Lead Mission Critical HVAC Technician

Company Overview

Upchurch is a rapidly growing, full-service building engineering company providing mechanical, plumbing, HVAC, and electrical services across the southeastern United States. Founded in 1970 and headquartered in Horn Lake, MS, Upchurch has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions, establishing a strong reputation for quality, reliability, and service excellence. We offer end-to-end solutions—from design and installation to ongoing maintenance and emergency support—helping clients maximize building performance, energy efficiency, and equipment lifespan.

Through our Data Center Mission Critical (DC|MC) business unit, Upchurch provides specialized operations and maintenance services focused on uptime, reliability, and lifecycle performance of data center infrastructure.

This role supports colocation, hyperscale, enterprise, and edge data centers by executing disciplined preventive, corrective, and condition-based maintenance on mission-critical cooling and mechanical systems.

Position Summary

The Lead Mission Critical Services Technician is responsible for oversight of assigned team that is maintaining, troubleshooting, pre-commissioning, and servicing mechanical and HVAC systems that directly support data center uptime and reliability. Unlike traditional comfort-cooling roles, this position operates in high-availability environments where procedural compliance, redundancy awareness, and precision execution are mandatory.

Lead Technicians schedule and support the preventive maintenance (PM), corrective maintenance (CM), and emergency response activities on mission-critical cooling based on SLAs of 2-8 hours and mechanical systems while adhering to strict Method of Procedure (MOP), safety, and change-management standards.

Key Responsibilities

• Familiarization of working in a data center mission critical environment.

• Understanding the cooling and power infrastructure systems in data centers.

• Aggressive approach in safety practices, human performance, procedural compliance, and must be detail-oriented.

• Familiar with preventive and corrective maintenance on data center mechanical or electrical systems (specialized in one discipline), including but not limited to:

  • CRAH / CRAC units

  • Chilled water systems

  • Pumps, valves, strainers, and heat exchangers

  • Cooling towers, adiabatic systems, and fluid loops

  • DX, split, and supplemental cooling systems

  • Switchgear (Low Voltage and Medium Voltage)

  • Distribution (Switchgear, Power Distribution Units, Automatic Transfer Switch, Remote Power Panels)

  • Battery Systems

  • Rectifiers, Inverters

  • UPS Systems

  • General building mechanical and electrical

• Familiar with preventive and corrective maintenance on data center mechanical or electrical systems (specialized in one discipline), including but not limited to:

• Execute work through our field management system using approved MOPs, SOPs, and change-management processes.

• Drive team performance, setting clear project and service contract expectations

• Conduct regular check-ins to facilitate performance reviews

• Maintain system redundancy and awareness of upstream/downstream impacts.

• Respond to alarms, degraded performance, and emergency service calls per SLA.

• Document all work, readings, inspections, and system conditions accurately.

• Follow strict safety protocols (LOTO, PPE, site rules, confined space, etc.).

• Participate in on-call rotations and scheduled maintenance windows.

• Complete required overall company and data center specific training via Upchurch University LMS DC|MC program.

Level Differentiation & Expectations

Level IV – Lead Mission Critical Technician

Primary Focus: System ownership, leadership, reliability

• Serves as technical authority for assigned mechanical and/or electrical systems.

• Leads execution of complex MOPs, outages, and recovery procedures.

• Performs advanced diagnostics and root-cause analysis.

• Reviews and improves SOPs, PM scopes, and maintenance strategies.

• Mentors Level I, II, and III technicians.

• Interfaces directly with client operations and service management.

• Supports condition-based and predictive maintenance programs.

• Identifies risk, reliability gaps, and lifecycle improvement opportunities.

Typical Experience:

• 5+ years HVAC/mechanical experience

• Strong mission-critical or data center background

Qualifications:

Required:

• High school diploma or equivalent; technical/vocational training preferred

• People Management experience

• EPA Section 608 Certification (Universal or applicable type)

• Ability to read:

  • P&IDs

  • Mechanical schedules

  • Electrical one-lines

  • Electrical panel schedules

  • OEM documentation

  • MOPs and SOPs

• Valid driver’s license

• Ability to work in live critical environments

• Willingness to travel to support service region

Physical & Work Environment

• Lift up to 50 lbs

• Work in raised-floor environments, rooftops, and equipment rooms

• Exposure to noise, airflow, and operational equipment

• Ability to work nights, weekends, and on-call rotations

Career Progression

Upchurch intentionally designed this role as a progressive technician pathway, supported by:

• Upchurch University mission-critical curriculum

• OEM training and certification

• Expansion into:

  • SME Liquid Cooling

  • Service Manager

  • Service Director

  • Integrated Systems Operations roles

Benefits:

• Competitive pay based on experience.

• Health, dental, and vision insurance.

• Paid time off and holiday pay.

• Opportunities for professional development and certification assistance.

Equal Employment Opportunity:

Upchurch Companies provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type based on race, color, 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, or local laws.