Mechanical Engineer - Manifolds

Job Type:
Full-time, Exempt

Duration of role:
Permanent

Position: 2

Reporting to:
Global Director of Engineering

Location:
Columbia, MD (Onsite/Hybrid)

About Us

At Tate we are passionate about everything we do. As an independent brand operating within Kingspan Group, a global plc group of companies, Tate has been recognized worldwide as an industry leader in the development and manufacture of data center infrastructure solutions and commercial office raised access floors, for over 60 years. With revenues of over $600m and growing, Tate plays a pivotal role in offering expertise in cutting edge design engineering in order to craft solutions, by working collaboratively with clients as a trusted partner.

Tate continues to grow and expand, operating multiple manufacturing and commercial sites across the US, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. We are excited about our fresh, dynamic, and inclusive team of experts working on new innovations and forward-thinking designs, as we remain a market leading player within our industry. We continue to invest heavily in the best available manufacturing tools and equipment needed to adhere to Tate's world class standards and in keeping with our Planet Passionate sustainability strategy, our focus is on having minimal climate impact.

We are excited by potentially welcoming you as part of our team as we continue to grow on a worldwide scale.

About the Role

We are seeking a highly skilled Mechanical Engineer with deep expertise in CFD and FEA to serve as the Subject Matter Expert (SME) for fluid flow & pipe stress analysis, airflow, thermal, and structural analysis across our data center infrastructure product portfolio, including manifolds and air handling unit (AHU) designs.

This role will play a critical part in product development, analytical validation, and customer-facing engineering support, working closely with Product Development Teams, Sales Engineering, and Applications teams to optimize product performance, reliability, and manufacturability across multiple platforms.

What You'll Do

CFD & FEA Technical Leadership

• Act as the primary SME for CFD and FEA analysis across all relevant product platforms.
• Perform and interpret CFD simulations for airflow distribution, pressure drop, thermal performance, and heat rejection in:
• Cooling and fluid manifolds
• Air Handling Units (AHUs)
• Related data center airflow and thermal management components
• Conduct FEA simulations to evaluate:
• Structural integrity
• Vibration, fatigue, and thermal stress
• Material and thickness optimization for manufacturability and cost
• Develop, validate, and maintain analysis methodologies, assumptions, and best practices.

Product Development Support

• Collaborate with mechanical design engineers from concept through production release.
• Influence product architecture by providing data-driven design recommendations.
• Support rapid design iterations through simulation-led decision making.
• Validate designs against industry standards and internal performance criteria.

Sales Engineering & Applications Support

• Provide engineering analysis support for customer-specific applications and bids.
• Assist Sales Engineering with:
• Performance validation
• Custom configurations
• Technical responses and customer presentations
• Translate complex simulation results into clear, customer-ready insights.

Testing & Validation

• Support correlation between simulation and analytical/physical test results.
• Guide prototype testing plans and instrumentation strategies.
• Identify gaps between analytical predictions and real-world performance and drive improvements.

Process & Knowledge Development

• Standardize CFD/FEA workflows, templates, and documentation.
• Mentor junior engineers and cross-functional teams on simulation fundamentals.
• Stay current with emerging data center cooling technologies and analysis techniques.

Additional Expectation

• Remain compliant with the Code of Conduct and Policies which includes the Kingspan Group Compliance Policy.
• Ensure that all duties related to product compliance are adhered to in accordance with the Product Compliance Policy, Laws, Regulations, and market demands.
• Responsible for all tasks to achieve compliance goals and demands of the Compliance Management System.
• Must raise concerns related to the Compliance Management System to their supervisor, manager, or any member of the Leadership Team, or through the confidential whistle blower service.

What You'll Bring

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering (required)
• Hands-on, practical experience with CFD and FEA tools, specifically applied to HVAC and thermal-fluid systems for Data Centers or related industry
• Strong understanding of:
• Fluid dynamics and heat transfer
• HVAC systems and airflow management
• Structural mechanics and materials
• Proven ability to perform independent, end-to-end simulation work, from setup through interpretation

Preferred Software & Tools

Experience with one or more of the following:

• CFD: ANSYS Fluent/CFX, Solidworks Flow Sim, Autodesk CFD, OpenFOAM or similar
• FEA: ANSYS Mechanical,…