Director of Facilities Engineering- Data Centers

Ez Blockchain•Chicago, IL

1d•$150,000 - $180,000

About The Position

The Director of Facilities Engineering is responsible for the engineering strategy, design standards, reliability, and lifecycle management of mission-critical infrastructure supporting AI and high-performance computing (HPC) data centers. This role oversees multidisciplinary engineering teams and ensures highly available, scalable, and energy-efficient facilities that support next-generation AI and high-performance computing (HPC) environments. This position requires critical thinking and adaptation to a fast-paced, always-changing, and evolving AI data center space. AI Factories are a new type of data center that requires a new, flexible approach but with a conservative engineering view. The ideal candidate should be open-minded and not afraid to experiment. This position is for a Building Engineer with skills in constructing a new build.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
10+ years of engineering experience in mission-critical facilities, data centers, industrial, or power infrastructure.
7+ years leading multidisciplinary engineering teams.
Strong expertise in electrical and mechanical systems supporting high-availability environments.
Experience with hyperscale, AI, or HPC data center infrastructure.
Knowledge of engineering design, commissioning, and reliability engineering practices.
Mission-critical electrical and mechanical infrastructure
Medium-voltage power distribution, UPS, generators, and power monitoring
Chilled water plants, liquid cooling, thermal management, and HVAC systems
BMS, EPMS, and DCIM platforms
Reliability-centered maintenance (RCM), FMEA, commissioning, and asset lifecycle management
AI/HPC infrastructure and high-density compute environments
Adaptive systems thinker: able to create standards without becoming rigid and to distinguish durable engineering principles from temporary market conventions.
Builder mentality: energized by ambiguity, early-stage platform development and creating processes, teams and technical infrastructure from the ground up.
Commercially grounded: understands how engineering choices affect land value, customer fit, capital requirements, delivery schedule, bankability and long-term returns.
Decisive and transparent: makes sound decisions with incomplete information, documents assumptions and escalates risks early.
Collaborative authority: can challenge customers, utilities, consultants, contractors and executives constructively while maintaining trust and momentum.
Hands-on executive: equally comfortable reviewing a one-line diagram, walking a site, negotiating an OEM strategy, presenting to investors and building a long-term organization.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in engineering, Engineering Management, or MBA.
Professional Engineer (PE) license.
Industry certifications such as CEM, CDCP/CDCMP, PMP, or LEED AP.

Responsibilities

Create and lead the portfolio-wide facilities engineering program for greenfield campuses, powered-shell projects, modular deployments, expansions and selected retrofit opportunities.
Develop a repeatable campus architecture and set of design standards that can be adapted intelligently to different utility systems, climates, site constraints, deployment schedules and customer requirements.
Serve as the senior technical owner from site screening and diligence through design, construction, commissioning, turnover and initial operating readiness.
Build the internal engineering capability and external partner network required to move multiple projects forward in parallel without compromising reliability, safety or capital discipline.
Provide strategic direction and leadership for the facilities of operations of multiple AI Factories (data centers), ensuring 24/7 uptime and operational excellence for mechanical, electrical, and plumbing infrastructure.
Develop and execute the facilities engineering strategy for AI data centers distributed across multiple campuses across the county.
Plan and execute standardized infrastructure for new data center buildouts, colocation expansions, and data center expansions, ensuring seamless integration of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing infrastructure.
Build and lead electrical, mechanical, controls, and reliability engineering teams.
Establish engineering standards, technical specifications, and design guidelines across multiple facilities to meet the constantly evolving AI data center for white space demand.
Oversee the engineering lifecycle of critical infrastructure, including electrical distribution, UPS, generators, cooling systems, BMS, EPMS, DCIM, and fire protection systems.
Design and optimize infrastructure for high-density GPU and liquid-cooled AI environments using the newest NVIDIA and AMD chip systems. Work with direct-to-chip cooling systems and high-density racks with up to 150 KW per rack.
Drive reliability engineering, predictive maintenance, root cause analysis, and asset lifecycle management across a portfolio of new deployments.
Provide technical oversight for new construction, expansion, commissioning, and modernization projects.
Improve energy efficiency through initiatives that optimize PUE, WUE, and sustainability.
Ensure compliance with applicable codes, standards, and engineering best practices.
Manage engineering budgets, technical vendors, consultants, and capital improvement programs.