency in using hand tools and calibrated test instruments to diagnose faults, perform maintenance and complete repairs in the field—not solely coordinate vendor activities
• Sound knowledge of thermodynamics and psychrometrics, with the ability to apply these principles to cooling-system troubleshooting. Familiarity with modeling or computational fluid dynamics tools is advantageous
• Technical understanding of BMS sequences of operation and their application to mechanical plant efficiency, stability, and redundancy
• Experience investigating equipment failures, interpreting operating data, and identifying effective corrective actions
• Specialist expertise in at least one critical mechanical discipline, such as industrial water treatment, chiller systems, cooling towers or facility liquid cooling, with the technical depth to champion that field and develop others