AECOM is an infrastructure consulting company that helps public- and private-sector clients plan, design, build, and manage complex projects. Its work spans architecture and design, engineering, construction management, and environmental services, with expertise across transportation, energy, healthcare, logistics, and government infrastructure. The company combines technical consulting with digital innovation and sustainability-focused practices to address challenges in the built environment and support long-term community outcomes.
Senior CFD Engineer, Data Centers — AECOM
Lead airflow and thermal simulations for AECOM data center consulting projects. Turn complex analyses into resilient, practical engineering designs.
United States
Virginia$120,000 – $200,000 / year
RemoteFull-timeMiddleSeniorEnglish RequiredData EngineerDescription
- Lead CFD studies from defining the engineering question through delivering technical reports.
- Analyze data hall airflow and thermal performance, including rack temperatures, distribution, containment, bypass, recirculation, cooling-unit placement, density, failure modes, and capacity expansion.
- Model external conditions around cooling towers, chillers, dry coolers, generator and boiler exhaust, mechanical yards, relief air, outdoor intakes, heat rejection, plumes, short-circuiting, and thermal re-entrainment.
- Run steady-state and transient analyses of cooling outages, equipment failures, load changes, control sequences, and thermal ride-through.
- Establish and document modeling assumptions using design documents, equipment data, controls narratives, weather records, commissioning information, and field measurements.
- Verify and validate models through mesh-sensitivity checks, mass and energy balances, convergence reviews, hand calculations, and comparison with measured data.
- Assess results against project criteria, ASHRAE TC 9.9 guidance, and applicable client, code, and industry requirements.
- Convert findings into recommendations for equipment selection, airflow management, containment, intake and exhaust separation, controls, phasing, redundancy, and operational resilience.
- Produce client-ready reports and visualizations covering methods, assumptions, scenarios, results, risks, limitations, and next steps.
- Present findings and collaborate with clients and multidisciplinary project teams.
- Help maintain shared templates, modeling procedures, quality-control checklists, libraries, and lessons learned.
- Share technical knowledge and mentor less-experienced colleagues.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or a closely related engineering field.
- At least six years of hands-on CFD experience, including work in data centers, mission-critical facilities, or similarly complex thermal-management settings.
- Proficiency with at least one data center or general-purpose CFD platform, such as Cadence 6SigmaDCX, Ansys Fluent, Ansys CFX, or OpenFOAM.
- Strong grounding in fluid mechanics, heat transfer, thermodynamics, turbulence modeling, and HVAC system operation.
- Experience modeling both indoor environments, such as IT spaces and containment systems, and outdoor conditions, including mechanical yards, cooling equipment, intakes, and exhaust discharges.
- Working knowledge of data center cooling architectures, HVAC systems, redundancy, controls and failure scenarios, and common thermal performance metrics.
- Ability to deliver CFD studies independently, from scoping through final reporting.
- Experience with geometry preparation, meshing, solver setup, convergence assessment, post-processing, and engineering interpretation.
- Ability to develop suitable boundary conditions from design information and equipment performance data.
- Strong technical writing, visualization, and presentation abilities.
- U.S. employment authorization sponsorship is unavailable now and in the future.
- Able to attend an in-person first-day onboarding at an AECOM office.
Benefits
- Medical, dental, and vision coverage
- Life, accidental death and dismemberment, and disability coverage
- Paid time off
- Leaves of absence
- Optional benefits and perks
- Flexible work arrangements
- Well-being resources
- Employee assistance program
- Business travel insurance
- Service recognition awards
- Retirement savings plan
- Employee stock purchase plan
- Recognized training and development programs
- Career advancement and mobility opportunities