Lead / Principal Controls Engineer, Design Development

ABOUT FLUIDSTACK

We exist to make humanity more free. For most of human history, you farmed or you starved. Technology gave people more time for the things they wanted to do, instead of things they had to do. Powerful AI will be the biggest lever for human choice we've ever built - but only if models are aligned with what humanity actually wants. There are groups building AI who don't share these goals. Whoever deploys frontier compute infrastructure fastest will decide whether AI expands human freedom or shrinks it.

We're singularly focused on delivering 10 to 100s of GWs of compute faster than anyone else, rethinking every layer of the stack. We acquire power, design and build data centers, and operate them - with teams spanning hardware and software. Speed and scale are our key differentiators. Come be a part of building civilization-scale infrastructure for AI.

We hire people who care deeply about this problem space. If that is you, please apply!

HOW WE OPERATE

- Extreme ownership. Full autonomy. Own things end to end often taking on scope outside your core role without being asked to get things done.

- Velocity. We drive everything forward as fast as possible.

- First principles. Challenge every assumption. Zero analogy thinking, no egos, the best idea wins.

- Love of the game. The frontier of AI is the most interesting problem of our time. We put in long hours at high intensity to push the frontier forward.

THE CONTROLS TEAM

Examples of key problems the team is working on

- Deliver the controls behind 50GW+ of data centers this decade.

- Own real-time load control and MEP and behind-the-meter integration.

- Automate Level 4 and Level 5 commissioning.

- Drive autonomous, robotic deployment.

ROLE SCOPE

- Lead the controls design development team, owning the template designs, SOOs, points lists, BOMs, and Division 25 specifications that every modular data center build inherits.

- Set the technical direction for controls design, deciding the standards, platforms, and reference architectures the whole fleet builds from.

- Drive design decisions to resolution across mechanical, electrical, commissioning, and construction, so controls design is never the thing holding up a site's schedule.

- Grow the team, hiring controls engineers and raising the bar on the design work they produce.

- Own the quality and repeatability of every design package that leaves the team, so the hundredth site is designed faster and cleaner than the first.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

The below is a starting point. We always make space for exceptional people, so if you don’t fit this role exactly, tell us where you would https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/fluidstack/05c2e69c-42f9-4fcb-9cf0-a467aaf98f1c.

- You’ve led a controls or design engineering team, owning both the technical output and the people producing it.

- You’ve set controls design standards, reference architectures, or specifications that others built from across multiple projects, not just delivered your own designs.

- You’ve authored or owned Division 25 integrated automation specifications, and you know what separates a spec that holds up in the field from one that generates change orders.

- You’ve written sequences of operations and seen them through to working code, so you can tell when a design is genuinely buildable and not just correct on paper.

- You make design decisions fast and defend them across mechanical, electrical, and construction stakeholders who each want something different.

- You’ve hired controls engineers and grown people from competent to excellent, and other teams trust the work your team ships.

- Bonus: Modular or productized data center delivery. Data center mechanical and electrical systems (chiller plants, CRAH/CRAC, fan wall units, switchgear). BMS and SCADA platforms over BACnet and Modbus. CSI MasterFormat and Division 25 authorship. Building a controls design function up from a small team.

Compensation: $250,000 - $300,000 per year, depending on experience, skills, qualifications, and location. Offers equity in the form of stock options.

We are committed to pay equity and transparency.

You will receive a confirmation email once your application has successfully been accepted. If there is an error with your submission and you did not receive a confirmation email, please email careers@fluidstack.io with your resume/CV, the role you've applied for, and the date you submitted your application-- someone from our recruiting team will be in touch.