Director, Engineering Labs & Validation Operations

Flex•Austin, TX

11d•Onsite

About The Position

Flex is seeking an Associate Principal Engineer, Systems Architecture located in Austin, TX. This role will support SpinCo, a new independent company focused on critical digital infrastructure, delivering end-to-end power and thermal management solutions for AI data centers and other mission-critical applications. The spin is planned for Q1 2027. The Associate Principal Engineer, Systems Architecture will be responsible for defining and integrating system architectures for next-generation AI infrastructure platforms, translating customer and product requirements into scalable, reliable, and manufacturable solutions across power, cooling, compute, controls, software, and modular infrastructure systems. The role provides technical leadership throughout the product lifecycle, from concept development and architecture definition through validation, manufacturing readiness, and deployment.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical discipline; Master’s degree preferred.
10+ years of experience in systems engineering, systems architecture, infrastructure engineering, product development, or complex hardware platforms.
Proven experience translating customer requirements into system architectures, specifications, interface definitions, and validation plans.
Strong expertise in multidisciplinary system integration across power, cooling, compute, controls, networking, software, and infrastructure technologies.
Experience with requirements management, architecture trade studies, technical risk management, and system-level verification and validation.
Demonstrated success influencing cross-functional engineering teams and driving architecture decisions throughout the product lifecycle.
Excellent customer-facing, leadership, communication, analytical, and problem-solving skills with the ability to mentor engineers and lead complex technical initiatives.

Responsibilities

Lead the definition of system architectures, requirements, interface specifications, and validation strategies for AI infrastructure platforms.
Drive cross-functional integration across Systems, Electrical, Cooling, Software, Validation, Product Management, and Manufacturing teams.
Develop system requirements, design trade studies, technical roadmaps, and architecture standards that support future platform scalability and reliability.
Partner with engineering labs and validation teams to establish test strategies, qualification plans, and manufacturing readiness activities.
Support customer demonstrations, proof-of-concept testing, technical reviews, and reference architecture development.
Evaluate emerging technologies and drive architecture decisions across power, cooling, compute, controls, and software-enabled infrastructure solutions.
Mentor engineering teams and promote systems engineering best practices, governance processes, and reusable platform standards.