Engineering Project Manager - Data Center

Engineering Project Manager - Data Center

At I.C. Thomasson, a Salas O'Brien Company, we tell our clients that we're engineered for impact. This passion for making a difference applies just as much to our team as it does to our projects. That's why we're committed to living our values every day: inspiring, achieving, and connecting as shared owners of our success with a focus on a sustainable future.

Building for the long-term means that all of our team members can expect to work on amazing projects with a people-first approach to problem solving. It also means that each member of our team has truly limitless potential to build a unique, meaningful, and high-impact career-and they'll receive great total rewards along the way.

About Us:

Founded in 1975, Salas O'Brien is an employee-owned engineering and professional services firm focused on achieving impact for our clients, our team, and the world. We know that tomorrow's requirements are today's opportunities, and we are here to design lasting solutions for pressing challenges.

We work across a variety of industries providing integrated engineering and consulting services. Our specialized experience includes design for data centers, healthcare, science and technology, high-rise buildings, clean energy, education, and other building types as well as structural and building sciences, infrastructure asset management, advanced robotics, and more.

Summary

The Engineering Project Manager - Data Center is a member of the technical staff and fills a pivotal role as a design team leader who effectively manages schedule, budget, and technical scope to reduce risk and manage dynamic and changing projects. The ideal candidate would be a detail-oriented professional who also has problem-solving project manager experience on large data center and mission-critical infrastructure projects, with a focus on delivering high-reliability, energy-efficient facilities under tight timelines.

Experience in optimizing data center designs for sustainability metrics, such as Power & Water Usage Effectiveness (PUE/WUE) and understanding the variety of available energy sources, is highly desirable.

Essential Functions

• Receive and review project requirements and obtain clarification on any conflicting, missing, or vague items.
• Plan project activities, costs, and schedules based on team inputs and client scopes.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure data center designs meet reliability standards, including redundancy in power, cooling, and IT systems to achieve constant uptime.
• Initiate newly awarded projects with team and client stakeholders and establish the performance baselines.
• Interface with clients, locations, and information that may be of sensitive or secure nature.
• Incorporate client requirements for project speed, such as fast-track construction and modular design approaches, to accelerate time-to-market for data center operations.
• Coordinates with the project coordinator to create meeting minutes.
• Manage internal cross discipline coordination.
• Ensure quality control meets company standards throughout the project.
• Control project scope when issues or changes surface and coordinate the changes with company management and clients.
• Closeout design projects ensuring all deliverables have been provided and project documentation is complete.
• Track lessons learned and communicate with management to support continuous improvements in company processes.
• Communicate and coordinate with Salas O'Brien engineering leadership on project status.
• Promote and represent the firm in a professional manner.

Competencies:

• Confident and ambitious problem solver.
• Creative and Innovative.
• Self-starter.
• Dependable.
• Understands the culture of business.
• Detail oriented.
• Effective interpersonal skills and strong communication (written and verbal).
• Proficient in managing projects with a focus on critical environment systems, including uninterruptible, redundant power systems, precision cooling, and fault-tolerant infrastructure.
• Knowledgeable in data center-specific standards and best practices, such as ASHRAE 90.4 for energy efficiency and Uptime Institute Tier certifications for operational reliability.
• Awareness of sustainable practices for energy efficiency and green building certifications like LEED, Green Globes or ENERGY STAR.

Qualifications

• ABET accredited Bachelor's degree required.
• 5-7 years technical experience in an engineering/construction environment
• Minimum of 3 years project management experience (Data center or mission-critical facility projects preferred)
• Proficient in project management skillsets like critical path, negotiation, cost control, cost estimating, risk management, contract management, and communication
• Understanding of cost, schedule, and scope management
• Project management certification preferred (such as IAPM or PMP)
• Proficient with Microsoft:
  Windows, Project, Excel, PowerPoint, and Word
• Prefer familiarity with Bluebeam, SharePoint, Specs Intact, RSMeans, CAD, Revit and Creo
• Knowledge of data…