Director of Design & Engineering, Data Centers

We're building the company which will de-risk the largest infrastructure build-out in history.

When people finance GPU clusters, the datacenters housing them, and the infrastructure powering them, they need "offtake" - meaning someone has signed a contract to lease the cluster for a period of time before its even built.

Financing a GPU cluster is inherently risky, since margins are thin and volumes are huge. Lenders don't want to take on the risk that cluster developers can't repay their loan, and cluster developers really don't want to risk not selling their cluster. As a result, risk is offloaded to the customer using fixed-price long-term contracts.

If you don't mitigate this customer risk, there's a bubble. This isn't SaaS anymore - application layer companies sign multi-year contracts for computer and inference, but sell to customers on monthly subscriptions. If you mess up a purchase, it's game over: a minor shift in your revenue growth rate might mean the difference between profit or bankruptcy. But what if companies could exit their contract by selling it back to the market?

Otherwise, as AI scales, compute only becomes available to folks who can effectively take on that risk. A 2-person startup in a San Francisco Victorian can't realistically sign a 5-year take or pay contract on $100m supercomputers. But they may be able to buy the month of liquidity that someone else sold back.

So that's what we make: a liquid market for GPU offtake.

About the Role:

SF Compute’s Development Team is actively deploying large GPU clusters into colocation facilities and greenfield builds. The Director of Design & Engineering will be focused on the creation and validation of electrical, mechanical and architectural design for sites ranging from 1MW to 1GW+.

This role will be an integral part of efforts including site validation, conceptual design, scoping bills of materials, and interfacing with external partners in the A&E and EPC space. The Design and Engineering Lead will work closely with internal construction, procurement and hardware teams to collectively design and deliver projects from 0 -> 1. This role is based at SF Compute’s headquarters in San Francisco with some travel required. All applicants are required to submit a portfolio of prior data center projects.

About You:

• You have 8+ years of experience designing and architecting data center projects, with a focus on MEP infrastructure

• You hold a current and active Professional Engineering (PE) license

• You have experience value engineering design trade-off’s, and managing third-party A&E firms to guide the design phase of projects

• You work well with colleagues on the construction, procurement, and commercial sides of the company to understand supply chain considerations and financial implications of design decisions

• You excel at client communication and relationship management, ensuring client specifications are met, if not exceeded, and that end users are satisfied with the product once completed

• You are experienced in the creation and revision of electrical and mechanical one-line diagrams, architectural layouts, CFD analysis, AutoCAD and other BIM/VDC programs

• You are experienced with hyperscale client requirements and specifications, including national and local codes, and industry standards from ASHRAE, ANSI/BICSI 002 and other standards organizations

• You are experienced with modular, prefabricated, and off-site assembly design and construction

Some Nice to Haves:

• You have experience with high-density liquid cooling systems, including direct liquid cooling (DLC), coolant distribution units (CDUs), and large HVAC systems

• You have experience with medium and high-voltage utility infrastructure, including on-site substations and LV power distribution systems

• You understand DCIM platforms, BMS/BAS architecture, and controls integration for mission-critical facilities

• You have worked within EPC or design-build contract structures on the owner's side, particularly on fast-track programs where construction and design run concurrently

• You have built or standardized design playbooks, reference architectures, or basis-of-design templates from scratch at a growing company

• You have lead and managed an internal team of direct reports, fostering team culture and employee satisfaction under your direct purview

• You hold additional credentials and relevant certifications

Benefits

Generous equity grant

Team members are offered a competitive salary along with equity in the company

Visa Sponsorships

Yes, we sponsor visas and work permits

Retirement matching

We match 401(k) plans up to 4%

Medical, dental & vision

We offer competitive medical, dental, vision insurance for employees and dependents and cover 100% of premiums

Time off

We offer unlimited paid time off as well as 10+ observed holidays

Parental leave

We offer biological, adoptive, and foster parents paid time off to spend quality time with family

Daily lunch

We cover lunch daily for employees

Unlimited office book budget

You can buy as many books for the office as you want

The San Francisco Compute Company is committed to maintaining a workplace free from discrimination and harassment.

We make employment decisions based on business needs, job requirements, and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion, belief, national origin, social or ethical origin, age, physical, mental, or sensory disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, civil union or domestic partnership status, past or present military service, HIV status, family medical history or genetic information, family or parental status including pregnancy, or any other status protected by law.

We welcome the opportunity to consider qualified applicants with prior arrest or conviction records. Our commitment to diversity includes hiring talented individuals regardless of their criminal history, in accordance with local, state, and federal laws, including San Francisco’s Fair Chance Ordinance and California’s ban-the-box laws.

If you require reasonable accommodation for any reason, please reach out to us at hiring@sfcompute.com