Senior Procurement Engineer, AI Infrastructure

Verda; Helsinki; On-site; EUR 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Cash + equity compensation

Healthcare benefits

Opportunity for impact in AI ecosystem

Job summary

Verda is seeking a Senior Procurement Engineer for AI Infrastructure in Helsinki. This role involves advising on GPU server sourcing, evaluating technologies, and optimizing procurement processes. Ideal candidates will have a degree in Electrical Engineering, experience with large-scale data center hardware, and possess excellent communication skills. This position offers the chance to impact the global AI ecosystem alongside world-class engineers.

Benefits include competitive compensation and opportunities for professional growth.

Qualifications

• 3–5+ years of experience in hardware, systems, or infrastructure engineering.
• Deep expertise in server and storage architectures.
• Familiarity with AI cloud or GPU cluster environments.

Responsibilities

• Act as the primary technical advisor to Procurement leadership.
• Evaluate AI server platforms and assess emerging technologies.
• Define and maintain hardware reference architectures.

Skills

Technical judgment

Communication skills

Mentorship mindset

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related field

Tools

GPU server platforms

AI cloud infrastructure

Job description

About the Role

We are looking for a Senior Procurement Engineer, AI Infrastructure to be the technical advisor embedded within our Procurement team. You will provide the technical backbone for AI infrastructure sourcing, evaluating GPU server platforms, supplier proposals, emerging technologies; challenging vendor assumptions; analyzing total cost of ownership; and building the frameworks and knowledge that turn Procurement into a genuinely technical, strategic function.

This is not a highly structured engineering role. You will often evaluate new technologies and make recommendations where there's no predefined process and no clear answer. Comfort with ambiguity, independent thinking, and sound judgment matter as much as deep technical knowledge.

Responsibilities

• Act as the primary technical advisor to Procurement leadership on AI infrastructure sourcing decisions across GPU servers, networking, storage, power, and cooling.
• Evaluate AI server platforms, GPU architectures, and cluster designs from OEMs, ODMs, and technology vendors; assess emerging technologies for scalability and business impact.
• Define and maintain hardware reference architectures and standards, and approve specifications and bills of materials (BoMs).
• Review and challenge vendor proposals, technical assumptions, and roadmaps; support supplier evaluations by surfacing trade‑offs, risks, and differentiators.
• Analyze total cost of ownership—power, cooling, maintenance, spare parts, and lifecycle—to support long‑term sourcing decisions.
• Build internal technical competency: deliver knowledge‑sharing sessions, develop reference materials, and create the AI Infrastructure Procurement Playbook.
• Translate technical requirements into sourcing specifications and evaluation criteria, working closely with Infrastructure, Engineering, and Operations teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field (Master’s or equivalent advanced technical training preferred).
• 3–5+ years of experience in hardware, systems, or infrastructure engineering, including designing and supporting large‑scale data center hardware platforms.
• Deep expertise in server and storage architectures; power, thermal, and rack‑level design; and hardware components.
• Familiarity with AI cloud, hyperscale infrastructure, or GPU cluster environments, including exposure to large‑scale AI deployments and supplier ecosystems.
• Strong technical judgment, with the ability to lead technical discussions and influence stakeholders.
• A mentorship mindset and a collaborative approach.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.
• Willingness to travel domestically and internationally as required.

Strong Plus

• Experience supporting procurement, strategic sourcing, supplier management, or commercial teams in hardware, infrastructure, or technology industries.
• Experience presenting technical concepts to non‑technical audiences, with a track record of mentoring or transferring knowledge across functions.
• Mandarin Chinese.

Benefits

• Cash + equity compensation along with various fringe benefits (e.g., healthcare, lunch, wellbeing, etc.).
• Profitable operations with rapid, sustained growth.
• 31 nationalities, with 6 different ones on the management team.
• An opportunity to make a clear impact and work alongside world‑class engineers, researchers, and partners across the global AI ecosystem.

Practicalities

• Work mode: Onsite in Helsinki with frequent travel.
• Employment type: Full‑time and permanent.