Head of Data Center Engineering

GTN Technical Staffing; Dallas (TX); On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation assistance available forNon

Available equity buyout program

Job summary

GTN Technical Staffing seeks a Head of Data Center Engineering to lead a multidisciplinary team responsible for this large-scale data center program. You will guide electrical, mechanical, cooling, and controls disciplines from concept through handoff to operations.

The role demands strong engineering judgment, proven leadership of technical SMEs, and a track record of delivering integrated, reliable facilities in hyperscale or AI-driven environments.

Qualifications

• Must have 10+ years of experience in mission-critical data center engineering or large-scale facility delivery.
• Proven leadership of multidisciplinary engineering teams or SMEs.
• Strong ability to challenge designs and drive integrated, reliable facilities.

Responsibilities

• Lead SMEs across electrical, mechanical, cooling, and controls disciplines.
• Oversee design through construction, commissioning, and handoff to operations.
• Establish engineering standards, design criteria, and review processes.
• Coordinate with internal teams, external design firms, EPCM partners, OEMs, and operations.
• Drive commissioning readiness, testing, and turnover packages.
• Translate complex technical issues into clear executive recommendations.

Skills

Team leadership

Cross-discipline coordination

Engineering judgment

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor’s/Master’s degree in Mechanical/Electrical/Systems Engineering

10+ years data center engineering experience

Job description

• Relocation assistance available for non-local candidates
• Available equity buyout program

Overview

We are seeking a Head of Data Center Engineering to lead a multidisciplinary team of subject matter experts responsible for the engineering oversight of large-scale data center projects, from initial design through construction, commissioning, and handoff to operations.

Supporting a rapidly growing GPUaaS / CaaS infrastructure company, this leader will guide engineering decisions across electrical systems, mechanical infrastructure, advanced cooling, controls, and resiliency. The team will help deliver high-density facilities supporting AI, GPU-intensive workloads, and high-performance computing.

The Head of Data Center Engineering will establish technical direction, align discipline leaders, resolve cross-functional engineering issues, and ensure projects meet design standards, delivery milestones, and operational readiness requirements. This person will connect the work of internal SMEs, external design firms, construction teams, commissioning partners, equipment vendors, and operations stakeholders.

The ideal candidate combines strong engineering judgment with proven experience leading technical experts. They should be comfortable challenging designs, evaluating system tradeoffs, and holding teams accountable for delivering integrated, reliable, and maintainable facilities.

Key Responsibilities

Lead the Engineering SME Team

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of SMEs across electrical, mechanical, cooling, controls, and related infrastructure disciplines.
• Establish clear responsibilities, priorities, deliverables, and accountability across the engineering team.
• Coordinate discipline-level recommendations into an integrated facility design and delivery approach.
• Ensure SMEs engage at the appropriate stages of design, procurement, construction, commissioning, and operational turnover.
• Resolve competing technical priorities and elevate decisions requiring executive input.
• Support hiring, resource planning, and team development as the infrastructure portfolio grows.

Oversee Design & Technical Standards

• Own internal engineering oversight from concept development through detailed design and construction documentation.
• Establish and maintain engineering standards, design criteria, equipment requirements, and technical review processes.
• Lead multidisciplinary design reviews focused on system integration, capacity, redundancy, safety, maintainability, and lifecycle reliability.
• Guide designs supporting high-density GPU infrastructure, resilient power distribution, and advanced cooling systems.
• Ensure operations requirements are incorporated early, including equipment access, maintenance strategies, monitoring, and serviceability.
• Challenge consultant and vendor recommendations, evaluate alternatives, and document key engineering decisions.
• Oversee technical risk assessments, design changes, and resolution of cross-discipline conflicts.

Support Construction & Equipment Integration

• Partner with construction, procurement, external engineering firms, EPCM partners, OEMs, and vendors to preserve design intent throughout execution.
• Direct SME review of equipment submittals, RFIs, substitutions, technical deviations, and field changes.
• Resolve engineering issues that affect constructability, equipment integration, schedule, quality, or future operations.
• Coordinate technical input into equipment selection, procurement specifications, and factory testing requirements.
• Maintain visibility into engineering constraints, long-lead equipment dependencies, and unresolved technical issues.
• Ensure approved changes are reflected in project documentation and communicated to affected teams.

Drive Commissioning & Operational Handoff

• Lead engineering-team participation in commissioning planning, readiness reviews, testing, and issue resolution.
• Partner with commissioning teams to validate system performance, integration, redundancy, and failure-response requirements.
• Ensure technical deficiencies are tracked, assigned, and resolved against agreed acceptance criteria.
• Coordinate engineering support for factory testing, site acceptance testing, functional testing, and integrated systems testing as applicable.
• Partner with operations leaders to establish turnover requirements and assess facility readiness.
• Ensure handoff packages include accurate as-built documentation, equipment information, operating procedures, maintenance requirements, training, and outstanding-issue ownership.
• Support the transition into operations and incorporate commissioning and startup lessons into future designs.

Establish Engineering Governance & Delivery Discipline

• Align engineering resources and deliverables with project schedules, construction milestones, commissioning plans, and turnover commitments.
• Maintain consistent design review, QA/QC, change management, and technical documentation practices.
• Track engineering risks, decision timelines, design quality, issue closure, and commissioning readiness.
• Translate complex technical issues into clear recommendations for executive leadership and business stakeholders.
• Build repeatable engineering practices that support multi-site deployment and infrastructure standardization.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• 10+ years of experience in mission-critical data center engineering, infrastructure design, or large-scale facility delivery.
• Demonstrated experience leading multidisciplinary engineering teams or teams of technical SMEs.
• Proven experience overseeing projects from design through construction, commissioning, and operational handoff.
• Broad technical understanding of data center electrical distribution, mechanical systems, cooling, controls, redundancy, and resiliency.
• Ability to evaluate how facility systems interact and guide technical decisions across engineering disciplines.
• Experience directing external engineering consultants, reviewing designs, and resolving complex technical issues.
• Working knowledge of construction-phase engineering support, including submittals, RFIs, equipment integration, and change management.
• Experience establishing engineering standards, design governance, technical risk management, and QA/QC processes.
• Strong leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills, including the ability to challenge recommendations and drive decisions.
• Experience supporting hyperscale, colocation, cloud, enterprise, HPC, AI, or other high-density data center environments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience as a Head of Engineering, Director of Data Center Engineering, Chief Engineer, Engineering Design Leader, or equivalent multidisciplinary technical leader.
• Experience leading an owner-side engineering team overseeing consultants, contractors, vendors, and commissioning partners.
• Experience with high-density GPU environments, liquid cooling, direct-to-chip cooling, and advanced power architectures.
• Familiarity with factory acceptance testing, integrated systems testing, and formal operational readiness and turnover processes.
• Experience standardizing engineering designs and delivery practices across multiple sites.
• Background partnering with 24/7 operations teams to improve maintainability, reliability, and facility readiness.