Data Center Controls Engineer

About the company

The company’s mission is to create reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems. We want AI to be safe and beneficial for our users and for society as a whole. Our team is a quickly growing group of committed researchers, engineers, policy experts, and business leaders working together to build beneficial AI systems.

About the Role

The company is seeking an experienced Datacenter Controls Engineer to join our Datacenter Infrastructure team. In this role, you will design, implement, and optimize control systems that support our global datacenter infrastructure, enabling the reliable operation of AI at scale.

You will work on cutting-edge control systems managing critical datacenter operations including liquid cooling systems (CDUs/CDMs), HVAC, electrical power monitoring systems, and building automation systems. This position requires both technical depth in industrial automation and the ability to collaborate across disciplines to deliver integrated solutions for high-density AI compute infrastructure.

Responsibilities

System Architecture & Integration

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Design and implement multi-site controls architecture across the company's global datacenter facilities

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Define network topology, redundancy, and high-availability requirements for control nodes and servers

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Develop and maintain standardized frameworks for BACnet, Modbus TCP/IP, OPC-UA, MQTT, and SNMP communication layers

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Ensure integration between control systems and enterprise networks while maintaining security boundaries and compliance with cybersecurity frameworks for industrial control systems

Control System Design & Implementation

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Define, design, develop, and implement control systems for datacenter mechanical, electrical, and building management systems with focus on AI compute environments

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Develop SCADA/BMS applications using platforms including Ignition, Niagara/Tridium, or similar HMI/supervisory systems

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Select and specify instrumentation including sensors, transmitters, actuators, and control valves for liquid cooling loops, power distribution, and environmental monitoring

Data Collection & Visualization

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Architect and supervise deployment of centralized telemetry systems capable of storing high-resolution time-series data from power, thermal, and environmental sensors

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Develop intuitive dashboards and visualization layers using Ignition SCADA, Grafana, or comparable frameworks for facilities, operations, and engineering teams

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Leverage control systems to enable performance insights, fault detection, and predictive maintenance capabilities

Construction Integration & Documentation

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Participate in new design and construction projects to ensure controls and BMS standards are embedded from design through commissioning

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Define and review controls and instrumentation specifications in architectural and MEP packages

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Create comprehensive technical documentation including P&IDs, control narratives, sequence of operations, and commissioning procedures

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Validate installed systems during commissioning for proper network configuration, protocol compatibility, and data visibility

Minimum Qualifications

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Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Electrical, Controls, Mechanical, Computer) or equivalent practical experience

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7+ years of experience in control systems design and implementation for industrial automation, building automation, or datacenter systems

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Deep familiarity with industrial communication protocols: BACnet, Modbus TCP/IP, OPC-UA, MQTT, SNMP, Ethernet-IP

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Experience with instrumentation selection, control panel design, and control system integration

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Working knowledge of network architecture including subnets, VLANs, firewall rules, and IP management

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Strong documentation skills and ability to work effectively in cross-functional teams

Preferred Qualifications

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10+ years in datacenter, critical facilities, or mission-critical infrastructure environments

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Experience with liquid cooling systems including CDUs, CDMs, and cooling tower control systems

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Background in high-density rack integration environments and AI/ML compute infrastructure

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Experience designing or deploying BMS/SCADA systems such as Ignition, Niagara/Tridium, Wonderware, or similar

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Strong background in database integration (SQL Server, InfluxDB, PostgreSQL, TimescaleDB) and data logging architecture

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Proficiency in Python or scripting for automation/configuration within SCADA/BMS frameworks

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Experience deploying multi-site redundant controls servers with high-availability requirements

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Professional Engineering (PE) license or vendor certifications (Schneider, Rockwell, Siemens)

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Knowledge of relevant codes and standards: ASHRAE, NFPA, IEEE, ISA

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Familiarity with Grafana, Node-RED, Ignition Perspective, or equivalent visualization tools

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Experience bridging cloud orchestration systems with facility-level power controls and load management (e.g., DCIM, BMS, EPMS)

The annual compensation range for this role is listed below.

For sales roles, the range provided is the role’s On Target Earnings ("OTE") range, meaning that the range includes both the sales commissions/sales bonuses target and annual base salary for the role.

Annual Salary

$320,000 — $405,000 USD

Logistics

Minimum education: Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education, training, and/or experience

Required field of study:  A field relevant to the role as demonstrated through coursework, training, or professional experience

Minimum years of experience: Years of experience required will correlate with the internal job level requirements for the position

Location-based hybrid policy: Currently, we expect all staff to be in one of our offices at least 25% of the time. However, some roles may require more time in our offices.

Visa sponsorship:  We do sponsor visas! However, we aren't able to successfully sponsor visas for every role and every candidate. But if we make you an offer, we will make every reasonable effort to get you a visa, and we retain an immigration lawyer to help with this.

For roles performing work in California: We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with arrest or conviction records or criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act.

We encourage you to apply even if you do not believe you meet every single qualification. Not all strong candidates will meet every single qualification as listed.  Research shows that people who identify as being from underrepresented groups are more prone to experiencing imposter syndrome and doubting the strength of their candidacy, so we urge you not to exclude yourself prematurely and to submit an application if you're interested in this work. We think AI systems like the ones we're building have enormous social and ethical implications. We think this makes representation even more important, and we strive to include a range of diverse perspectives on our team.

Your safety matters to us. To protect yourself from potential scams, remember that the company recruiters only contact you from [link for members] email addresses. In some cases, we may partner with vetted recruiting agencies who will identify themselves as working on behalf of the company. Be cautious of emails from other domains. Legitimate the company recruiters will never ask for money, fees, or banking information before your first day. If you're ever unsure about a communication, don't click any links—visit  the company  directly for confirmed position openings.

How we're different

We believe that the highest-impact AI research will be big science. At the company we work as a single cohesive team on just a few large-scale research efforts. And we value impact — advancing our long-term goals of steerable, trustworthy AI — rather than work on smaller and more specific puzzles. We view AI research as an empirical science, which has as much in common with physics and biology as with traditional efforts in computer science. We're an extremely collaborative group, and we host frequent research discussions to ensure that we are pursuing the highest-impact work at any given time. As such, we greatly value communication skills.

The easiest way to understand our research directions is to read our recent research. This research continues many of the directions our team worked on prior to the company, including: GPT-3, Circuit-Based Interpretability, Multimodal Neurons, Scaling Laws, AI & Compute, Concrete Problems in AI Safety, and Learning from Human Preferences.

Come work with us!

The company is a public benefit corporation headquartered in San Francisco. We offer competitive compensation and benefits, optional equity donation matching, generous vacation and parental leave, flexible working hours, and a lovely office space in which to collaborate with colleagues. Guidance on Candidates' AI Usage:  Learn about  our policy for using AI in our application process.