Senior Mechanical Engineering- System Design

About the Company Armada is the hyperscaler for the edge, delivering modular AI infrastructure from first deployment to AI factory with speed, scale and sovereignty. Named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies and to the CNBC Disruptor 50, Armada’s solutions are deployed in over 60 countries globally for organizations ranging from energy to defense. With nearly $500 million in funding to date, Armada is backed by leading investors including Founders Fund, Lux, BlackRock and Microsoft (M12), alongside strategic partnerships with Microsoft, Dell, Palantir, NVIDIA, SpaceX, and Skydio. We are building the infrastructure layer for sovereign and edge AI - rugged, deployable compute for customers that cannot rely on centralized cloud. You’ll tackle challenges that haven’t been solved before and help build something transformative from the ground up. What you do here will not only define your career but help further Armada’s mission to bridge the digital divide for customers around the world. Armada is seeking a Senior Mechanical Systems / Design Engineer to lead the design and development of liquid cooling and mechanical distribution systems for our modular AI data center platforms. This role sits at the intersection of mechanical design, hydraulic engineering, thermal infrastructure, manufacturing, controls, and commissioning. You will own the mechanical distribution architecture connecting heat-rejection equipment, pumps, piping, manifolds, coolant distribution units, rack cooling systems, and modular interconnects. You will translate system requirements into practical, serviceable, and repeatable designs that can be manufactured in a factory and deployed consistently across multiple sites. This is not a traditional consulting or drawing-review role. You will help establish the design rules, technical standards, interfaces, and commissioning philosophy behind the product itself. This role is remote. Mechanical and Liquid Cooling Architecture Own the end-to-end mechanical cooling and fluid-distribution architecture for modular data center platforms. Align heat-rejection equipment, distribution piping, CDUs, rack manifolds, rear-door heat exchangers, and other cooling interfaces. Develop scalable architectures that support multiple product configurations and deployment sizes. Hydraulic System Design Develop hydraulic models for water and glycol-based systems. Account for fluid concentration, viscosity, temperature, fittings, valves, strainers, heat exchangers, and equipment pressure losses. Define control-valve, balancing-valve, bypass, minimum-flow, and differential-pressure strategies. Validate system performance across normal, part-load, maintenance, startup, and failure conditions. Mechanical Design and Documentation Own P&IDs, mechanical schematics, equipment schedules, valve schedules, instrumentation schedules, and design calculations. Develop mechanical design criteria, basis-of-design requirements, and standard details. Define clear equipment and scope boundaries between plant systems, modules, CDUs, rack cooling, and field interconnections. Maintain disciplined revision control and technical traceability across the mechanical design package. Review vendor drawings, submittals, calculations, and equipment selections for compliance with system intent. Define mechanical interfaces between factory-built modules and field-installed infrastructure. Develop repeatable interconnect strategies for supply and return piping, manifolds, flexible connections, isolation valves, quick disconnects, drains, vents, and leak detection. Establish labeling, connection, access, and installation standards that reduce field variability. Support product configurations designed for transport, rapid installation, and phased expansion. Design for Manufacturing and Serviceability Develop layouts that support repeatable fabrication, assembly, inspection, testing, and installation. Standardize piping routes, fittings, valve assemblies, supports, connection points, and mechanical components where practical. Coordinate equipment clearances, removal paths, service access, drain points, vent points, and filter or strainer access. Partner with manufacturing teams to resolve buildability issues and improve future revisions. Translate field and factory feedback into product improvements. Define the mechanical measurement and control requirements for temperature, flow, differential pressure, pressure, leak detection, fluid level, pump status, and valve position. Partner with controls engineers to develop system operating sequences and alarm strategies. Support pump staging, variable-speed control, minimum-flow protection, equipment enablement, and failure-response logic. Help ensure mechanical system data is available for commissioning, operations, and remote monitoring. Commissioning-First Design Design systems for safe and efficient filling, flushing, venting, draining, testing, balancing, and startup. Define isolation, bypass, temporary connection, and load-bank testing requirements. Develop or support factory acceptance, site acceptance, and integrated systems testing procedures. Establish performance-verification criteria for flow, pressure, temperature, heat rejection, controls, alarms, and failure modes. Work directly with commissioning and field teams during startup and troubleshooting. Cross-Functional Engineering Leadership Partner with thermal, electrical, controls, structural, manufacturing, commissioning, supply chain, and product teams. Coordinate directly with OEMs, equipment manufacturers, fabricators, and engineering partners. Identify interface risks, design gaps, and single points of failure early. 7 or more years of experience designing mechanical cooling, hydraulic distribution, process cooling, or mission-critical infrastructure systems. Experience with data centers, semiconductor facilities, industrial process cooling, central utility plants, or comparable high-reliability environments. Strong knowledge of pipe sizing, pump selection, pressure-drop analysis, flow balancing, system volume, and hydraulic control. Experience developing and owning P&IDs, mechanical calculations, equipment schedules, valve schedules, and instrumentation requirements. Practical knowledge of chilled-water, condenser-water, glycol, or process-fluid systems. Experience designing for commissioning, maintenance, isolation, flushing, venting, draining, and service access. Ability to coordinate across engineering, manufacturing, controls, commissioning, and field teams. Experience with CDUs, rack manifolds, cold plates, rear-door heat exchangers, liquid-to-liquid heat exchangers, or liquid-to-air systems. Familiarity with CFD, thermal modeling, or transient analysis. Proficiency with AutoCAD, Revit, Plant 3D, SolidWorks, Inventor, or similar design tools. Experience supporting FAT, SAT, IST, or field commissioning. Competitive base salary and equity Medical, dental, and vision (subsidized cost) Health savings accounts (HSA), flexible spending accounts (FSA), and dependent care FSAs (DCFSA) Retirement plan options, including 401(k) and Roth 401(k) 14 paid company holidays per year In addition to base salary, this role will also be offered equity and subsidized benefits (details available upon request). We use a geographic pay structure based on cost-of-labor markets. #LI-Remote You focus on business success and are motivated by team accomplishment vs personal agenda As an equal opportunity employer, we strictly prohibit discrimination or harassment based on race, color, gender, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other characteristic protected by law. This policy applies to all employment decisions, including hiring, promotions, and compensation. #J-18808-Ljbffr Armada