Data Center White Space Designer

Openkrill; United States; Remote; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Equity

401(k)

Unlimited PTO

Parental leave

FSA/HSA

Job summary

Giga is seeking a Data Center White Space Designer to lead rack layouts, containment strategies, and power distribution for AI infrastructure projects. You will collaborate with mechanical, electrical, structural, and operations teams to deliver scalable, standards-based designs.

You will travel to sites for validation and commissioning, mentor engineers, and help shape Giga's data center design standards. The role requires hands-on design work and fast decision-making in a high-velocity

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related discipline.
• 5+ years of data center white space design, infrastructure design, or site engineering experience.
• Strong understanding of rack layout, hot/cold containment, power distribution, and structured cabling.

Responsibilities

• Own the white space and rack layout strategy for current and upcoming AI/ML rack platforms.
• Define how each rack platform's requirements map onto GIGA BASE modular products, including power distribution and containment.
• Identify gaps and translate into engineering-backed requirements for product development.
• Maintain Basis of Design documents and rack layout templates for each platform.
• Coordinate with customers, colocation partners, and internal teams to align white space design with rack-level requirements.
• Travel to data center sites for validation, commissioning, and operational support.
• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to design standards and best practices.

Skills

Rack layout

Power distribution

Containment strategies

CAD tools

Project coordination

Travel readiness

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering

Tools

AutoCAD

Revit

Job description

About Giga

Giga is building gigawatts of AI data centers to hasten a future of intelligence and abundance. We build data centers fast and at scale by combining the capabilities of an equipment supplier, engineering firm, general contractor, and real estate developer under one roof. Our team moves quickly and thinks practically. If you're ready to make an impact in an industry that matters, we're looking for people like you.

Why join Giga

• The Pace: We're building at a speed most companies talk about but never actually operate at. If you've been bored somewhere else, you won't be here.
• The Impact: Every person at Giga touches the work that matters. No layers, no waiting for approval chains. You'll see your fingerprints on what we ship.
• The Team: A team of operators defining the future of AI infrastructure. We recruit A-players from the most innovative companies in the world, and they choose Giga because the work here means more.
• The Moment: AI doesn't run without power, and that's us. Giga is the picks and shovels behind the AI revolution. This industry is about to explode, and you'll be in the room where it's already happening.

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

How We Work

We value people who take ownership, raise risks early, communicate directly, and follow through. Incomplete information is part of the job. Make the best decision you can, document it, and adjust as the facts change. Move quickly on reversible decisions and take more care when security, safety, financial, employee, or customer risk is involved.

Benefits

• Subsidized health, dental, and vision insurance
• Equity (options) in a rapidly growing startup
• 401(k) with 4% employer match
• Unlimited PTO
• Parental leave
• Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) or Health Savings Account (HSA