Senior Director, Data Center Design & Engineering

CleanSpark•Georgia, GA

1d•$200,000 - $250,000

About The Position

The Senior Director, Data Center Design & Engineering – AI Data Centers is the owner-side engineering authority for CleanSpark’s AI data center portfolio. The role owns the program’s technical basis, including engineering standards, system architecture, design criteria, and technical decisions governing how facilities are designed, powered, cooled, built, commissioned, and handed over to Operations. While the Director, Data Center Design manages external design consultants and day-to-day design deliverables, the Senior Director sets the engineering direction those deliverables must follow. The role requires hands-on technical depth in electrical and mechanical infrastructure, redundancy and resilience, utility and substation interfaces, constructability, commissioning, and operational readiness, and accountability for the engineering quality and performance of delivered facilities. The Senior Director works with Development, Power, Construction, Operations, Legal, Finance, and external engineering, commissioning, and utility partners. The role provides technical leadership to the Director, Data Center Design and the broader design team, and helps build CleanSpark’s in-house engineering capability while reducing reliance on external design partners. The position reports to the VP, Projects and holds final owner-side technical authority over engineering standards, Basis of Design, system architecture and redundancy topology, and design deviations within approved project budgets and schedules. Decisions with material cost, schedule, or contractual impact are made jointly with the VP, Projects and the Director of Construction, with escalation to executive leadership as needed.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related engineering discipline.
15+ years of progressive experience in design and engineering of data center, mission-critical, or large-scale power and industrial facilities, including at least 5 years in a senior technical leadership role.
Deep working knowledge of data center electrical infrastructure, including MV/LV distribution, generation, UPS, protection, and coordination, and mechanical infrastructure, including chilled water, air and liquid cooling, and heat rejection for high-density compute.
Demonstrated experience defining redundancy and resilience topologies and translating availability targets into design criteria.
Hands-on experience with utility interconnection, substation design, and energization planning for large loads.
Experience leading commissioning (Levels 1–5 / integrated systems testing) and facility turnover on mission-critical projects.
Proven ability to lead engineering consultants, contractors, and internal technical staff and make and defend technical decisions with executives, customers, and partners.
Strong constructability judgment and experience partnering with construction teams through design, procurement, and field execution.
Excellent communication skills, including the ability to explain complex technical trade-offs clearly to non-technical stakeholders.
Candidates must be insurable under CleanSpark’s vehicle insurance policy if duties require operating a company vehicle or traveling between job sites.

Nice To Haves

Professional Engineer (PE) license.
Experience with AI, HPC, or hyperscale data center design, including liquid-cooled and high-density rack deployments.
Owner-side experience with a hyperscaler, colocation provider, or large infrastructure developer.
Experience developing and governing engineering standards or Basis of Design programs across multiple sites.
Familiarity with Uptime Institute Tier concepts, ASHRAE TC 9.9 guidelines, NEC/NFPA 70 and NFPA 70E, IEEE power system standards, and applicable energy codes.
Master’s degree in engineering or an MBA.
Experience in a fast-growth owner organization building in-house technical capability.

Responsibilities

Own and maintain AI data center engineering standards, Basis of Design (BoD), and design criteria across electrical, mechanical, civil, structural, controls, telecom, and site infrastructure disciplines.
Define and approve system architecture for electrical distribution, generation and backup power, UPS, and air and liquid cooling for high-density AI/HPC loads, including redundancy and resilience targets and related trade-offs.
Lead engineering interfaces with utilities and substation owners, including load studies, interconnection requirements, substation and switchyard design, protection and coordination, metering, and energization sequencing.
Provide technical direction to the Director, Data Center Design and external design consultants; review and approve technical studies, calculations, single-line diagrams, equipment selections, and design deliverables at each stage gate.
Lead constructability, value engineering, and design-for-schedule reviews with Construction and Pre-Construction; resolve technical issues, RFIs, and design conflicts beyond consultant or project-team authority.
Own the owner-side commissioning program, including defining commissioning scope and levels, approving commissioning agents and test scripts, witnessing integrated systems testing, and signing off on energization and turnover readiness.
Lead engineering aspects of operational readiness, including handover documentation, as-builts, O&M requirements, spare parts and maintainability criteria, and alignment of design intent with Operations’ requirements.
Evaluate and recommend equipment vendors, long-lead procurement specifications, and standard equipment platforms; support procurement through technical bid evaluations and scopes of work.
Assess engineering risks across the portfolio and identify and mitigate design, power, cooling, and integration risks through standards and project plans.
Support tenant and customer technical requirements, design review responses, change evaluations, and technical representation in customer and partner forums.
Drive standardization and repeatability across sites to support predictable cost, schedule, and performance.
Build and mentor the in-house engineering team and define roles, technical competencies, and development paths as the organization grows.
Provide clear technical recommendations and updates to project and executive leadership.
Perform additional duties and support evolving office priorities as assigned.
Demonstrate professionalism, respect, strong communication, and the ability to work well with others in a team-oriented, inclusive environment.