TYSONS, VA / ACCESS Newswire / February 19, 2026 / In a bold expansion into the nation’s soaring market for AI data centers, Shumate Engineering has begun design work on 16 new hyperscale facilities totaling about 5.7 gigawatts of processing power.
Spread over Texas, Missouri and Arizona, the facilities are set to be completed by the middle of this year, marking a major boost for AI access in the U.S. – and notable growth for the Virginia-based engineering firm as it enters its sixth year in business.
In a coinciding move, Daren Shumate, PE LEED AP, the firm’s founder and a long-time veteran of the engineering industry, announced that the firm is hiring key engineers and personnel to his team as it grows its pipeline nationwide.
“It may be early, but 2026 is shaping up to be a banner year for Shumate Engineering,” said Shumate, who serves as the firm’s managing principal. “Our team of talented and experienced engineers have been working very hard to develop the highest quality designs and bring them to fruition in the field during a time of rapid expansion for the data center industry.”
In 2025, Shumate Engineering made the coveted Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies, landing the No. 21 spot for engineering firms nationally and the No. 82 spot for all companies in Virginia. Additionally, the firm was recognized by the Engineering News-Record as a “Top Design Firm of 2025” and Building Design + Construction’s “Giants 400.” Most recently, its design for H5’s Ashburn Data Center was recognized by NAIOP with the Best of Data Center Award of Merit.
“I am enormously proud of our team for the great work we’ve been doing,” Shumate said. “All the growth is wonderful, but the innovations we’ve been making truly have the potential to transform the data center industry as it ramps up to meet skyrocketing demand – while keeping energy and water usage at bay.”
Last year, the firm was granted a patent for its hybrid-dry/adiabatic-cooling design, co-invented by R. Stephen Spinazzola, PE, Shumate’s Director of Mission Critical Services, and Justin Penrod, PE, Shumate’s Director of Mechanical Engineering. The closed-loop system utilizes two taps with different temperatures to give data center operators the ability to cut power consumption by 50 percent and water use by 93 percent compared to conventional cooling designs.
Now, the team is adding to already-formative talent pool with a series of high-profile hires, including:
Derek Flowers joins the firm as its inaugural Project Executive. A Georgia Tech-trained electrical engineer with more than three decades of experience, he brings a sharp focus on large-scale project execution and federal work procurement as the firm’s ambitions continue to expand.
Emmanuel Codjoe, PSM, joins the electrical team with more than seven years of professional engineering experience. A Virginia Tech and Washington State University alumnus, Codjoe has a strong record of delivering high-performance buildings that reduce energy use, extend operational life, and enhance occupant wellness.
Grace Hong joins as the first full-time Business Manager. With extensive private-sector experience, her expertise will play a key role in supporting the firm’s continued growth.
Ajay Bajracharya, PE, joins the firm as an electrical engineer with seven years of experience in the MEP field. He has accrued a specialty in medium-to-low voltage, normal, and emergency power distribution in critical facilities – from major hospitals to industrial facilities.
Randy Beatty, a mechanical engineer and New York Institute of Technology alum with over three decades of experience in the MEP field, brings a wealth of firsthand knowledge honed across multiple high-profile projects.
“For more than 35 years, I’ve built a career on delivering real-world engineering solutions to clients for their mission-critical infrastructure, and this is the year where everything – from economics and technology to engineering creativity and consumer behaviors – is all falling into place,” Shumate said. “It’s going to be fun.”
About Shumate Engineering
Shumate Engineering is a full-service MEP engineering firm specializing in mission-critical, data center environments. Its ever-growing roster of engineers has collaborated on many projects – from the namesakes of northern Virginia’s “Data Center Alley” and the rapidly growing DMV housing market to new prospects in Richmond and beyond. The team’s groundbreaking Hybrid Dry Adiabatic Fluid Cooler, which uses half as much power and 97 percent less water than traditional cooling systems for AI data centers, was approved by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in July 2025. Learn more at https://shumateengineering.com/.
MEDIA CONTACTS
Andrew King, [email protected], 914-513-6895
Leeza Hoyt, [email protected], 310-962-0101
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SOURCE: Shumate Engineering
