Senior Manager Datacenter Engineering

DigitalOcean • Memphis, TN

5d • $156,800 - $196,000 • Remote

About The Position

DigitalOcean is seeking a Senior Manager of Physical Infrastructure Engineering to lead the multidisciplinary engineering team responsible for the standards, specifications, and technical decisions governing data center builds, retrofits, and deployments across its global footprint. The role covers electrical, mechanical, controls/automation, and infrastructure engineering and construction, with a focus on keeping AI/GPU infrastructure reliable at scale. The position owns engineering standards and the technical judgment behind them, while Design & Deployment executes layouts and installations to those standards. It reports directly to the VP of Data Center Operations & Engineering.

The Senior Manager will set infrastructure requirements for AI/GPU data centers, including liquid cooling, power distribution, and controls/automation; serve as the final engineering escalation point for unresolved infrastructure issues; and conduct technical due diligence on prospective colocation and build-to-suit facilities. The role also owns vendor and OEM engineering relationships, infrastructure incident analysis and corrective actions, technical documentation and change governance, compliance reviews, fleet audits, and reliability metrics. The position partners with Site Operations, Deployment, Construction, Design, Legal, and EHS, manages outsourced engineering talent as needed, and develops the team's technical and succession capabilities.

The role is remote and expects 20–30% travel for new-site due diligence, commissioning support, and vendor/OEM engineering reviews. The stated salary range is $156,800–$196,000. The role is eligible for the annual bonus plan and may be eligible for a new-hire equity grant, subject to plan terms and local eligibility. DigitalOcean also describes employee reimbursement for relevant conferences, training, and education, as well as benefits that may include flexible time off, local team meetups, and mental health and well-being support; benefits and eligibility vary by location.

Requirements

• Bachelor of Science in Electrical, Mechanical, Chemical, or a related Engineering discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• At least 10 years of mission-critical engineering experience, 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 conducting 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 developing 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.
• Act as the technical authority and final engineering escalation point for infrastructure issues that Site Operations and Design & Deployment cannot resolve.
• Conduct engineering due diligence on prospective colocation and build-to-suit facilities, assessing power capacity, cooling topology, electrical infrastructure condition, and expansion feasibility.
• Own engineering relationships with infrastructure vendors and OEMs; 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 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 standards are practical to build and operate.
• Track and report fleet infrastructure reliability metrics and prioritize investment against high-risk and recurring failure modes.
• Lead compliance reviews of infrastructure standards against applicable codes and safety requirements in partnership with Legal and EHS.
• Build and maintain a process for auditing 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 establish succession plans for key technical authority roles.
• Support new-site due diligence, commissioning, and vendor/OEM engineering reviews through expected travel of 20–30%.

Benefits

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

What This Job Offers

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