Data Center White Space Designer

Giga Energy Inc.; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Giga Energy Inc. seeks a Data Center White Space Designer to lead planning, design, and optimization of data center white space for AI infrastructure projects. You will own rack layouts, containment strategies, power distribution, and cable pathways, collaborating with mechanical, electrical, structural, and fire teams.

Travel to sites for validation and commissioning is expected. You will mentor junior engineers, translate complex requirements into robust designs, and help shape Giga's data

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering or related field.
• 5+ years of data center white space design, infrastructure design, or site engineering experience.
• Proficiency in rack layout, containment strategies, power distribution, and cabling design.

Responsibilities

• Own the white space and rack layout strategy for AI/ML rack platforms and related power/cooling requirements.
• Define mapping of rack requirements to GIGA BASE modular products and interfaces.
• Coordinate with customers, colocation partners, and internal teams to align layouts with requirements.
• Maintain Basis of Design documents and rack layout templates for AI/ML platforms.
• Lead design reviews, provide on-site validation, and mentor junior engineers.

Skills

Data center design

Rack layouts

Hot/cold containment

Power distribution

Structured cabling

Thermal management

CAD tools

Project leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering

5+ years data center design experience

Tools

CAD software

Revit

BIM

Job description

What you'll do

As Data Center White Space Designer at Giga, you'll lead the planning, design, and optimization of data center white space for our AI infrastructure projects. You'll own rack layouts, hot/cold containment strategies, power distribution, cable pathways, and infrastructure standards that enable hyperscale compute deployments. Working across colocation partners, internal teams (mechanical, electrical, structural, fire), and operations, you'll translate complex requirements into robust, executable designs. You'll travel to sites for design validation and commissioning, mentor junior engineers, and help shape the future of our data center design standards. If you want to own end-to-end white space strategy and see it deployed at scale — and fast — this is the role.

Where you'll work

This role is based in one of our offices (Houston, TX / Long Beach, CA / San Francisco, CA / Reno, NV). We work in person because the best engineering happens when smart people are in the same room. Regular travel to data center sites for design validation, commissioning, and operational support is expected.

That said, we will make exceptions for truly exceptional talent if you live outside one of our hubs. If you're the right person for this role, we'll have a conversation about what works.

Responsibilities

AI/ML Rack Layout Strategy & GIGA BASE Alignment

• Own the white space and rack layout strategy for current and upcoming AI/ML rack platforms (NVIDIA GPU racks, Google TPU pods, Cerebras wafer-scale systems, and comparable accelerator hardware), tracking how power density, cooling, and interconnect requirements are evolving generation over generation

• Define how each rack platform's requirements map onto GIGA BASE, Giga's modular white space product, including power distribution, containment, cable pathways, and structural interfaces

• Identify where emerging rack requirements exceed the capabilities of current GIGA BASE modular products, and translate those gaps into clear, engineering-backed requirements for the product development team

Basis of Design & Rack Layout Templates

• Own and maintain Basis of Design (BoD) documents and rack layout templates for each AI/ML rack platform in Giga's pipeline

• Keep templates current as new accelerator generations, rack form factors, and customer requirements come online

• Use these templates as the working basis for customer-facing layout conversations, so every engagement starts from a Giga-optimized design rather than a blank sheet

Customer & Cross-Functional Coordination

• Coordinate directly with customers to translate their AI/ML deployment requirements into rack layouts that are optimized around GIGA BASE modular products

• Collaborate with colocation partners, internal teams (mechanical, electrical, structural, fire), and technology partners (network, compute, carrier) to align white space design with rack-level requirements

• Lead project coordination meetings to align on scope, timelines, and critical design updates

Product Gap Analysis & Roadmap Input

• Maintain a running view of where rack technology is headed (power density, liquid cooling, busway/PDU requirements, interconnect topologies) and flag implications for the GIGA BASE roadmap before they become deployment blockers

• Partner with product development on design reviews for new or modified GIGA BASE components driven by rack requirement changes

• Represent white space and rack layout considerations in internal product planning discussions

Site Validation & Operations Support

• Travel to new and existing data centers to conduct on-site design validation, commissioning, and engineering analysis

• Act as subject matter expert for white space and rack systems, validating integration with facility operations and infrastructure

• Provide engineering support during live events and incident investigations to ensure rapid resolution and operational continuity

• Capture and share all documentation with operations and field engineering teams

Standards & Continuous Improvement

• Develop and evolve data center white space and rack layout standards, policies, procedures, and commissioning protocols

• Research and evaluate new AI/ML rack designs, materials, and construction methods, and assess their fit with GIGA BASE

• Create and validate digital models of data center white space to support design integrity, capacity planning, and scalability analysis

• Mentor junior engineers and lead knowledge-sharing initiatives on white space and rack layout design

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related engineering discipline

• 5+ years of data center white space design, infrastructure design, or site engineering experience

• Demonstrated expertise in rack layout, hot/cold containment strategies, power distribution planning, and structured cabling design

• Strong understanding of data center thermal management, power density optimization, and scalability principles

• Proficiency with data center design tools, CAD software, and infrastructure modeling

• Strong project coordination and leadership skills; ability to manage multiple concurrent projects and teams

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to present technical information to diverse stakeholders

• Willingness to travel regularly to data center sites for design validation, commissioning, and operational support

• Able to work under minimal oversight, make decisions with available information, and move fast in a high-velocity environment

Bonus points

• Experience with hyperscale, colocation, or AI-focused data center deployments

• Experience designing for high-density, high-power compute environments (GPU clusters, AI accelerators)

• Familiarity with network infrastructure design and data center network architectures

• Experience with BIM, Revit, or advanced CAD modeling for data center infrastructure

• Experience with data center commissioning, FAT/SAT, and operational handoff

• Knowledge of ASHRAE thermal guidelines, power efficiency standards, and data center best practices

• Experience mentoring and developing junior engineers