Director Engineering - Data Centers

RAI Resources; United States; Remote; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

RAI Resources is seeking a Director of Engineering for Data Centers to lead the full-stack engineering across cooling, electrical distribution, distributed generation, and BESS/UPS. The role focuses on building a scalable, repeatable product platform and leading a high-performing team in a remote-friendly environment.

Candidates should have an electrical background with 15+ years in engineering and 5+ years leading multidisciplinary teams, plus experience with mission-critical infrastructure and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Electrical, or related engineering discipline; advanced degree preferred.
• Professional Engineer (P.Eng./PE) registration preferred.

Responsibilities

• Establish clear product ownership and technical accountability for major product families.
• Develop standardized product architectures, configurations, options and guidelines.
• Drive modularization and design-for-manufacturing for repeatable deployment.
• Lead interfaces and ICDs for major products and modules.
• Ensure cross-disciplinary interfaces are defined and verified.

Skills

Leadership

Data center

System integration

Modularization

Supplier management

Cross-functional collaboration

Technical leadership

Communication

Education

Bachelor's in Mechanical/Electrical engineering

Professional Engineer (PE) registration preferred

Job description

Our client, a growing Equipment Provider and System Integrator is seeking a Director Engineering for Data Centers.

This will focus on full-stack data center experience across cooling, electrical, distributed generation, BESS/UPS, controls, and overall system integration. Candidates MUST have experience in these areas and should have an Electrical background.

This is a hands-on leadership role where you will hire, develop, and build an engineering team.

This position can be remote based in the US.

My client develops and delivers integrated power and cooling infrastructure solutions for large-scale data center applications.

This position will establish and develop the engineering teams, processes and technical standards required to transition from project specific equipment solutions toward standardized, configurable and repeatable product platforms.

The Director will provide functional leadership across cooling, electrical distribution, distributed generation, power electronics, systems and interface engineering, and supplier/product quality. A major focus will be developing robust product definition and controlling equipment interfaces to support modular construction and rapid project execution.

The role requires a leader who can operate across engineering disciplines, develop strong technical teams, work directly with strategic equipment suppliers, and translate customer and project requirements into scalable product solutions.

Responsibilities:

• Establish clear product ownership and technical accountability for each majorproduct family.
• Develop standardized product architectures, configurations, options and application guidelines.
• Drive modularization and design-for-manufacturing strategies for repeatable deployment.
• Establish product requirements, engineering specifications and design criteria.
• Lead development of standard equipment and module interfaces.
• Establish and maintain Interface Control Documents (ICDs) for major products and modules.
• Ensure mechanical, electrical, structural, controls and communications interfaces are clearly defined and verified.
• Lead product and multidisciplinary design reviews.
• Develop product application and equipment selection methodologies and tools.
• Ensure maintainability, reliability, constructibility and lifecycle requirements are incorporated into product designs.
• Work with Product Management, Sales and Applications Engineering to translate customer requirements into standardized technical solutions.
• Provide technical leadership during proposal development and major customer technical discussions.
• Work closely with Power Systems Controls & Integration to ensure controls, BMS, PMS, communications and system-level requirements are incorporated into product designs.
• Work with Configuration Management to establish and maintain controlled product baselines, drawings, specifications and engineering changes.
• Support Codes & Standards in product certification and localization requirements.
• Lead technical relationships with strategic equipment suppliers.
• Establish supplier engineering requirements, drawing and documentation expectations, and technical review processes.
• Provide technical oversight of supplier design development and product changes.
• Lead Supplier& Product Quality activities for data center equipment suppliers, including supplier qualification, manufacturing quality, ITP/FAT requirements, NCR/CAR resolution and continuous improvement.
• Drive recurring product and supplier quality issues to root cause and permanent corrective action.
• Support manufacturing, FAT, installation, commissioning and field issue resolution.
• Establish structured feedback from project execution, commissioning and service into product improvement.
• Develop product cost reduction and value engineering programs without compromising reliability or maintainability.
• Develop and maintain product technology and improvement roadmaps.
• Recruit, develop and mentor engineering leaders and technical specialists as the organization grows.

Leadership:

The Director will have functional technical authority for data center equipment product engineering organization and will establish the technical governance necessary to ensure products are properly defined, engineered, documented and integrated prior to releasefor project execution. Will ensure appropriate technical reviews are completed and that cross-functional product and interface decisions are resolved before design release.

Will work closely with leadership on matters involving overall system architecture, power generation, controls and integration, configuration management, codes and standards, and new technology development.

• Demonstrated leadership of multidisciplinary engineering organizations.
• Strong background in mission-critical infrastructure, data centers, modular energy systems, central utility plants or related engineered equipment.
• Experience developing standardized and repeatable engineered products from project-specific solutions.
• Strong understanding of modularization, prefabrication and design for manufacturing.
• Demonstrated experience defining and managing interfaces between complex equipment packages and engineering disciplines.
• Experience developing engineering standards, design guidelines and repeatable engineering processes.
• Ability to lead technical teams outside the individual's primary engineering discipline.
• Strong experience working with OEMs and equipment suppliers.
• Experience with supplier technical qualification, design reviews, manufacturing quality and FAT activities.
• Strong understanding of reliability, redundancy, maintainability and lifecycle considerations for mission-critical infrastructure.
• Ability to balance technical rigor with the schedule requirements of a rapidly growing business.
• Strong customer-facing technical and executive communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to recruit, develop and lead high-performing engineering teams.

Experience:

• 15+ years of engineering experience with progressively increasing technical and leadership responsibility.
• 5+ years leading engineering teams or major multidisciplinary engineering programs.
• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Electrical or related Engineering discipline; advanced degree preferred.
• Professional Engineer (P.Eng./PE) registration preferred.
• Experience with hyperscale or mission-critical data center infrastructure.
• Experience with large chilled-water systems, central utility plants or other large-scale thermal infrastructure.
• Experience with MV/LV electrical distribution, distributed generation or power electronics is beneficial.
• Experience with modular or prefabricated equipment and systems.
• Experience developing standardized engineering workflows, design guidelines and product platforms.
• Experience coordinating engineering across OEMs, suppliers, fabricators and project execution organizations.
• Experience supporting fast-track engineering and construction programs.
• International supplier experience, particularly with Asia-based equipment manufacturers, is beneficial