Senior Manager Datacenter Engineering

DigitalOcean • Richmond, VA

6d • $156,800 - $196,000 • Remote

About The Position

DigitalOcean is seeking a Senior Manager of Physical Infrastructure Engineering to lead a multidisciplinary engineering team responsible for the standards, specifications, and technical decisions governing data center builds, retrofits, and deployments across its global footprint. The team covers electrical, mechanical, controls/automation, and data center infrastructure engineering and construction. The role owns engineering standards and technical judgment for infrastructure, while Design & Deployment executes layouts and installations against those standards. It is the technical authority for data center infrastructure and the final engineering escalation point for issues that Site Operations and Design & Deployment cannot resolve. The position reports directly to the VP of Data Center Operations & Engineering.

The role focuses on reliable AI/GPU infrastructure at scale, including liquid cooling, power distribution, and controls/automation. It includes facility due diligence, vendor and OEM engineering relationships, incident root-cause analysis and corrective actions, infrastructure documentation and change governance, compliance reviews, site audits, reliability metrics, and remediation prioritization. The manager also develops the engineering and construction team, manages outsourced engineering talent when needed, and builds succession plans for key technical authority roles. Expect 20–30% travel for new-site due diligence, commissioning support, and vendor/OEM engineering reviews.

The stated compensation range is $156,800–$196,000. This is a remote role. Eligible non-sales employees may participate in DigitalOcean’s annual bonus plan and may be eligible for a new-hire equity grant, subject to plan terms and local eligibility. The role may also be eligible for an Employee Stock Purchase Program in participating countries. Benefits may include flexible time off, local team meetups, mental health and well-being support, and reimbursement for relevant conferences, training, and education, subject to company policy and location-specific eligibility.

Requirements

• Bachelor of Science in Electrical, Mechanical, Chemical, or a related Engineering discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• At least 10 years of experience in mission-critical engineering, including direct data center infrastructure experience.
• At least 5 years leading engineering teams, including hiring, developing, and retaining senior technical talent.
• At least 5 years of experience managing outsourced engineering teams.
• Deep hands-on experience with liquid cooling systems, including chillers, heat exchangers, pumps, CDUs, secondary loop design, leak detection, and mitigation; UPS; generators; switchgear; and controls/automation platforms.
• Experience running or directly supporting root-cause analysis with OEMs on infrastructure component failures and translating vendor findings into engineering decisions.
• Working knowledge of relevant electrical, mechanical, and safety codes, including NFPA 70E and local electrical code, and experience partnering with Legal/EHS on compliance reviews.
• Experience conducting technical due diligence on data center facilities, including colocation or build-to-suit facilities, before lease or construction commitment.
• Track record of building engineering standards that scale across multiple sites and remain effective during rapid, concurrent expansion.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow a multidisciplinary team covering electrical, mechanical, controls/automation, and data center infrastructure engineering and construction.
• Develop and own engineering standards and specifications for AI/GPU data centers, including liquid cooling, power distribution, and controls/automation.
• Serve as the technical authority and final engineering escalation point for infrastructure issues Site Operations and Design & Deployment cannot resolve.
• Provide engineering due diligence on new colocation and build-to-suit facilities before signing, assessing power capacity, cooling topology, electrical infrastructure condition, and expansion feasibility.
• Own vendor and OEM infrastructure engineering relationships, lead root-cause engagements when infrastructure fails, and hold vendors accountable for design defects.
• Lead or sponsor root-cause analysis for infrastructure-driven incidents and ensure resulting engineering corrective actions are verified as complete.
• Own infrastructure specifications, technical documentation, and change governance, requiring engineering sign-off for infrastructure-layer changes.
• Partner with Site Operations, Deployment, Construction, and Design to ensure engineering standards are practical to build and operate.
• Track and report infrastructure reliability metrics across the fleet and prioritize engineering investment against high-risk, recurring failure modes.
• Lead compliance review of infrastructure standards against relevant codes and safety requirements in partnership with Legal and EHS.
• Build and maintain an audit process to review existing sites against current engineering standards and prioritize remediation of non-compliant assets.
• Manage outsourced engineering talent when required to keep up with workload.
• Develop engineering and construction talent and build a succession plan for key technical authority roles.
• Travel 20–30% for new-site due diligence, commissioning support, and vendor/OEM engineering reviews.

Benefits

• Annual bonus plan eligibility for eligible non-sales employees.
• Potential eligibility for a new-hire equity grant, subject to plan terms and local eligibility.
• Employee Stock Purchase Program opportunity in participating countries.
• Flexible time off may be included in benefits, depending on location and eligibility.
• Local team meetups may be included in benefits, depending on location and eligibility.
• Mental health and well-being support may be included in benefits, depending on location and eligibility.
• Reimbursement for relevant conferences, training, and education, subject to company policy.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior