Controls Engineering Fellow – Data Centers (remote)

Johnson Controls • Glendale, CA

1d • $150,000 - $220,000 • Remote

About The Position

What you will do Johnson Controls is hiring! The Controls Engineering Fellow - Data Centers, is a senior individual contributor role within the Data Center engineering organization. This person serves as the enterprise-wide technical authority on controls architecture, building automation systems, and intelligent orchestration of data center infrastructure. The Fellow shapes multi-year technology strategy, drives innovation at the intersection of OT and IT and represents Johnson Controls as a recognized thought leader across the industry. This role is a deep technical leadership position that carries influence across the organization. The Fellow operates across organizational boundaries and is expected to generate outsized impact through vision-setting, mentorship, and hands-on architectural contributions. This is a remote opportunity for candidates based in the US. How you will do it Technical Vision & Strategy Define the 3 to 5-year controls architecture roadmap for Johnson Controls' data center business, encompassing BMS/BAS platforms (Metasys), edge controllers, cloud-native supervisory systems, and AI/ML-driven autonomous operations. Evaluate emerging paradigms—digital twins, model-predictive control, reinforcement learning for thermal optimization, autonomous fault diagnostics—and determine which should be incorporated into the JCI product and solutions portfolio. Provide authoritative technical guidance on controls integration across the full data center thermal chain: chillers, cooling distribution units (CDUs), rear-door heat exchangers, direct-to-chip liquid cooling loops, and airside economizers. Architect end-to-end control strategies that span from rack-level power and thermal sensing through facility-level SCADA/BMS to cloud-based fleet analytics. Innovation & Intellectual Property Drive innovation related to controls algorithms, sensor fusion techniques, and intelligent sequencing strategies for mission-critical cooling infrastructure. Lead proof-of-concept development for next-generation control approaches, including integration with GPU-aware workload orchestration and dynamic power/thermal co-optimization. Identify and evaluate external technology partnerships, university research collaborations, and potential acquisition targets in the controls and automation space. Cross-Functional Technical Leadership Act as the senior technical advisor to product management, systems engineering, and solution architecture teams on controls-related decisions for data center projects. Collaborate with chiller, heat exchanger, and CDU product engineering teams to ensure controls strategies are tightly integrated with thermal equipment performance characteristics. Interface directly with data center owner/operators, hyperscale engineering teams, and consulting engineers as a trusted technical advisor during solution design and commissioning. Mentorship & Culture Mentor and develop engineers across the controls engineering organization, fostering deep technical capability and a culture of innovation. Lead internal technical forums, design reviews, and architecture councils that raise the standard of controls engineering practice across the data center business. Help recruit and attract top controls engineering talent to Johnson Controls. What you will do

Requirements

• M.S. or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Controls Engineering, Computer Science, or a closely related discipline.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in controls and automation engineering.
• Expert-level knowledge of BMS/BAS platforms, PLC/DDC controller architectures, and supervisory control systems
• Deep understanding of control theory as applied to multi-variable thermal systems—chiller plant optimization, cooling tower sequencing, liquid cooling loop regulation, and airside economization.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with mission-critical facilities, data center infrastructure, or large-scale HVAC/thermal systems.

Responsibilities

• Define the 3 to 5-year controls architecture roadmap for Johnson Controls' data center business
• Evaluate emerging paradigms and determine which should be incorporated into the JCI product and solutions portfolio
• Provide authoritative technical guidance on controls integration across the full data center thermal chain
• Architect end-to-end control strategies that span from rack-level power and thermal sensing through facility-level SCADA/BMS to cloud-based fleet analytics
• Drive innovation related to controls algorithms, sensor fusion techniques, and intelligent sequencing strategies for mission-critical cooling infrastructure
• Lead proof-of-concept development for next-generation control approaches, including integration with GPU-aware workload orchestration and dynamic power/thermal co-optimization
• Identify and evaluate external technology partnerships, university research collaborations, and potential acquisition targets in the controls and automation space
• Act as the senior technical advisor to product management, systems engineering, and solution architecture teams on controls-related decisions for data center projects
• Collaborate with chiller, heat exchanger, and CDU product engineering teams to ensure controls strategies are tightly integrated with thermal equipment performance characteristics
• Interface directly with data center owner/operators, hyperscale engineering teams, and consulting engineers as a trusted technical advisor during solution design and commissioning
• Mentor and develop engineers across the controls engineering organization, fostering deep technical capability and a culture of innovation
• Lead internal technical forums, design reviews, and architecture councils that raise the standard of controls engineering practice across the data center business
• Help recruit and attract top controls engineering talent to Johnson Controls

Benefits

• This role offers a competitive Bonus plan that will take into account individual, group, and corporate performance.
• This position includes a competitive benefits package.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree