About Tate
At Tate we are passionate about everything we do. As an independent brand operating within Kingspan Group, a global plc, Tate has been recognised worldwide as an industry leader in the development and manufacture of data centre infrastructure solutions and commercial office raised access floors for over 60 years. With revenues of over $500m and growing, Tate plays a pivotal role in offering expertise in cutting edge design engineering, working collaboratively with clients as a trusted partner.
As a market leader within our industry Tate continues to grow and expand, operating 12 manufacturing sites across the US, Europe, and Australia. We are excited about our fresh, dynamic, and inclusive team of experts working on new innovations and forward-thinking designs. We continue to invest heavily in the best available manufacturing tools and equipment needed to adhere to Tate's world class standards. In keeping with our Planet Passionate sustainability strategy, our mission is to accelerate a net zero emissions future built environment with the wellbeing of people and planet at its heart.
About the Role
The Director of Sales Engineering leads and grows the Sales Engineering function, owning technical strategy across the full pre-sales cycle for advanced liquid cooling solutions, including stainless steel piping, in-row distribution systems, CDU integration, and facility-to-rack coolant routing. This role defines how the team engages with customers, translates hyperscale thermal requirements and facility constraints into manufacturable manifold and liquid-distribution concepts, and drives commercial outcomes through technical excellence.
The Director builds and mentors a high-performing sales engineering team, sets technical standards and processes, and acts as the senior technical voice in strategic customer engagements. They ensure all proposed solutions meet hydraulic performance, reliability, redundancy, and modular integration requirements while aligning with manufacturing capabilities, deployment timelines, and business growth targets.
What You'll Do
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Lead and develop the Sales Engineering team, setting direction, building capability, and managing performance to drive consistent technical and commercial outcomes.
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Represent Tate as the senior technical authority in strategic customer meetings, design reviews, and onsite walkthroughs, guiding manifold architecture and cooling integration at an executive level.
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Oversee and govern the development of concept-level solutions - flow diagrams, manifold layouts, routing plans, and hydraulic assumptions - ensuring quality and consistency across the team's output.
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Set standards for technical proposal content - including P&ID markups, flow/pressure calculations, material selections, and integration notes - and review proposals for major opportunities.
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Analyze thermal loads, supply/return temperatures, coolant types, delta-T requirements, and liquid-cooled rack densities.
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Size and specify manifold headers, branches, valves, quick connects, hoses, sensors, and monitoring components.
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Evaluate hydraulic performance (flow balancing, pressure drops, pump head requirements, redundancy strategies).
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Develop CDU integration concepts, including layout, piping, interconnects, and control interfaces.
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Assess manufacturability, modularization, shipping splits, assembly needs, and site installation constraints.
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Ensure compliance with hyperscale liquid cooling specifications
- Work with Design and Engineering to validate sizing, materials, weld requirements, pressure ratings, and model performance.
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Collaborate with Estimating to ensure accurate pricing for materials, valves, hoses, welding, testing, and labor.
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Produce clear technical handover packages for downstream engineering and manufacturing teams.
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Stay up to date on hyperscale liquid cooling roadmaps, including D2C, RDHX, and facility water trends.
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Monitor competitor activity and market positioning, identifying differentiation opportunities and informing go-to-market strategy.
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Drive structured product feedback loops with R&D to influence the next generation of modular manifolds, piping skids, and scalable cooling platforms.
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Own and drive internal standardization initiatives: design kits, templated P&IDs, component libraries, routing standards, and installation guides, ensuring consistent, scalable pre-sales capability.
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Own revenue and win-rate targets for the Sales Engineering function; develop the team's commercial acumen and proposal quality to consistently convert technical opportunities.
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Ensure the team maintains rigorous records of assumptions, risks, and customer feedback in CRM, using pipeline data to inform resource planning and forecasting.
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Lead bid reviews, technical clarifications, and RFI responses for strategic opportunities, ensuring alignment between technical proposals and commercial objectives.
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Create clarity and direction for the team in a fast-paced, evolving technical environment, enabling effective responses to shifting customer requirements and market dynamics.
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Communicate with authority and clarity at all levels - from engineering teams to C-suite stakeholders and hyperscale customers - translating complex technical concepts into compelling business narratives.
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Prioritise and manage the team's workload across multiple concurrent opportunities, maintaining high quality and meeting commercial deadlines.
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Proactively identify strategic risks, technical gaps, or commercial ambiguities across the pipeline and implement systemic solutions rather than one-off fixes.
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Drive cross-functional alignment across Sales, Engineering, Manufacturing, and Operations to ensure solutions are commercially sound, technically validated, and ready for deployment.
Additional Expectations
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Remain compliant with the Code of Conduct and Policies which includes the Kingspan Group Compliance Policy.
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Ensure that all duties related to product compliance are adhered to in accordance with the Product Compliance Policy, Laws, Regulations, and market demands.
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Responsible for all tasks to achieve compliance goals and demands of the Compliance Management System.
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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.
Qualifications, Experience & Skills
Education: Degree in Mechanical Engineering or a closely related engineering discipline.
Professional development or training relevant to structural, industrial, or mission-critical environments is an advantage.
Experience:
Proven leadership experience in Sales Engineering, Technical Pre-Sales, or a related function within Data Center, mission-critical, or complex construction environments.
Deep understanding of front-end design, tendering, and pre-contract phases, with the ability to shape commercial strategy and set team-wide standards.
Track record of engaging at executive and C-suite level with hyperscale clients, consultants, and senior internal stakeholders, building long-term strategic relationships.
Demonstrated ability to lead and grow technical teams, manage complex parallel workstreams, and deliver results in high-pressure commercial environments.
Proficiency interpreting construction drawings, specifications, and technical documentation, with strong commercial awareness across estimating, cost inputs, and margin management.
Strong understanding of server technology, associated Data Center hardware, and hyperscale liquid cooling roadmaps including D2C, RDHX, and facility water trends.
Skills:
Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering or related discipline; Master's degree or chartered engineering status (CEng/PE) is a significant advantage.
12+ years of experience in cooling, HVAC, hydronics, piping systems, or data-center mechanical engineering, including at least 4 years in a leadership or management role.
Strong understanding of hydraulics, pump curves, pressure drop analysis, fluid properties, and thermal performance.
Extensive experience with direct-to-chip cooling, manifold distribution, CDUs, and facility liquid systems, with a strong commercial track record in these areas.
Ability to interpret mechanical drawings, P&IDs, coolant schematics, and technical specifications.
Exceptional communication and presentation skills, with a proven ability to influence senior stakeholders and articulate complex thermal and hydraulic concepts at board and executive level.
Strategic thinker with strong commercial instincts, a collaborative leadership style, and the ability to build high-performing teams in a fast-scaling environment.
Deep technical curiosity and strong interest in next-generation thermal and liquid cooling technologies.
Tate is an equal-opportunity employer. We encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds and experiences.
Join us in our mission to make a difference through exceptional solutions.
