Senior Director, Data Center Design & Engineering (AI Data Centers)

About the role

CleanSpark, a data center developer with a portfolio of more than 1.8 GW of power, land and data centers across the United States, is looking for a Senior Director, Data Center Design & Engineering for its AI data center portfolio. The role is the owner-side engineering authority: it owns the engineering standards, system architecture, design criteria and technical decisions that govern how AI data centers are designed, powered, cooled, built, commissioned and handed over to operations. It reports to the VP, Projects and serves as the technical lead for the Director, Data Center Design.

Key responsibilities

• Maintain engineering standards, Basis of Design (BoD) and design criteria across electrical, mechanical, civil, structural, controls, telecom and site disciplines.
• Approve system architecture for MV/LV distribution, generation and backup power, UPS and mechanical cooling (air and liquid) for high-density AI/HPC loads, including redundancy and resilience targets.
• Lead interfaces with utilities and substation owners: load studies, interconnection, substation and switchyard design, protection and coordination, metering and energization sequencing.
• Review and approve technical studies, calculations, single-line diagrams and equipment selections, and guide external design consultants.
• Lead constructability, value engineering and design-for-schedule reviews, and resolve technical issues, RFIs and design conflicts beyond the consultant's authority.
• Own the owner-side commissioning program: scope, commissioning agents, test scripts, integrated systems testing and sign-off on energization and turnover.
• Prepare handover documentation, as-builts, O&M requirements, spare parts and maintainability criteria, and align design intent with Operations.
• Evaluate vendor options, long-lead procurement specs and standard equipment platforms, and support technical bid evaluations.
• Assess engineering risk across the portfolio and drive mitigation into standards and project plans.
• Support tenant and customer technical requirements, and build and mentor the in-house engineering team.

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical or Mechanical Engineering or a closely related discipline.
• 15+ years of progressive experience designing data center, mission-critical or large-scale power and industrial facilities, including at least 5 years in a senior technical leadership role.
• Experience leading commissioning (Levels 1-5) and facility turnover on mission-critical projects.
• Ability to lead consultants, contractors and internal staff and to defend technical decisions with executives, customers and partners.
• Preferred: PE license, experience with AI/HPC or hyperscale data centers, owner-side experience with a hyperscaler or colocation provider, and experience governing engineering standards across multiple sites.

Required skills

• Deep knowledge of data center electrical (MV/LV distribution, UPS, protection and coordination) and mechanical (chilled water, air and liquid cooling) infrastructure.
• Utility interconnection, substation design and energization planning.
• Familiarity with Uptime Institute Tier concepts, ASHRAE TC 9.9, NEC/NFPA 70 and 70E, IEEE power standards and energy codes.