Senior Data Center Systems Engineer - AI Infrastructure & Performance Optimization

Alloy Enterprises; New Freedom (York County); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Johnson Controls is seeking a Senior Data Center Systems Engineer for the Advanced Technology & Innovation group. The role links AI/HPC workloads with data center infrastructure to optimize cooling efficiency and computing performance.

You will deploy AI/HPC clusters, liquid cooling solutions, digital twin models, and telemetry systems, collaborating with thermal engineers to validate performance under real workloads. 5–7 years in AI infrastructure and data center ops are required.

Qualifications

• PhD or Master's in Electrical/Mechanical Engineering or Computer Science.
• 5-7 years of experience in AI/HPC infrastructure or related roles.
• Prior data center experience preferred.
• Hands-on experience with LLM/VLM workloads on GPU AI infrastructure.
• Strong understanding of AI hardware architectures and thermal/power characteristics.

Responsibilities

• Deploy, configure, and manage AI/HPC compute clusters for diverse workloads including training and inference.
• Deploy and commission liquid cooling hardware (direct-to-chip cold plates, CDUs, immersion, hybrid).
• Design workload management strategies to evaluate thermal and power across CPU/GPU AI nodes.
• Develop system-level digital twin simulations integrating IT telemetry with mechanical and electrical data.
• Extract telemetry data from IT nodes, GPUs, CPUs, and cooling systems to optimize performance.
• Collaborate with thermal engineers and controls teams to validate cooling performance.

Skills

Independent work

Technical communication

Cross-functional collaboration

System optimization

Education

Master's in EE/ME/CS

PhD preferred

Tools

Kubernetes

Slurm

DCIM platforms

Digital twin tools

Job description

Senior Data Center Systems Engineer -- AI Infrastructure & Performance Optimization

Job Description

Position Summary

Johnson Controls' Data Center Thermal Solutions team is seeking a Senior Data Center Systems Engineer for the Advanced Technology & Innovation group. This role bridges AI/HPC computing systems with data center infrastructure, focusing on optimizing the interdependencies between computing workloads and cooling efficiency. The ideal candidate will be highly self-driven, able to work independently with limited supervision, and bring deep expertise in GPU-based AI workloads combined with comprehensive understanding of data center infrastructure systems.

Key Responsibilities

• Deploy, configure, and manage AI/HPC compute clusters running diverse workloads including LLM training and inference, VLM applications, HPC simulations, and stress testing scenarios.
• Deploy and commission liquid cooling hardware including direct-to-chip cold plates, CDUs, immersion systems, and hybrid cooling solutions for high-density AI infrastructure.
• Design and execute workload management strategies to evaluate thermal and power characteristics across CPU and GPU-based AI nodes under varied operational conditions.
• Develop system-level digital twin simulations integrating IT telemetry with mechanical and electrical infrastructure data to model cooling and computing efficiency interdependencies.
• Extract and analyze telemetry data from IT nodes, GPUs, CPUs, and thermal systems including chillers, cooling towers, pumps, and CDUs to optimize performance and energy efficiency.
• Collaborate with thermal engineers and controls teams to validate cooling system performance under real-world AI/HPC workloads and support NPI development initiatives.

Qualifications

• PhD or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or Computer Science.
• 5-7 years of professional experience in AI/HPC infrastructure, data center operations, or related technical roles.
• Prior experience working in data center environments strongly preferred.
• Proven hands-on experience deploying and managing LLM, VLM, training, inference, and HPC simulation workloads on GPU-based AI infrastructure.
• Deep understanding of AI hardware architectures (NVIDIA H100/H200, AMD MI300, etc.) and their thermal/power characteristics across diverse workloads.
• Strong knowledge of data center mechanical systems (cooling distribution, heat rejection), electrical systems (power distribution, UPS), and networking architectures (InfiniBand, Ethernet fabrics).
• Proficiency with DCIM platforms, BAS integration, and digital twin modeling tools for infrastructure simulation and optimization.
• Experience with stress testing tools, workload orchestration platforms (Kubernetes, Slurm, etc.), and telemetry collection frameworks.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, manage complex projects, and deliver results with minimal supervision.
• Track record of innovation and cross-functional collaboration in data center or AI infrastructure environments.
• Strong technical communication and presentation skills for conference participation and white paper authorship.

Johnson Controls International plc. is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, protected veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a qualified individual with a disability or any other characteristic protected by law. To view more information about your equal opportunity and non-discrimination rights as a candidate, visit EEO is the Law. If you are an individual with a disability and you require an accommodation during the application process, please visit here.