Mechanical Engineer · AI & HPC Infrastructure

I design the cooling and power systems that keep AI compute running.

Three years in critical infrastructure, now leading mechanical design at a 100 MW crypto data center in Paraguay — while designing the liquid-cooling and MEP systems for its next-generation AI compute expansion.

Paraguay · Brazil · Available remote, worldwide

100 MW
Crypto data center capacity
3+ yrs
Critical infrastructure
GB300 NVL72
AI rack design in progress
Tier III
TIA-942-C aligned
Portrait of Andrew Ratzkob, mechanical engineer specializing in AI data center infrastructure

Who you are hiring

About

I am a mechanical engineer with ten years of experience, the last three focused on the physical layer of computing — the part that decides whether a GPU cluster runs at full clock or throttles into failure. My work sits where thermal engineering, electrical infrastructure and civil construction meet, and my job is to make those three disciplines agree on a single, buildable plant.

Today I lead mechanical design at Penguin Group's 100 MW crypto data center in Paraguay, where I am also designing the liquid-cooling and MEP systems for the site's AI compute expansion — dimensioning heat rejection for NVIDIA GB300 NVL72 racks, specifying the dual hydraulic loop that will serve direct-to-chip cold plates and rear-door heat exchangers, and laying out the white space against the electrical and civil constraints. That AI expansion is still at the design stage; day to day, I'm on site making sure contractors build the crypto infrastructure exactly as drawn.

Before AI infrastructure, I built the foundation for it: high-voltage transformer diagnostics, 24/7 critical operations, industrial HVAC, and machine safety compliance. That range is the reason I can size a CDU in the morning and resolve a switchgear clearance conflict in the afternoon without handing the problem to someone else.

I work in English, Spanish and Portuguese, and I am open to remote engineering roles supporting AI and HPC data center construction and expansion anywhere in the world.

Core specialization

AI Data Center Infrastructure

High-density AI compute broke the assumptions that conventional data centers were built on. Air alone cannot remove 130+ kW from a single rack, and the power train feeding it no longer looks like a traditional facility. This is the problem I work on every day.

Direct-to-Chip Liquid Cooling

Design and sizing of DLC systems for high-density GPU racks: cold plate loops, Coolant Distribution Units (CDU), primary and secondary circuits, flow rate and approach temperature calculation, redundancy and failure modes.

DLCCDUCold platesN+1 redundancy

Dual-Loop Hydraulic Architecture

Two-temperature water strategy designed to serve the whole hall: a warm-water loop at 36/40 °C rejecting heat from direct-to-chip cold plates, and a chilled-water loop at 17 °C feeding rear-door heat exchangers for the residual air-side load.

36/40 °C DLC loop17 °C RDHx loopHeat rejection

NVIDIA GB300 NVL72 Integration Design

Mechanical and thermal integration design for NVL72 rack architecture: per-rack thermal budget, coolant flow requirements, floor loading, service clearance, and the plant capacity that will be required to sustain the cluster at full utilization.

GB300NVL72High-density racksThermal budget

Heat Rejection Plant

Selection and sizing of the outdoor plant that carries the load: dry coolers, cooling towers, pump sets, buffer vessels, hydraulic balancing and piping routing — including immersion and hybrid air/water strategies for crypto workloads.

Dry coolersCooling towersImmersionPump sizing

Electrical Infrastructure & MEP

Coordination of the power train alongside the mechanical design: transformers, medium-voltage switchgear, UPS, PDU layout and cable routing — resolved as one integrated plant rather than three separate disciplines.

TransformersMV switchgearUPSPDU

TIA-942-C Tier III Compliance

Facilities designed for concurrent maintainability: redundant distribution paths, isolatable components, and the documentation trail that lets an operator take equipment offline without taking the load offline.

TIA-942-CTier IIIConcurrent maintainability

Ten years, one trajectory

Experience

  1. 2024 — Present

    Mechanical Engineer — Crypto & AI Data Center Infrastructure

    Penguin Group — Paraguay

    Leading mechanical design at a 100 MW crypto data center, and designing the liquid-cooling systems for its AI compute expansion.

    • Lead mechanical design across 100 MW of crypto data center cooling capacity, from thermal load calculation to equipment specification and hydraulic layout.
    • Designing the liquid-cooling systems (DLC, rear-door heat exchangers) for the site's upcoming AI compute expansion — currently at the design stage.
    • Design of thermal management systems already in operation: dry coolers, cooling towers and oil immersion for high-density crypto workloads.
    • Full plant layout integration — white space and IT racks, cooling equipment, transformers and switchgear, coordinated against the civil works.
    • Electrical sizing, project budgeting, equipment procurement and on-site supervision of third-party contractors.
  2. Jul 2023 — Oct 2024

    Head of Maintenance

    Penguin Group — Paraguay

    Owned 24/7 critical operations for an operating high-density facility.

    • Ran 24/7 critical operations, including maintenance and diagnostics of high-voltage transformers.
    • Led and coordinated the maintenance team; defined procedures and priorities.
    • Installed and commissioned cooling systems: cooling towers, dry coolers and immersion.
    • Implemented site safety protocols for live electrical and mechanical work.
  3. Aug 2022 — Jul 2023

    Independent Consultant — Mechanical Engineering

    AR Engenharia Industrial — Rio Negrinho, Brazil

    Independent practice in HVAC, industrial electrical infrastructure and machine safety compliance.

    • HVAC and thermal management: equipment sizing, thermal load calculation and maintenance planning (PMOC).
    • Industrial electrical infrastructure: power distribution, cable support systems, control panels and remote instrumentation.
    • Safety compliance: NR12 projects, risk assessment reports and ART, plus installation of machine guarding.
  4. Jun 2019 — Jun 2023

    Industrial Designer

    WD Automação Industrial — Rio Negrinho, Brazil

    Electrical infrastructure design for pulp and paper plant automation.

    • 2D and 3D electrical layouts — conduit, cable trays and motor connections — for pulp and paper factory automation.
    • Field team coordination and management of logistics and procurement.
  5. 2018 — 2019

    Mechanical Designer

    Ferramentas Henning — Rio Negrinho, Brazil

    Mechanical design of conveyors, structures and machined parts.

    • Mechanical design of conveyor belts, steel stairs and machined components.
    • Machine guarding designed to NR12 and NBR ISO 12100.
  6. Mar — Oct 2016

    CAD Designer

    CAPO Tecnologia e Serviços de Engenharia — Brazil

    Technical drafting and CAD documentation for engineering services.

Work in the field

Selected Projects

A selection of the systems I have designed — from high-density crypto mining infrastructure to industrial electrical systems and machine safety compliance.

Photo of the crypto mining facility site with rows of dry cooler banks and modular IT containers under a clear skyCrypto / High-Density Compute

Paraguay

10 MW Crypto Mining Facility Expansion

Full site layout for a 10 MW expansion of an operating crypto mining facility: modular IT containers, service buildings and the outdoor heat-rejection plant, coordinated with the electrical and civil scopes into one buildable site.

10 MWSite layoutBIM / RevitCrypto mining
Photo of dual HDPE hot and cold water piping loops connecting to a dry cooler unit on siteCrypto / High-Density Compute

Paraguay

Liquid Cooling Distribution System

Hydraulic layout for a high-density liquid cooling distribution system: CDU cabinets, primary and secondary loops, pump sets and buffer vessels, engineered for a crypto mining facility's cooling upgrade.

CDULiquid coolingCrypto miningPipe routing
Photo of a bank of white dry cooler units with axial fans at the crypto mining facilityHeat Rejection

Paraguay

Dry Cooler Farm & Hydraulic Routing

Sizing and layout of the outdoor heat rejection plant: dry cooler banks, buffer vessels, primary and secondary piping, hydraulic balancing and pump room integration.

Dry coolersPiping designHydraulic balance
Photo of the 100 MW medium/high-voltage substation with transformers and transmission towersElectrical Infrastructure

Paraguay / Brazil

Medium-Voltage Substation & Switchgear

Design of the medium-voltage room: switchgear line-up, step-down transformers, busway routing and clearances — coordinated with the mechanical plant and the civil structure.

MV switchgearTransformers13.8 kV
3D cutaway CAD model of an electrical building showing motor control centers and dry-type transformers on two levelsElectrical Infrastructure

Brazil

Power Distribution & Motor Control Centers

Two-level electrical building: motor control centers on the upper floor, dry-type transformers below, with cable routing, access platforms and maintenance clearances fully modeled before construction.

MCCTransformersCable routing3D layout
Photo of an electrical panel room with overhead cooling ductworkHVAC / Cooling

Brazil

Industrial HVAC & Thermal Load

Industrial cooling projects delivered as an independent consultant: thermal load calculation, equipment sizing, CAD documentation, maintenance planning (PMOC) and technical responsibility (ART).

Thermal loadEquipment sizingPMOCART
Photo of an industrial electric motor with cable tray routing in a factory settingSafety Engineering

Brazil

NR12 Machine Safety Compliance

Machine safety programs for industrial plants: equipment inventory and reports, risk assessment using the HRN methodology, and the design and installation of machine guarding to NR12 and NBR ISO 12100.

NR12NBR ISO 12100HRN riskMachine guarding
Photo of rows of crypto mining rack containers inside the data center hallCrypto / High-Density Compute

Paraguay

Modular IT Halls & Service Buildings

Layout and coordination of modular container-based IT halls and supporting service buildings for a crypto mining expansion — access routes, service clearances and the interface between the modules and the cooling plant.

ModularWhite spaceLayout

Hands-on, not just drawings

Field Work

Design work only proves itself in the field. A selection of the operations, diagnostics and commissioning behind the projects above — transformer oil analysis, thermal imaging, water treatment chemistry and cooling system maintenance.

Andrew Ratzkob wearing a hard hat on site at a crypto/AI data center, next to rows of mining racks
On site at a 100 MW crypto/AI data center, next to the mining rack rows.
Technician cleaning a dry cooler heat-rejection unit on site
Cleaning and maintenance of a dry cooler heat-rejection unit.
Hands collecting an oil sample from a transformer using a glass syringe
Collecting an oil sample from a high-voltage transformer for gas-in-oil analysis.
Automatic oil dielectric strength tester with a transformer oil sample loaded
Dielectric strength test on transformer insulating oil.
Thermal imaging camera screen showing a hotspot on an electrical panel breaker
Thermal imaging inspection of a switchgear breaker connection.
Cation and anion resin tanks used for water demineralization on site
Cation/anion resin demineralization system for dry cooler makeup water.
Handheld water conductivity meter reading next to a cooling pipe
On-site water conductivity check on the cooling loop.
Non-invasive ultrasonic flowmeter clamped onto a hydraulic supply pipe
Non-invasive ultrasonic flow measurement on a hydraulic supply line.
Close-up of medium-voltage cable terminations connected to a transformer
Medium-voltage cable terminations on a transformer connection.

Foundation

Education & Credentials

2013 — 2017

Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering

Univille — Universidade da Região de Joinville

São Bento do Sul, Brazil

Core competencies

  • Liquid cooling systems (DLC / CDU / RDHx)
  • High-density compute infrastructure
  • Data center design (TIA-942-C)
  • Thermal load & heat rejection
  • MEP coordination
  • Electrical infrastructure (MV/LV)
  • BIM / Revit / AutoCAD
  • Procurement & contractor supervision
  • NR12 / NBR ISO 12100 machine safety

Languages

  • EnglishFull professional proficiency
  • SpanishFull professional proficiency
  • PortugueseNative

Contact

Let's talk

I am open to remote engineering roles and consulting work supporting AI and HPC data center construction and expansion, globally. If you are building high-density compute infrastructure, I would like to hear about it.

Available for remote and international projects