Senior Manager Datacenter Engineering

DigitalOcean; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 157,000 - 196,000; Full time

Job summary

DigitalOcean seeks a seasoned infrastructure engineering leader to spearhead electrical, mechanical, and data center systems across multiple sites. You will establish engineering standards for AI/GPU data centers, including liquid cooling and power distribution, and serve as the technical authority for complex infrastructure issues.

You will manage both in-house and outsourced teams, drive due diligence on new facilities, and maintain strong vendor relationships to ensure scalable, compliant

Qualifications

• 10+ years in mission-critical engineering, including data center infrastructure.
• 5+ years leading engineering teams, including hiring and developing senior talent.
• 5+ years managing outsourced engineering teams.
• Deep hands-on experience with liquid cooling systems (CDUs, secondary loop, leak detection), UPS, generators, switchgear, and controls/automation.
• Experience running root-cause analyses with OEMs and translating findings into engineering actions.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow a multidisciplinary engineering team across electrical, mechanical, controls/automation, and data center infrastructure engineering and construction.
• Develop and own engineering standards and specifications for AI/GPU data centers, including liquid cooling and power distribution.
• Serve as the technical authority and escalation point for infrastructure issues that others cannot resolve.
• Provide engineering due diligence on new colocation and build-to-suit facilities.
• Own vendor and OEM relationships and drive root-cause engagements when infrastructure fails.

Skills

Electrical engineering

Mechanical engineering

Controls automation

Data center infrastructure

Vendor management

Root-cause analysis

Team leadership

Education

BS in Electrical/Mechanical/related Engineering

Job description

Dive in and do the best work of your career at DigitalOcean. Journey alongside a strong community of top talent who are relentless in their drive to build the simplest scalable cloud. If you have a growth mindset, naturally like to think big and bold, and are energized by the fast-paced environment of a true industry disruptor, you’ll find your place here. We value winning together—while learning, having fun, and making a profound difference for the dreamers and builders in the world.

What You’ll Do

• Lead and grow a multidisciplinary team covering electrical, mechanical, controls/automation, and data center infrastructure engineering and construction.
• Develop and own engineering standards and specifications for AI/GPU data centers, including liquid cooling (CDU sizing, secondary loop design, leak detection), power distribution, and controls/automation.
• Serve as the technical authority and final engineering escalation point for infrastructure issues that Site Operations and Design & Deployment cannot resolve at their level.
• Provide engineering due diligence on new colocation and build-to-suit facilities before signing — power capacity, cooling topology, electrical infrastructure condition, and expansion feasibility.
• Own vendor and OEM infrastructure engineering relationships (e.g., CDU, UPS, generator, and switchgear manufacturers) — drive root-cause engagements when infrastructure fails, and hold vendors accountable for design defects, not just field service.
• Lead or sponsor root-cause analysis for infrastructure-driven incidents, and own the resulting engineering corrective actions through to verified completion, not just documentation.
• Own infrastructure specifications, technical documentation, and change governance — nothing changes at the infrastructure layer without engineering sign-off.
• Partner with Site Operations, Deployment, Construction, and Design organizations to ensure engineering standards are practical to build and operate, not just technically correct on paper.
• Track and report on infrastructure reliability metrics across the fleet, and prioritize engineering investment against the highest-risk, highest-recurrence failure modes.
• Lead compliance review of infrastructure standards against relevant codes and safety requirements (e.g., NFPA 70E, electrical code, two-person energized work rules) in partnership with Legal and EHS.
• Build and maintain an audit process for reviewing existing sites against current engineering standards, and prioritize remediation of out-of-compliance assets.
• Manage outsourced engineering talent where required to keep up with workload
• Develop engineering and construction talent on your team and build a succession plan for key technical authority roles

Travel

Expect 20–30% travel for new-site due diligence, commissioning support, and vendor/OEM engineering reviews.

Key Metrics

• Reduction in infrastructure-driven incidents and repeat failure modes (risk-to-reoccur trending down, not flat).
• Standardization coverage — percentage of fleet reviewed and brought into compliance with current engineering standards.
• Time-to-root-cause and time-to-corrective-action on infrastructure engineering escalations.
• Reliable engineering support of new-site expansion (due diligence turnaround time, defect-free commissioning).
• Scalability of the engineering organization relative to footprint growth.

What You’ll Add To DigitalOcean

• BS in Electrical, Mechanical, Chemical, or related Engineering discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• 10+ years in mission-critical engineering, including direct experience with data center infrastructure.
• 5+ years leading engineering teams, including hiring, developing, and retaining senior technical talent.
• 5+ years experience managing outsourced engineering teams
• Deep hands-on experience with liquid cooling systems (chillers, heat exchangers, pumps, CDUs, secondary loop design, leak detection and mitigation), UPS, generators, switchgear, and controls/automation platforms.
• Experience running or directly supporting root-cause analysis with OEMs on infrastructure component failures, and translating vendor findings into engineering decisions (e.g., accept, mitigate, or mandate replacement).
• Working knowledge of relevant electrical, mechanical, and safety codes (NFPA 70E, local electrical code) and experience partnering with Legal/EHS on compliance reviews.
• Experience conducting technical due diligence on data center facilities (colocation or build-to-suit) prior to lease or construction commitment.
• Track record of building engineering standards that scale across multiple sites and hold up under rapid, concurrent expansion.

Compensation Range

• $156,800 - $196,000
• Non-sales roles: In addition to base salary, this role is eligible to participate in DigitalOcean’s annual bonus plan and may be eligible for a new hire equity grant, subject to plan terms and local eligibility. Bonus amounts depend on company and individual performance.
• Sales roles (sales compensation eligible): In addition to base salary, this role may be eligible to earn incentive compensation under the applicable sales compensation plan and may be eligible for a new hire equity grant, subject to plan terms and local eligibility.
• This is a hybrid role

Why You’ll Like Working for DigitalOcean

• We innovate with purpose. You’ll be a part of a cutting-edge technology company with a high-growth trajectory, who are proud to simplify cloud and AI so builders can spend more time creating software that changes the world. As part of our team, you’ll embody our "Shark" mindset: bold, ambitious, and scrappy. You'll lead with a bias for action and take true ownership of our products, customer success, and team culture.
• We prioritize career development. At DigitalOcean, you’ll do the best work of your career. You will join a community of exceptional talent, collaborating closely with some of the brightest and most interesting people in the industry. We are a high-performance and fast-paced organization that will always challenge you to think big. Our talent development team prioritizes your professional development and provides resources to support your growth. We provide employees with reimbursement for relevant conferences, training, and education, subject to company policy.
• We care about your well-being. We take a comprehensive approach to our total rewards packages because we know different things drive different people. Our benefits are designed to support you and may include flexible time off, local team meetups, and mental health and well being support. Our benefits philosophy is consistent globally, but specific benefits and eligibility vary by location to reflect local needs and regulations.
• We reward our employees. The salary range for this position is based on market data, relevant years of experience, and skills. Eligible employees may also receive equity compensation, which may include a new hire equity grant and, in participating countries, the opportunity to participate in our Employee Stock Purchase Program. Equity awards are subject to approval and the terms of the applicable plan.
• Non-sales roles: In addition to base salary, this role is eligible to participate in DigitalOcean’s annual bonus plan and may be eligible for a new hire equity grant, subject to plan terms and local eligibility. Bonus amounts depend on company and individual performance.
• Sales roles (sales compensation eligible): In addition to base salary, this role may be eligible to earn incentive compensation under the applicable sales compensation plan and may be eligible for a new hire equity grant, subject to plan terms and local eligibility.
• DigitalOcean is an equal-opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Application Limit

You may apply to a maximum of 3 positions within any 180-day period. This policy promotes better role-candidate matching and encourages thoughtful applications where your qualifications align most strongly.