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Staff Mechanical Engineer

LambdaSan Francisco Office (Fremont St)Data Center Business
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Salary
$349K - $465K USD
Job type
Full-time
Work mode
Remote
Posted
14 Sept 2026
Status
Open · checked 7d ago

About this role

This full-time Staff Mechanical Engineer role is available within the Data Center Business department at Lambda, operating out of the San Francisco office with a hybrid setup. It is ideal for an experienced professional looking to shape the future of high-performance infrastructure through advanced thermal and cooling design.

Role Overview

Lambda is seeking a dedicated engineering professional to own mechanical design standards and reference architectures for large-scale AI data centers. The position requires working from the San Francisco or San Jose office location four days per week, with Tuesday designated as the work-from-home day. The selected candidate will translate GPU, rack, and cluster thermal requirements into robust facility cooling strategies while collaborating with multidisciplinary teams.

Key Responsibilities

Own mechanical design standards and reference architectures for large-scale AI data centers.
Develop cooling architectures for greenfield, retrofit, and partner-operated facilities.
Design central plants, heat-rejection systems, hydronic distribution, air-cooling systems, and direct-to-chip liquid-cooling infrastructure.
Perform cooling-load, heat-transfer, hydraulic, pressure-drop, psychrometric, and equipment-capacity calculations.
Develop and review P&IDs, equipment schedules, layouts, specifications, sequences of operation, and basis-of-design documents.
Select and size chillers, cooling towers, dry coolers, pumps, heat exchangers, CRAHs, CDUs, piping, valves, and water-treatment systems.
Evaluate designs for capacity, redundancy, failure isolation, maintainability, efficiency, water use, constructability, cost, and schedule.
Coordinate mechanical interfaces with electrical systems, controls, building structure, hardware engineering, construction, commissioning, and operations.
Travel to project sites, manufacturers, and partner facilities as needed.

Requirements

Experience designing mechanical systems for data centers, mission-critical facilities, central plants, or large industrial environments.
Solid understanding of hydronic systems, heat transfer, chilled-water systems, heat rejection, pumping, filtration, and water treatment.
Ability to develop and review P&IDs, mechanical layouts, equipment schedules, technical specifications, and engineering calculations.
Knowledge of mechanical redundancy, failure domains, maintainability, and operational requirements.
Capability to evaluate system performance across changing weather conditions and compute loads.
Familiarity with applicable mechanical, plumbing, energy, and safety codes and standards.
Hold a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering or equivalent practical experience.

Nice to Have

Experience designing hyperscale, colocation, HPC, or AI data centers.
Experience with high-density GPU infrastructure and direct-to-chip liquid cooling.
Experience with CDUs, warm-water cooling, dry coolers, adiabatic systems, or water-side economization.
Familiarity with CFD, Pipe-Flo, AFT Fathom, Revit, or comparable engineering tools.
Experience with water chemistry, glycol systems, filtration, flushing, and cooling-system cleanliness requirements.
Experience supporting factory testing, commissioning, integrated systems testing, or failure investigations.
Professional Engineer licensure or progress toward licensure.

Skills and Tools

Mechanical system design for mission-critical and industrial environments
Hydronic systems, heat transfer, and chilled-water management
P&ID development, equipment sizing, and technical calculations
CFD, Pipe-Flo, AFT Fathom, and Revit familiarity
Systems coordination across electrical, controls, and construction disciplines

Salary and Benefits

Annual salary range between $349,000 and $465,000 USD per year
Generous cash and equity compensation
Health, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents
Wellness and commuter stipends for select roles
401(k) plan with a 2% company match for USA employees
Flexible paid time off plan

About the Company

Founded in 2012, Lambda operates with over 500 employees and experiences rapid growth. Supported by notable investors and partners, the organization publishes research in top machine learning and graphics conferences and strives to make superintelligence accessible to everyone.

How to Apply

Interested candidates should submit their application directly on the official company careers page.

Questions candidates ask

What is the location requirement for this role?

This position requires presence in the San Francisco or San Jose office location four days per week, with Tuesday designated as the work-from-home day.

What is the salary range for the Staff Mechanical Engineer?

The annual salary range is set between $349,000 and $465,000 USD, determined by market data and candidate qualifications.

What educational background is required?

Candidates must hold a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering or possess equivalent practical experience.

What benefits are included with the position?

Benefits include cash and equity compensation, health, dental, and vision coverage, wellness and commuter stipends for select roles, a 401(k) plan with a 2% company match, and flexible paid time off.

How should I apply for this job?

Applicants should visit the official company careers page to submit their application.

Ready to apply?

The application is on the official Lambda careers page.

Apply on company site