Senior Director, Data Center Design & Engineering

Job Overview

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 technical basis of the program: engineering standards, system architecture, design criteria, and the technical decisions that determine how CleanSpark’s AI data centers are designed, powered, cooled, built, commissioned, and handed over to Operations.

Where the Director, Data Center Design manages external design consultants and delivers coordinated design packages, the Senior Director sets the engineering direction those packages must follow. This role carries hands-on technical depth across electrical and mechanical infrastructure, redundancy and resilience, utility and substation interfaces, constructability, commissioning, and operational readiness, and is accountable for the engineering quality and performance of the delivered facility.

The Senior Director works closely with Development, Power, Construction, Operations, Legal, Finance, and external engineering, commissioning, and utility partners, and provides technical leadership to the Director, Data Center Design and the broader design team. The role is central to building CleanSpark’s in-house engineering capability and reducing dependency on external design partners.

Technical Decision Authority & Reporting Relationships

Reports to the VP, Projects. Serves as the technical lead for the Director, Data Center Design; the Director continues to manage external designers and day-to-day design deliverables, while the Senior Director owns the engineering standards, system selections, and technical decisions those deliverables must satisfy.

Holds final owner-side technical authority on engineering standards, Basis of Design (BoD), 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, and escalated to executive leadership as needed.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and maintain CleanSpark’s 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 medium-voltage and low-voltage electrical distribution, generation and backup power, UPS, and mechanical cooling (air and liquid) for high-density AI/HPC loads, including redundancy and resilience targets (e.g., N, N+1, 2N) and associated trade-offs
• Lead engineering interfaces with utilities and substation owners: load studies, interconnection requirements, substation and switchyard design, protection and coordination, metering, and energization sequencing in support of path-to-power planning
• 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 that exceed consultant or project-team authority
• Own the owner-side commissioning program: define commissioning scope and levels, approve commissioning agents and test scripts, witness integrated systems testing, and sign off on energization and turnover readiness
• Lead operational readiness from an engineering standpoint: 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 with technical bid evaluations and scopes of work
• Assess engineering risk across the portfolio; identify design, power, cooling, and integration risks early and drive mitigation into standards and project plans
• Support tenant and customer technical requirements, including design review responses, change evaluations, and technical representation in customer and partner forums
• Drive standardization and repeatability across sites so designs scale across the portfolio with predictable cost, schedule, and performance
• Build and mentor the in-house engineering team; 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.

This role requires professionalism, respect, strong communication, and the ability to work well with others in a team-oriented, inclusive environment.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related engineering discipline
• 15+ years of progressive experience in the 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 (MV/LV distribution, generation, UPS, protection and coordination) and mechanical infrastructure (chilled water, air and liquid cooling, 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 to 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, with the ability to explain complex technical trade-offs clearly to non-technical stakeholders

Preferred Qualifications

• Professional Engineer (PE) license strongly preferred
• 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