Senior Mechanical Project Engineer

Pacifico Energy is a global energy infrastructure firm supporting complex, large load projects from development through to operations. The company serves as a trusted partner across engineering, financing, construction, and optimization, delivering tailored power solutions for large energy users, including data centers. With a proven international track record and over 15 years as a large-scale developer, Pacifico brings speed and knowledgeable oversight to projects from start to finish.

We are hiring a Senior Mechanical Project Engineer to serve as the owner’s technical authority for all matters related to design, procurement, and construction of multi-unit simple cycle gas turbine power generation facilities with battery energy storage and associated auxiliary systems. The position supports projects across the company’s power generation development and execution portfolio but may become dedicated to a specific project site during the execution phase.

This role provides engineering leadership late-stage project development through procurement, EPC execution, commissioning, and long-term asset operation. The position is responsible for ensuring gas turbine project solutions meet project objectives for performance, efficiency, reliability, environmental compliance, lifecycle cost, and regulatory permitting.

The successful candidate will represent the company as the technical interface with equipment OEMs, Owner’s Engineers, EPC contractors, and other internal and external stakeholders, ensuring best-in-class outcomes for owner-developed and owner-operated generation assets.

What you get to do:

Owner’s Engineering Leadership – OCGT Projects

• Act as the company’s subject matter expert and technical lead for power systems typically required for gas turbine power generation facilities.
• Provide oversight and Owner’s side coordination for major equipment definition, design and integration, including:
• SCRs
• Heat recovery systems when applicable
• Fuel gas and systems
• Oil lubrication and hydraulic systems
• Inlet air filtration, conditioning, and cooling
• Exhaust systems, silencers, and stack interfaces
• Cooling water systems and heat rejection auxiliaries
• Buildings, enclosures, ventilation, and fire protection
• Ensure major equipment and plant design solutions align with owner priorities including long-term operability, maintainability, availability, and lifecycle economics.
• Identify and confirm boundary conditions, performance specifications, and scope of major equipment packages.
• Ensure integration at scope interfaces between suppliers as well as between owner, offtaker, and other external parties
• Oversee mechanical packaging, piping layouts, and equipment integration for gas turbine and balance-of-plant auxiliary systems, including interfaces with advanced augmentation and hybrid configurations.
• Conduct feasibility studies, conceptual design evaluations, and simplified engineering analyses, including:
• Heat and mass balance development
• Thermal performance assessments
• Water/heat balance calculations for plant auxiliary and cooling systems
• Interpret, validate, review, and otherwise perform owner-level oversight of key engineering deliverables, including:
• Equipment data sheets and contract specifications
• Process Flow Diagrams (PFDs)
• Piping & Instrumentation Diagrams (P&IDs)
• Thermal system design documentation and performance inputs

Project Development & Technology Selection

• Support early-stage project development activities including technology screening, conceptual design, and performance definition.
• Lead evaluation and selection of gas turbine technologies and configurations (simple cycle, combined cycle, CHP, and novel data center primary power solutions).
• Develop owner-level technical requirements, performance guarantees, and specification frameworks for procurement and EPC contracting.

Technology Innovation & Efficiency Optimization

• Drive the assessment and deployment of advanced technologies to improve plant efficiency, flexibility, and emissions performance, including:
• Inlet air chilling and cooling systems (mechanical chillers, thermal storage)
• Turbine power augmentation (fogging, wet compression, intercooling, absorption chillers, organic rankine cycle (ORC) and other concepts)
• Advanced auxiliary integration for high reliability and extreme climate operation
• Lead emissions control and compliance technology evaluations, including:
• Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) for NOx reduction
• Oxidation catalysts (OCR/CO catalysts) for CO/VOC control
• Comparative evaluation of OCR vs Inlet Chilling
• Combined cycle efficiency optimization versus post-combustion carbon capture (CCUS) integration
• Impacts of capture systems on turbine performance, backpressure, auxiliary load, and permitting
• Provide technical input to business case development, including CAPEX/OPEX estimation and lifecycle valuation.

Procurement, Contracting & OEM Management

• Lead technical development of RFQs, bid specifications, and contractual performance requirements for major equipment and EPC contracts.
• Conduct technical bid evaluations and support commercial negotiations with OEMs and EPC partners.
• Review and manage vendor deviations, change orders, warranty provisions, and long-term service agreement interfaces.
• Ensure equipment supply aligns with project schedules, risk posture, and owner investment objectives.

Compliance & Risk Management

• Lead and participate in formal risk review activities including:
• HAZOP (Hazard and Operability) studies
• HAZID (Hazard Identification) workshops
• Identify technical, operational, and safety risks associated with gas turbine packages and auxiliary systems, and develop practical mitigation strategies in coordination with EPCs, OEMs, and internal stakeholders.
• Ensure compliance with applicable safety, environmental, and regulatory requirements across project phases, including:
• Air permitting and emissions modeling support
• Applicable codes, standards, and owner safety requirements
• Support integration of risk mitigation and compliance requirements into design, procurement, construction, and commissioning activities.

Regulatory Compliance & Air Permitting Support

• Provide owner-level engineering support for all gas turbine generation related environmental and regulatory requirements.
• Support preparation of air permit applications and compliance documentation, including emissions modeling inputs and control technology justification.
• Ensure compliance with applicable frameworks including:
• EPA NSPS, NESHAP, PSD/NSR regulations
• Local air district permitting requirements
• Noise, thermal, and environmental constraints
• Emerging carbon and decarbonization policies

EPC Oversight & Execution Support

• Serve as member of owner’s management team during EPC execution for turbine package engineering, fabrication, installation, and commissioning.
• Review EPC contractor deliverables including design packages, interface documents, installation procedures, and commissioning plans.
• Factory Acceptance Tests (FATs)
• Site Acceptance Tests (SATs)
• Performance and reliability testing
• Lead resolution of technical issues, vendor claims, and commissioning challenges.

Asset Lifecycle & Operational Excellence

• Provide ongoing engineering support to operating assets, including troubleshooting, upgrades, outage planning, and performance optimization.
• Support development of spare parts strategies, service planning, and reliability improvement initiatives.
• Evaluate retrofit opportunities for emissions compliance, output enhancement, and long-term asset value protection.

What you bring to the role:

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or related discipline.
• Minimum 10+ years of progressive experience with open cycle gas turbine power generation project development, EPC execution, OEM environments, or owner/operator organizations.
• Deep technical knowledge of turbine auxiliaries, package integration, and balance-of-plant interfaces.
• Demonstrated experience supporting air permitting, emissions compliance, and environmental control systems.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working within an IPP, project developer, or owner/operator engineering organization.
• Simple Cycle/Combined cycle project execution experience and understanding of HRSG/steam cycle integration.
• Knowledge of decarbonization technologies including hydrogen blending and carbon capture readiness.
• PE license strongly preferred.
• Field commissioning, start-up, and performance test experience.

Core Competencies

• Owner’s mindset with strong technical accountability
• Strategic vendor and EPC partner management
• Strong commercial and contract awareness
• Regulatory and permitting fluency
• Ability to balance innovation with project execution discipline
• Clear communication across technical and executive stakeholders