Lead Mechanical Engineer, Deployment Engineering

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 DEPLOYMENT ENGINEERING TEAM

Examples of key problems the team is working on

- Close the gap between engineering-complete and operations-ready. A design that passes review still has to survive commissioning, integration, and energization, and that gap is where deployment work lives.

- Make the tenth site faster and cleaner than the first. Every deployment feeds field learnings back into the standards, so a one-off fight at one site becomes a repeatable playbook at the next.

- Hand off infrastructure that's reliable from the moment it goes live. AI compute workloads don't tolerate a shaky handover, so what this team commissions has to run right the day operations takes over.

ROLE SCOPE

- Lead end-to-end deployment and commissioning of mechanical and cooling systems across concurrent sites, from pre-deployment readiness through live handover to operations.

- Own operational reliability of cooling infrastructure across the live fleet, diagnosing thermal performance issues and implementing fixes that hold at scale.

- Build and maintain mechanical commissioning standards, acceptance test procedures, and runbooks for cooling systems (chillers, CDUs, direct liquid cooling) that site teams run independently.

- Serve as the on-site technical authority through equipment startup, performance validation, and load testing, resolving field failures before they delay handover.

- Set and enforce mechanical reliability standards across the portfolio: preventive maintenance thresholds, redundancy validation, and performance benchmarks under live AI load.

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 hold a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field.

- You've owned field deployment and commissioning of mechanical systems on data centers or high-density mission-critical facilities.

- You've commissioned and troubleshot cooling systems (chilled water, CDUs, or direct liquid cooling) on live or commissioning-phase infrastructure.

- You've built commissioning standards, acceptance test procedures, and maintenance runbooks that hold up at a portfolio level.

- You've diagnosed and resolved mechanical failures and thermal performance issues on live infrastructure under time pressure.

- You've mentored mechanical engineers in the field and built their ability to commission independently.

- You can travel to deployment and operations sites up to 50 percent of the time.

- Bonus: Professional Engineer (PE) license. Direct-to-chip or liquid cooling operational experience at AI-class rack densities. Experience building or leading a mechanical commissioning or reliability program across multiple concurrent sites. Familiarity with CMMS platforms, predictive maintenance tools, and thermal monitoring systems. Proficiency in CFD tools (6SigmaET, Icepak) for operational troubleshooting and thermal validation.

Compensation: $300,000 - $340,000 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.