Director of Data Center Construction & Engineering
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Overview
Job Description
Title: Director of Data Center Construction & Engineering (AI/HPC)
Location: [Austin, TX area /On-Site]
Reports To: [CTO / VP of Infrastructure]
Job Type: Full-time
The Opportunity:
We are building the infrastructure that powers the future of Artificial Intelligence. We are seeking a seasoned Director of Data Center Construction & Engineering to lead the end-to-end development of our flagship 50MW AI Inference Data Center. This is not a standard colocation build. You will be responsible for designing and delivering a high-density, liquid-cooling-ready facility optimized for massive-scale inference workloads. You will own the roadmap from site master planning and permitting through to commissioning and operational handoff.
Key Responsibilities:
1. Strategic Planning & Design Master Planning: Lead the master planning for the 50MW campus, ensuring optimal utilization of power and space for high-density AI compute racks (50kW–100kW+ per rack). HPC Design Authority: Collaborate with compute architects to design MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing) systems that support specific inference hardware requirements, including Direct-to-Chip (DLC) or Rear Door Heat Exchanger (RDHx) cooling solutions. Redundancy Strategy: Define Tier/redundancy levels (N+1, 2N) appropriate for real-time inference SLAs, balancing uptime with total cost of ownership (TCO).
2. Construction & Project Delivery EPC Management: Select and manage Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) firms, General Contractors, and sub-contractors. Schedule & Budget: Own the capital budget ($XXX M+) and master schedule. Drive critical path activities to ensure "First Packet" deadlines are met without compromising safety or quality. Supply Chain: Manage procurement strategies for long-lead equipment (generators, chillers, CDUs, switchgear) to mitigate supply chain volatility.
3. Power & Cooling Engineering Grid Connection: Manage relationships with local utility providers to secure substation delivery and ramp-up power capacity to 50MW.Thermal Management: Oversee the implementation of advanced cooling loops required for next-gen GPUs/TPUs, ensuring PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) targets of
4. Compliance & Safety Ensure all designs and construction activities comply with local building codes, environmental regulations, and safety standards (OSHA/HSE).
Qualifications:
Required Experience: 10+ Years of experience in mission-critical data center construction, with at least 3 years in a leadership role managing projects exceeding 20MW.MEP
Expertise: Deep technical understanding of Medium Voltage (MV) electrical distribution and mechanical cooling thermodynamics. Hyperscale/HPC Exposure: Proven experience building facilities for high-density compute (AI, Crypto, or HPC). Experience with liquid cooling infrastructure is strictly required.
Financial Acumen: Experience managing CAPEX budgets in excess of $100M.Education & Certifications: Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, or Construction Management. Professional Engineer (PE) license or PMP certification is highly preferred.
Key Competencies: Vendor Negotiation: Ability to drive hard bargains with GCs and equipment vendors. Crisis Management: Capability to solve complex engineering problems on-site under tight deadlines.
Cross-Functional Leadership: Ability to translate construction constraints to software/hardware teams and vice versa.
Why Join Us?
Impact: Build the physical foundation for the next generation of AI applications .Scale: Manage a massive 50MW greenfield/brownfield project with high autonomy. Innovation: Work at the bleeding edge of data center thermodynamics and density.
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