Director of Facilities Engineering- Data Centers

About this role

THIS POSITION IS FOR A BUILDING ENGINEER. SOMEONE WITH SKILLS ON CONSTRUTING A NEW BUILD.
Position Summary
The Director of Facilities Engineering is responsible for the engineering strategy, design standards, reliability, and lifecycle management of mission-critical infrastructure supporting AI and high-performance computing (HPC) data centers.
We expect the Director of Facilities Engineering to lead the engineering strategy, design, reliability, and operation of mission-critical infrastructure supporting AI data center campuses. This role oversees multidisciplinary engineering teams and ensures highly available, scalable, and energy-efficient facilities that support next-generation AI and high-performance computing (HPC) environments.
This position requires critical thinking and adaptation to a fast-paced, always-changing, and evolving AI data center space. AI Factories are a new type of data center that requires a new, flexible approach but with a conservative engineering view. We expect the ideal candidate to be open-minded and not afraid to experiment.
Role Mandate:

• Create and lead the portfolio-wide facilities engineering program for greenfield campuses, powered-shell projects, modular deployments, expansions and selected retrofit opportunities.

• Develop a repeatable campus architecture and set of design standards that can be adapted intelligently to different utility systems, climates, site constraints, deployment schedules and customer requirements.

• Serve as the senior technical owner from site screening and diligence through design, construction, commissioning, turnover and initial operating readiness.

• Build the internal engineering capability and external partner network required to move multiple projects forward in parallel without compromising reliability, safety or capital discipline.
Key Responsibilities

• Provide strategic direction and leadership for the facilities of operations of multiple AI Factories(data centers), ensuring 24/7 uptime and operational excellence for mechanical, electrical, and plumbing infrastructure.

• Develop and execute the facilities engineering strategy for AI data centers distributed across multiple campuses across the county.

• Plan and execute standardized infrastructurefor new data center buildouts, colocation expansions, and data center expansions, ensuring seamless integration of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing infrastructure.

• Build and lead electrical, mechanical, controls, and reliability engineering teams.

• Establish engineering standards, technical specifications, and design guidelines across multiple facilities to meet the constantly evolving AI data center for white space demand.

• Oversee the engineering lifecycle of critical infrastructure, including electrical distribution, UPS, generators, cooling systems, BMS, EPMS, DCIM, and fire protection systems.

• Design and optimize infrastructure for high-density GPU and liquid-cooled AI environments using the newest NVIDIA and AMD chip systems. Work with direct-to-chip cooling systems and high-density racks with up to 150 KW per rack.

• Drive reliability engineering, predictive maintenance, root cause analysis, and asset lifecycle management across a portfolio of new deployments.

• Provide technical oversight for new construction, expansion, commissioning, and modernization projects.

• Improve energy efficiency through initiatives that optimize PUE, WUE, and sustainability.

• Ensure compliance with applicable codes, standards, and engineering best practices.

• Manage engineering budgets, technical vendors, consultants, and capital improvement programs.
Technical Expertise

• Mission-critical electrical and mechanical infrastructure

• Medium-voltage power distribution, UPS, generators, and power monitoring

• Chilled water plants, liquid cooling, thermal management, and HVAC systems

• BMS, EPMS, and DCIM platforms

• Reliability-centered maintenance (RCM), FMEA, commissioning, and asset lifecycle management

• AI/HPC infrastructure and high-density compute environments
Leadership Profile

• Adaptive systems thinker: able to create standards without becoming rigid and to distinguish durable engineering principles from temporary market conventions.

• Builder mentality: energized by ambiguity, early-stage platform development and creating processes, teams and technical infrastructure from the ground up.

• Commercially grounded: understands how engineering choices affect land value, customer fit, capital requirements, delivery schedule, bankabilityand long-term returns.

• Decisive and transparent: makes sound decisions with incomplete information, documents assumptions and escalates risks early.

• Collaborative authority: can challenge customers, utilities, consultants, contractors and executives constructively while maintaining trust and momentum.

• Hands-on executive: equally comfortable reviewing a one-line diagram, walking a site, negotiating an OEM strategy, presenting to investors and building a long-term organization.
Success Measures

• Quality and speed of technical decisions across the site pipeline.

• Reliability, maintainability, constructability, and adaptability of selected designs.

• Accuracy and transparency of capital, schedule, and technical-risk assumptions.

• Reduction in redesign, change orders, commissioning issues and avoidable lifecycle cost.

• Ability to support evolving customer requirements without losing standardization or investment discipline.

• Strength of the engineering team, consultant network, vendor relationships, and repeatable platform processes built under this leader.
Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.

• 10+ years of engineering experience in mission-critical facilities, data centers, industrial, or power infrastructure.

• 7+ years leading multidisciplinary engineering teams.

• Strong expertise in electrical and mechanical systems…