Senior Mechanical Engineer

  • Seattle
  • Salas Obrien
Senior Mechanical Engineer
At Salas O'Brien 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 h-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.
Job Summary:
Our office in Seattle, WA is looking for a Senior Mechanical Engineer to work in a multi-discipline team designing telecommunications and data center projects. This opportunity is a client-facing position in an established mechanical design team focused on high quality work for a mix of fortune 500 telecommunication and technology companies. Our growing team in Seattle needs a strong mechanical designer with a combination of engineering, project management, and people skills. We value technical competence, practical solutions, ethical behavior, focus on teamwork, and sustained relationships with clients and partners.
Minimum Qualifications
To succeed in this role, you need to meet the following basic requirements:
  • Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering
  • Professional Engineer (PE) license
  • 15 years HVAC design experience
  • Technical competence in HVAC design. Our work often includes air handlers, duct work, chillers, cooling towers, energy analysis, chilled water systems, controls, fuel oil, condensing units, refrigerant piping, and emergency generators.
  • Excellent written and verbal communications skills and the ability to establish and maintain long term relationships with our clients and partners.
  • Good communication skills, combined with organizational skills, the ability to plan, balance and prioritize work.
  • Ability to lead a team and work as a team
  • Proficiency in MS Office and Excel

Additional Ideal Qualifications
  • NCESS, Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska, and Hawaii licensure
  • Telecommunication and data center experience
  • Management experience.
  • Marketing experience.
  • Proficiency in AutoCAD
  • Proficiency in Revit
  • Construction Administration experience
  • LEED certification

Work Location
This job requires your physical presence in Western Washington with preference for attendance at our Northgate Office a minimum of three days a week.
Working Hours
Work hours are flexible but need to be predictable and provide availability during core business hours. We perform some occasional overnight work for telecommunications projects but not often.
Travel
Many of our projects are local but some out of town travel is necessary for national clients to locations as far as Florida and Hawaii. Trips are generally limited to once per month. Travel time is compensated, and we don't typically travel nights or weekends.
Here are some specific duties in this role:
  • Design HVAC systems for telecommunications facilities, data centers, and other commercial buildings.
  • Maintain strong, long term ongoing relationships with our Telecommunications Clients.
  • Manage mechanical equipment replacement projects and participate as part of multidiscipline design teams in larger complex commercial projects.
  • Mentor junior engineers and participate in our quality control process.
  • Manage a portfolio of projects beginning to end. This includes writing fee proposals, leading the design work, stamping the work, managing the client, construction administration, tracking project financial performance, invoicing, and project closeout.

What's Different
  • Most of our projects are repeat work from long term Telecommunications Clients. We focus on both the technical project requirements and the continued relationship with the goal of continuing repeat work. We have been continuously supporting many regional Telecommunications buildings for over 20 years.
  • You'll work on several projects at a time with same client project manager, general contractor, and a stable of MEP subcontractors. These teams have a level of coordination and trust not often found in commercial construction.
  • You will engage in projects beginning to end from the cost estimate thru design, specifications, construction, commissioning, and closeout. We often perform our own mechanical commissioning.
  • You'll be joining an established mechanical design team based in various locations in the Pacific Northwest. Our team in Seattle is growing. We have a role for you mentoring and training new staff and we are looking for future leaders.
  • Our project managers have access to detailed real time project accounting information necessary to manage their projects.
  • You will have an opportunity to own company stock.
  • Our 50 person Seattle Office is part of a growing National 2800-person organization managed locally as a separate business unit. Our management structure is relatively flat with Principals actively engaged in projects. You will interact with and know the decision makers.

Equal Opportunity Employment Statement
Salas O'Brien provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, colour, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state/provincial, or local laws. Salas O'Brien will accommodate the disability-related needs of applicants as required by law.