Senior Manager Physical Infrastructure Engineering

DigitalOcean • Seattle, WA

4d • $156,800 - $196,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

DigitalOcean is seeking a Senior Manager of Physical Infrastructure Engineering to lead a multidisciplinary team responsible for the engineering standards, specifications, and technical decisions used across its global data center footprint. The role is the technical authority for data center infrastructure, including electrical, mechanical, controls/automation, and infrastructure engineering and construction. The team’s standards guide new builds, retrofits, and deployments, with a focus on reliable AI/GPU infrastructure at scale, including liquid cooling, power distribution, and automation.

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 experience with data center infrastructure.
• 5+ years leading engineering teams, including hiring, developing, and retaining senior technical talent.
• 5+ years 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, 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 that Site Operations and Design & Deployment cannot resolve.
• Conduct engineering due diligence on prospective 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 for infrastructure failures 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, ensuring infrastructure changes receive engineering sign-off.
• 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 compliance reviews 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 as needed to meet workload demands.
• Develop engineering and construction talent on the team and build succession plans for key technical authority roles.
• Travel 20–30% for new-site due diligence, commissioning support, and vendor/OEM engineering reviews.

Benefits

• Eligible to 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 the 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.

What This Job Offers

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