Senior Director, Data Center Design & Engineering – AI Data Centers

Accountabilities: • Own and continuously develop engineering standards, Basis of Design (BoD) documentation, and technical design criteria across electrical, mechanical, civil, structural, controls, telecommunications, and site infrastructure disciplines.

• Define, evaluate, and approve engineering architectures for medium-voltage and low-voltage electrical distribution, power generation, backup systems, UPS infrastructure, and mechanical cooling solutions.

• Establish appropriate redundancy, availability, and resilience strategies, including N, N+1, and 2N configurations, while evaluating technical and commercial trade-offs for high-density AI and high-performance computing (HPC) environments.

• Lead engineering coordination with utility providers and substation owners, covering load studies, grid interconnection requirements, substation and switchyard design, protection and coordination, metering, and energization sequencing.

• Provide technical leadership and direction to the Director of Data Center Design and external engineering consultants, reviewing and approving technical studies, calculations, single-line diagrams, equipment selections, and design deliverables at every project stage.

• Lead constructability assessments, value engineering initiatives, and design-for-schedule reviews in collaboration with Construction and Pre-Construction teams.

• Resolve complex technical issues, requests for information (RFIs), and design conflicts that require owner-level engineering decisions beyond the authority of consultants or project teams.

• Establish and oversee the owner-side commissioning strategy, defining commissioning scopes and levels, approving commissioning agents and test procedures, witnessing integrated systems testing, and authorizing energization and operational turnover readiness.

• Direct engineering-related operational readiness activities, ensuring complete handover documentation, as-built drawings, operations and maintenance (O&M) requirements, spare parts strategies, and maintainability standards.

• Evaluate and recommend equipment manufacturers, long-lead procurement specifications, and standardized equipment platforms, supporting procurement teams through technical bid evaluations and scope development.

• Assess engineering risks across the data center portfolio, identifying potential power, cooling, design, and system integration challenges and implementing appropriate mitigation strategies.

• Support customer and tenant technical requirements by reviewing design specifications, evaluating requested changes, and representing engineering capabilities in customer and partner discussions.

• Drive standardization and repeatability across projects, developing scalable design solutions that improve cost predictability, delivery schedules, operational performance, and infrastructure reliability.

• Build, lead, and mentor the internal engineering organization, defining technical roles, competency requirements, and professional development pathways as the business expands.

• Provide clear technical recommendations, project updates, and strategic engineering insights to project leadership and executive stakeholders.

• Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and accountable engineering culture built on professionalism, effective communication, and technical excellence.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related engineering discipline.

• At least 15 years of progressive experience in the design and engineering of data centers, mission-critical facilities, or large-scale power and industrial infrastructure.

• A minimum of 5 years of experience in senior technical leadership positions, with responsibility for engineering strategy, technical decisions, and multidisciplinary teams.

• Extensive knowledge of data center electrical infrastructure, including medium-voltage and low-voltage distribution, power generation, UPS systems, electrical protection, and coordination.

• Strong expertise in mechanical infrastructure, including chilled water systems, air cooling, liquid cooling, heat rejection, and thermal management for high-density computing environments.

• Demonstrated experience defining redundancy and resilience architectures and translating availability and uptime requirements into practical engineering design criteria.

• Hands-on experience managing utility interconnections, substation engineering, and energization planning for large-scale power loads.

• Proven experience leading commissioning activities, including Levels 1–5 commissioning, integrated systems testing, and facility turnover for mission-critical infrastructure projects.

• Demonstrated ability to manage external engineering consultants, contractors, and internal technical teams while maintaining accountability for design quality and technical outcomes.

• Strong technical decision-making capabilities, with the confidence to evaluate, communicate, and defend engineering recommendations to executive leadership, customers, and business partners.

• Extensive constructability knowledge and experience working closely with construction teams throughout design development, procurement, and field execution.

• Excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills, including the ability to explain complex engineering concepts and technical trade-offs to non-technical audiences.

• Strong organizational, analytical, and problem-solving abilities, with the capacity to manage competing priorities and make sound decisions in a fast-growing infrastructure environment.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Professional Engineer (PE) license is strongly preferred.

• Experience designing AI, high-performance computing (HPC), or hyperscale data center infrastructure, particularly liquid-cooled systems and high-density rack deployments.

• Previous owner-side experience with a hyperscaler, colocation provider, or large-scale infrastructure developer.

• Experience developing, implementing, and governing engineering standards or Basis of Design programs across multiple data center locations.

• Familiarity with relevant industry standards and technical frameworks, including Uptime Institute Tier concepts, ASHRAE TC 9.9 guidelines, NEC/NFPA 70, NFPA 70E, IEEE power system standards, and applicable energy codes.

• Master's degree in Engineering or an MBA.

• Experience working within a rapidly growing infrastructure organization and developing in-house engineering capabilities and technical leadership structures.

Benefits:

• Annual base salary ranging from $200,000 to $250,000, depending on qualifications, experience, and other relevant factors.

• Full-time remote working opportunity within the United States.

• Executive-level technical leadership opportunity with significant influence over large-scale AI data center development.

• Opportunity to shape engineering standards, infrastructure architecture, and technical strategy across a growing data center portfolio.

• Exposure to advanced AI infrastructure, high-performance computing, high-density electrical systems, and innovative cooling technologies.

• Opportunity to build and develop an internal engineering organization and establish scalable technical capabilities.

• Collaboration with senior leaders and multidisciplinary teams across engineering, construction, procurement, and operations.

• Professional growth through involvement in complex infrastructure projects and strategic engineering initiatives.

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