Vice President Data Center Design

Montera

San Francisco (CA)

Hybrid

USD 260,000 - 360,000

Full time

14 days+

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Benefits offered by this job

Remote work stipend

Health coverage

Generous PTO

Learning reimbursement

401(k) with match

Job summary

Montera is seeking a Vice President Data Center Design to lead the delivery of facility designs across the portfolio. Reporting to the CTO, the VP owns design execution end to end — from reference architecture through IFC and construction support — and leads the Principal Engineering & Architecture leadership family.

This is a people‑leadership and delivery accountability role, ensuring five-nines availability and seamless coordination with external partners and internal teams.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Architecture or Engineering (Electrical, Mechanical, or related) with PE/RA preferred.
15+ years of data center or mission‑critical design and delivery experience.
Proven track record leading multi‑discipline design programs for hyperscale facilities.
Experience designing across full delivery lifecycle from concept to commissioning.

Responsibilities

Own end-to-end design delivery across the portfolio from concept to construction support.
Lead five Principal ICs and align reference architectures into a coherent facility design.
Govern design contracts, partner governance, and interface agreements across teams.
Represent design status and risks to CTO and senior leadership; ensure schedule adherence.

Skills

Leadership

Data center design

Project management

Contract negotiation

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Architecture or Engineering

PE/RA license preferred

Job description

At Montera,we’rebuilding the future of digital infrastructure.Founder-ledwith$1.5Bbacked byStonepeak, Montera isdriven by a future-focused vision: to develop and operatehyperscale data centers essential for tomorrow's technology.Our mission is to deliver strategicallylocated, hyperscale data centers designed for speed, reliability, and scalability. Backed by decades of experience in design, construction, and operations, wedon’tjust build—we execute with purpose.

TheOpportunity

Montera is seeking aVice President Data Center Designleads the delivery of Montera’s facility designs across the portfolio. Reporting to the CTO, the VP owns design execution end to end — from reference architecture through IFC and construction support — and is the senior leader of Montera’s Principal Engineering & Architecture Leadership family and its external design and construction partners.

This is a people-leadership and delivery-accountability role, distinct from the CTO’s external technical and customer-facing mandate. The CTO owns customer requirements capture and is the technical external face of Montera; the VP converts those requirements into buildable, coordinated, on-schedule designs and drives them through the design and construction partner ecosystem (CSA, MEP, design-assist trades, GC/CM, and specialty consultants) to a predictable, commissioned outcome.

The VP manages the five Principal ICs — Architect & Master Planning, Electrical, Mechanical, Controls, and Network — aligning their reference architectures into a single coherent facility design, resolving cross-discipline conflicts, and holding the integrated design schedule and budget. The role is accountable for design quality, constructability, multi-discipline coordination, and the design inputs to cost, schedule, and availability targets across active projects (currently Eagle and Goldeneye) and the broader pipeline.

What You'llDo

Design Delivery & Program Execution

Own end-to-end design delivery across the portfolio — concept, SD, DD, IFP/IFC, and construction-phase support — against committed schedule milestones (e.g., schematic design and IFC dates) and yield-on-cost targets.

Hold the integrated, multi-discipline design schedule and budget; drive the critical path across architectural, electrical, mechanical, controls, and network scopes.

Govern design change control, trade studies, and value-engineering decisions, protecting design intent, reliability targets (five-nines availability), and operability.

Own the design basis of design (BOD) and its consistent application across projects, and the design deliverables that feed permitting, procurement, and construction.

Leadership of the Principal Engineering & Architecture Family

Directly lead and develop the five Principal ICs (Architect/Master Planning, Electrical, Mechanical, Controls, Network); setobjectives, review performance, and build the discipline centers of excellence.

Integrate discipline reference architectures into one coherent, coordinated facility design; arbitrate cross-discipline trade-offs (e.g., power vs. cooling vs. space, controls data model vs. network segmentation).

Ensurethe Controls–Network interlock on customer data exposure is delivered jointly and coherently, consistent with the single-tenant model and the requirements the CTO captures.

Enforce portfolio-wide design standards, playbooks, and prototypical modules that enable rapid, repeatable deployment.

Design Contracts & Partner Governance

Define, review, negotiate, and manage design contracts with design partners (CSA and MEP engineers of record, design-assist trades, and specialty consultants) — owning scopes of work, deliverable schedules, standard of care, fee structures, and design responsibility matrices.

Establish consistent contracting standards and templates for design engagements across the portfolio; align scope boundaries and interface agreements so multi-discipline coverage is complete with no gaps or overlaps.

Manage contract performance through delivery: track deliverables against milestones, administer change andadditional-servicesrequests, review and approve designinvoicing againstprogress, and resolve scope and performance issues.

Partner with Legal, Finance, and Procurement on design-contract terms, risk allocation, and commercial approvals, engaging qualified counsel on high-stakes terms.

Design & Construction Partner Leadership

Serve as Montera’s senior owner-side leader to external design and construction partners: CSA and MEP engineers of record, design-assist trade partners (e.g.,mechanicaland electrical), GC/CM, and specialty consultants.

Own the design-assist and delivery-model strategy (e.g., design-bid-build vs. design-assist) and the associated partner scopes, deliverables, and interface agreements.

Lead design reviews, coordination summits, and constructability reviews; drive partner accountability to quality, schedule, and cost.

Support AHJ permitting and entitlement outcomes through the Architect/Master Planning Principal and partner teams.

Design Oversight Through Construction

Own owner-side design oversight through construction with GCs and subcontractors — protecting design intent from IFC through commissioning and turnover.

Govern the construction-phase design workflow: RFIs, submittals and shop-drawing review, and coordination/BIM clash resolution across trades, drivingtimelyengineer-of-record responses.

Review and disposition field changes, design-related change orders, and value-engineering proposals from GCs and subs; safeguard reliability (five-nines availability), operability, andstandardsconformance.

Lead design representation at OAC meetings and site design reviews; track design-related construction risk and drive resolution with the GC, subs, and design partners.

Ensure as-built and design close-out documentation from GCs and subs is complete and fed back intoMonterareference designs and standards.

Constructability, Commissioning & Handover

Ensure designs are constructable, coordinated (clash-free), and aligned toprocurementlead times and sitelogistics.

Own the design-side inputs to commissioning and integrated systems testing (IST); ensure acceptance criteria and turnover readiness are designed in, not retrofitted.

Drivelessons-learnedfrom construction and operations back into reference designs and standards for continuous fleet improvement.

Cross-Functional & Executive Alignment

Translate the CTO-captured customer requirements into a governed design program and report design status, risks, and decisions to the CTO and leadership.

Partner with Development, Delivery, Operations, GRC, and Finance on schedule, cost, constructability, and interconnection-driven design constraints (e.g., FRT / utility obligations).

Provide design content and technical substantiation to support the CTO’s customer engagements and executive/board materials, without owning the customer-facing relationship.

Who You Are:

Bachelor’s degree inArchitecture or Engineering(Electrical, Mechanical, or related); professional licensure (PE/RA) preferred.

15+ years ofexperienceindata center or mission-critical design and delivery, including senior leadership of multi-discipline design programs for hyperscale or AI-focused facilities.

Proventrack recordleading design across full delivery lifecycle (concept to IFCto commissioning) with accountability for schedule, cost, and quality.

Demonstrated leadership of principal/expert individual contributors and of external design and construction partners (CSA, MEP, design-assist, GC/CM).

Proven experience defining, negotiating, and managing design contracts (scope, deliverables, standard of care, fees, change control) and administering owner-side design oversight through construction with GCs and subcontractors (RFIs, submittals, change orders, field changes).

Strong command of how architectural, electrical, mechanical, controls, and network scopes integrate,and ofdelivery models (design-bid-build, design-assist, EPC).

Excellent judgment on constructability, value engineering, and design risk; strong commercial and schedule discipline.

Exceptional communication; able torepresentdesign internally to the CTO, leadership, and board, and to lead partners externally.

Why Join Montera?

At Montera,you’llshape the next generation of digital infrastructure while being supported by a team that values integrity, collaboration, and long-term partnership.We’rea remote-first company that empowers our people with flexibility, ownership, and meaningful rewards.

Compensation:

At Montera, we believegreat workstarts with investing in great people. That is why we offer a competitive and thoughtful total compensation package designed to recognize the value each team member brings.

Our compensation ranges are informed by market data and aligned to job level and role. When making hiring and compensation decisions, we consider a variety of factors, including skills, experience, education, training, competencies, and overall business needs.

The reasonable compensation range for this role is $XXX,000 - $XXX,000.

Our Benefits at a Glance:

ComprehensiveHealthCoverage:We pay 90% of health premiums for employeesand their dependents.

Generous Time Off:Up to 8 weeksof paidtime offper year,which includesholidays, PTO, and sick time.

Parental Leave:Up to 8 weeksof paid timeoff after 6 months of employment.

Financial Security:401(k) plan with immediate eligibility, no vesting requirement, and employer match contributions up to 6%.

Learning & Development Reimbursement:Up to $3,500 reimbursed annually for approved courses, certifications,conferencesand professional development opportunities.