Data Center Engineering Leader

baseten; United States; On-site; USD 250,000 - 380,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation and equity

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

Flexible PTO with Winter Break

Paid parental leave

Fertility and family-building stipend

401(k) plan

Exposure to ML startups

Job summary

Baseten is seeking a Head of Data Center Infrastructure to own the strategy, design, and execution of our first-generation GPU data centers. You will manage powered shells, power distribution, cooling, rack design, cabling, and the operational foundations to scale capacity to tens, then hundreds of megawatts, while partnering with contractors and internal teams to deploy GPUs quickly and efficiently.

This high-ownership, hands-on leadership role requires steering architecture decisions across

Qualifications

• Experience designing and delivering data centers or large-scale infrastructure.
• Deep knowledge of electrical distribution and cooling systems.
• Experience with high-density racks and GPU infrastructure.
• Familiarity with structured cabling, LVC, and fiber documentation.
• Experience managing contractors, vendors, GCs, and A/E firms.
• Strong ownership across strategy, design, execution, and operations.
• Ability to operate at strategic and hands-on levels.

Responsibilities

• Own data center infrastructure strategy, design, and execution.
• Define electrical, mechanical, and physical network infrastructure architecture.
• Lead power, cooling, cabling, and rack design decisions.
• Own commissioning, failover testing, and thermal validation.
• Manage A/E firms, GCs, vendors, and low‑voltage contractors.
• Establish maintenance programs, runbooks, and deployment standards.
• Build and lead the data center engineering and operations functions.

Skills

Data center infrastructure

Electrical distribution

Cooling systems

GPU infrastructure

Structured cabling

Vendor/contractor management

Strategic and hands-on leadership

Job description

ABOUT BASETEN

Baseten powers mission‑critical inference for the world’s most dynamic AI companies, like Cursor, Notion, OpenEvidence, Abridge, Clay, Gamma and Writer. By uniting applied AI research, flexible infrastructure, and seamless developer tooling, we enable companies operating at the frontier of AI to bring cutting‑edge models into production. We’re growing quickly and recently raised our 1.5B Series F, led by Altimeter Capital, Conviction Partners, and Spark Capital. Join us and help build the platform engineers turn to ship AI products.

THE ROLE

As Baseten’s Head of Data Center Infrastructure, you’ll own the strategy, design, and execution of our first‑generation GPU data centers. We lease powered shells—but everything inside the building is on us: power distribution, cooling, rack design, structured cabling / low‑voltage systems, and the operational foundations to scale to tens, then hundreds of megawatts.

This is a high‑ownership, hands‑on leadership role. You’ll act as the technical authority across facility design and build, working closely with contractors, vendors, and internal teams to bring new capacity online quickly and reliably. Your decisions will directly impact how fast we deploy GPUs and how efficiently they run.

EXAMPLE INITIATIVES

• First site build — Deliver high-density GPU infrastructure inside a powered shell.
• Power and cooling architecture — Design systems supporting 150kW+ rack densities.
• Structured cabling and LVC — Define cable plant standards, pathways, labeling, and contractor scope.
• Site standardization — Create repeatable designs for scaling across multiple sites.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Own data center infrastructure strategy, design, and execution.
• Define electrical, mechanical, and physical network infrastructure architecture.
• Lead power, cooling, cabling, and rack design decisions.
• Own commissioning, failover testing, and thermal validation.
• Manage A/E firms, GCs, vendors, and low‑voltage contractors.
• Establish maintenance programs, runbooks, as‑builts, and deployment standards.
• Build and lead the data center engineering and operations functions.

REQUIREMENTS

• Experience designing and delivering data centers or large‑scale infrastructure.
• Deep knowledge of electrical distribution and cooling systems.
• Experience with high‑density racks and GPU infrastructure.
• Familiarity with structured cabling, LVC, and fiber documentation.
• Experience managing contractors, vendors, GCs, and A/E firms.
• Strong ownership across strategy, design, execution, and operations.
• Ability to operate at strategic and hands‑on levels.

BENEFITS

• Competitive compensation, including meaningful equity.
• 100% coverage of medical, dental, and vision insurance for employee and dependents.
• Flexible PTO policy including company‑wide Winter Break (our offices are closed from Christmas Eve to New Year’s Day!).
• Paid parental leave.
• Fertility and family‑building stipend through Carrot.
• Company‑facilitated 401(k).
• Exposure to a variety of ML startups, offering unparalleled learning and networking opportunities.

Apply now to embark on a rewarding journey in shaping the future of AI! If you are a motivated individual with a passion for machine learning and a desire to be part of a collaborative and forward‑thinking team, we would love to hear from you.

At Baseten, we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. We provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable law (by example, the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, where applicable).