Senior Manager Datacenter Engineering
About The Position
DigitalOcean is seeking a Senior Manager of Physical Infrastructure Engineering to lead the multidisciplinary engineering work that keeps AI/GPU data center infrastructure reliable at scale. The role oversees electrical, mechanical, controls/automation, and data center infrastructure engineering and construction, and owns the standards, specifications, technical decisions, and reliability outcomes applied across new builds, retrofits, and deployments throughout DigitalOcean’s global footprint. The position is the technical authority for data center infrastructure and the final engineering escalation point for issues that Site Operations and Design & Deployment cannot resolve. It owns engineering standards and specifications for areas such as liquid cooling, power distribution, and controls/automation; provides technical due diligence for prospective facilities; manages OEM and vendor engineering relationships; and leads root-cause analysis and corrective actions. The role also governs infrastructure changes, monitors fleet reliability, supports compliance reviews, audits existing sites for conformance, manages outsourced engineering resources where needed, and develops the engineering and construction talent on the team. It reports directly to the VP of Data Center Operations & Engineering and requires an expected 20–30% travel for site due diligence, commissioning support, and vendor/OEM engineering reviews.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Chemical, or a related Engineering discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
- 10+ years of experience in mission-critical engineering, including direct data center infrastructure experience.
- 5+ years leading engineering teams, including hiring, developing, and retaining senior technical talent.
- 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 codes, 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 support 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 beyond the resolution of Site Operations and Design & Deployment.
- Conduct engineering due diligence on prospective colocation and build-to-suit facilities, 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 analyses for infrastructure-driven incidents and ensure engineering corrective actions are completed and verified.
- 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 and recurring failure modes.
- Lead reviews of infrastructure standards for compliance with applicable 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 as needed to meet workload demands.
- Develop engineering and construction talent and build succession plans for key technical authority roles.
- Travel approximately 20–30% for new-site due diligence, commissioning support, and vendor/OEM engineering reviews.
Benefits
- Eligible employees may participate in DigitalOcean’s annual bonus plan; bonus amounts depend on company and individual performance.
- May be eligible for a new-hire equity grant, subject to plan terms and local eligibility.
- Eligible employees may receive equity compensation, which may include participation in an Employee Stock Purchase Program in participating countries.
- Reimbursement for relevant conferences, training, and education, subject to company policy.
- Benefits may include flexible time off, local team meetups, and mental health and well-being support; specific benefits and eligibility vary by location.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
