Position Snapshot

Job Title

Mechanical Equipment / Piping Engineer

Location

Houston, TX

Employment Type

Direct Hire / Full-Time

Compensation

$90,000–$135,000 base salary 10%–20% performance-based bonus

Important recruiting requirement: Salary expectations must be added to the top of the candidate's resume in this format:

Base Salary Expectation: $XXX,XXX Bonus Expectation: XX% | Total Desired Compensation: $XXX,XXX

Candidate Requirements

• Must be a local Houston candidate
• No relocation
• No sponsorship
• U.S. work authorization requirements should be confirmed during screening
• 3–15 years of experience considered
• Priority given to candidates with 5 years
• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering preferred
• PE license is not required, but strongly favored for senior candidates
• EPC experience strongly preferred
• Modular engineering/design experience required
• Strong piping stress and mechanical equipment experience required
• Subsea experience is not required
• Subsea is considered an analogous background
• Data center experience is ideal but not mandatory

Important Submission Restriction

This is a refresh posting for 1SLBJP00003284.

Do not resubmit any candidate who previously interviewed or was rejected.

What This Engineer Will Actually Do

The engineer will own or support the mechanical equipment and piping scope for large-scale data center modules.

They will be involved in:

Design → Engineering → Procurement → Manufacturing → Assembly → Testing → Installation → Commissioning

This is important because the engineer must understand how a design works in the real world.

They are not just sitting in front of CAD software creating drawings.

They will also:

• Review designs
• Check calculations
• Review vendor equipment
• Support manufacturing
• Help resolve construction problems
• Respond to RFIs
• Support installation
• Assist with commissioning
• Interact with customers
• Provide technical guidance to other engineers

Core Technical Focus

1. Piping Engineering

This is one of the most important areas of the role.

The candidate should understand:

• Piping system design
• Pipe routing
• Piping layout
• Line sizing
• Piping components
• Specialty items
• Valves
• Fittings
• Supports
• Brackets
• Fasteners
• Bolting
• Mounting systems
• Piping insulation
• Coatings and painting systems

The engineer will prepare or review:

• Valve lists
• Equipment lists
• Piping line lists
• Piping layouts
• Piping calculations
• Piping specifications
• Piping stress studies

2. Piping Stress Analysis

This is a major technical requirement.

The engineer will perform or check:

• Pipe stress analysis
• Flexibility analysis
• Thermal expansion analysis
• Piping loads
• Equipment nozzle loads
• Support loads
• Seismic loads
• Wind loads
• Pressure loads
• Thermal loads
• Operating loads
• Occasional loads

The engineer will also provide piping load information to structural engineering.

Key software:

• CAESAR II
• NozzlePro
• FEPipe

A candidate with strong piping stress experience but no direct data center background could still be highly relevant.

3. Mechanical Equipment

The engineer will work with and design around critical mechanical equipment such as:

• Chillers
• Cooling towers
• Direct evaporative cooling systems
• Indirect evaporative cooling systems
• Pumps
• Fans
• Vessels
• Valves
• Coolers
• Mechanical control systems
• Other critical data center mechanical equipment

The candidate needs to understand how equipment interacts with the piping systems around it.

For example:

• What are the equipment connection requirements?
• What are the nozzle loads?
• How does thermal expansion affect the system?
• What type of supports are required?
• What are the vibration concerns?
• How will the equipment be installed and maintained?

4. EPC Experience

The ideal candidate has worked in an EPC environment.

They should understand the relationship between:

Engineering

Designing and calculating the system.

Procurement

Preparing technical requisitions, reviewing vendor quotes, and specifying equipment.

Construction

Supporting field installation, RFIs, and construction issues.

This is a full project lifecycle role.

5. Modular Engineering

This is a particularly important part of the position.

The company produces modular data center infrastructure.

The engineer must understand how equipment and piping will be:

• Designed
• Fabricated
• Assembled
• Transported
• Installed
• Tested
• Commissioned

This means designs must consider:

• Space limitations
• Modular assembly
• Transport requirements
• Equipment access
• Maintenance access
• Piping connections
• Structural support
• Installation sequence

Candidates with experience in the following may transfer well:

• Modular construction
• Skid packages
• Packaged equipment
• Offshore modules
• Subsea systems
• Oil & gas modules
• Process skids
• Industrial equipment packages
• E-houses
• Fabricated mechanical systems

Subsea Experience

Subsea experience is not mandatory.

However, it is considered analogous because subsea engineers often work with:

• Complex mechanical systems
• Piping
• Pressure systems
• Equipment interfaces
• Tight design tolerances
• Stress analysis
• Reliability requirements
• Harsh operating environments
• Complex fabrication and assembly

A strong subsea engineer with piping stress and mechanical equipment experience could be a very strong candidate.

Technical Documents and Deliverables

The engineer will prepare, review, or approve:

Equipment Lists

Including:

• Equipment identification
• Equipment specifications
• Capacity
• Materials
• Operating conditions

Valve Lists

Including:

• Valve type
• Size
• Pressure rating
• Materials
• Service

Piping Line Lists

Including:

• Line number
• Size
• Service
• Design pressure
• Design temperature
• Material
• Insulation requirements

Piping Stress / Flexibility Studies

Including:

• Load cases
• Stress results
• Equipment loads
• Support requirements

Mechanical Equipment Datasheets

Used to define:

• Equipment requirements
• Operating parameters
• Design conditions
• Vendor requirements

MTOs

Material Take-Offs for:

• Piping
• Valves
• Fittings
• Supports
• Mechanical equipment

BOMs

Detailed Bills of Materials supporting manufacturing and assembly.

Design Basis Responsibilities

The engineer may create or review the project-specific Design Basis document.

This document may incorporate:

• Applicable codes
• Client specifications
• Company scope of supply
• Approved exceptions
• Project design requirements

The Design Basis helps establish the technical rules used throughout the project.

Vendor and Procurement Support

The engineer will support procurement by:

• Preparing Technical Requisitions
• Reviewing vendor quotations
• Reviewing vendor technical data
• Evaluating equipment against specifications
• Providing feedback to procurement
• Supporting equipment selection

This means the candidate needs to understand both:

What the equipment needs to do and how to evaluate whether a vendor's equipment meets the requirement.

Manufacturing and Plant Support

The engineer will support the manufacturing plant during production.

They may:

• Review fabrication issues
• Answer technical questions
• Clarify drawings
• Resolve design conflicts
• Review as-built conditions
• Support assembly teams
• Assist with manufacturing changes

This is an excellent role for someone who enjoys being connected to the physical product rather than working exclusively on design documents.

Construction and Commissioning Support

The engineer will provide technical support during:

• Construction
• Installation
• Testing
• Commissioning

They may:

• Respond to RFIs
• Troubleshoot piping issues
• Resolve equipment problems
• Attend site visits
• Participate in project meetings
• Support commissioning teams
• Review as-built drawings
• Re-run or verify calculations

Customer-Facing Responsibilities

The engineer may represent the company during customer meetings.

Responsibilities include:

• Presenting technical information
• Responding to customer questions
• Explaining design decisions
• Addressing concerns
• Supporting design reviews
• Maintaining strong customer relationships

Strong communication is important because this role requires explaining complex technical information clearly.

Codes and Standards

The candidate should have experience with or familiarity with relevant industry standards, including:

• AISI
• ANSI
• ASME
  • Section VIII
  • Section IX
  • B31.3
• ASTM
• AWS
• IBC
• MFMA
• Client
• OSHA
• NACE
• NFPA
• PFI

The strongest candidates will have experience applying codes to real-world design and engineering decisions.

Education

Preferred

Bachelor of Science in:

• Mechanical Engineering

Other degrees may be considered:

• Industrial Engineering
• Mechatronics Engineering
• Other engineering disciplines

However, candidates with non-mechanical degrees should have stronger relevant experience in:

• Mechanical equipment
• Piping
• Stress analysis
• Data center infrastructure
• EPC engineering

Software Requirements

Most Important Software

CAESAR II

Critical for piping stress and flexibility analysis.

NozzlePro

Used for equipment nozzle and local stress evaluation.

FEPipe

Used for piping analysis and stress evaluation.

These three are among the strongest technical screening tools for this role.

Additional Software

The candidate may also have experience with:

• SAP engineering modules
• SolidWorks
• AutoCAD
• Revit
• BIM 360
• Navisworks Manager
• Navisworks Freedom
• 3E Plus
• Pipe Data Pro
• COMPRESS
• Microsoft Office 365
• Adobe
• Foxit

Strong Candidate Backgrounds

Best Fit

• Mechanical Engineer
• Piping Engineer
• Mechanical Equipment Engineer
• Piping Stress Engineer
• Mechanical Design Engineer
• Senior Piping Engineer
• Mechanical Project Engineer

Strong Industries

• Data centers
• EPC
• Oil & gas
• Petrochemical
• Client
• Subsea
• Offshore
• Power generation
• Industrial manufacturing
• Chemical processing
• Heavy industrial
• Modular construction