Data Center Design Engineer

We are seeking a Data Center Design Engineer to design Cloudflare's pending and future infrastructure deployments for generational improvement in cost, quality, and speed of deployment.

In this role, you will lead electrical design and end-to-end execution for new sites, expansions, and infrastructure upgrades supporting compute, storage, and high-density liquid-cooled GPU deployments.

Responsibilities:

• Translate data center capacity requirements into actionable white space design and/or rack plans within individual data center contract constraints for power, cooling
• Manage implementation phase of cage projects with data center providers
• Design low voltage structured cabling, fiber, cross-connect & conveyance infrastructure as well as any supporting infrastructure on the data center ceiling/floor
• Work with supply chain team on rack integration plans and location deployment qualification
• Work cross-functionally with Cloudflare data center engineering team and other internal teams (capacity planning, network strategy, security) to verify scope and solution and create repeatable standard installation procedures
• Take ownership of and lead projects to design and implement data center expansions or new data centers on tight deadlines with minimal oversight
• Technical support in negotiations with external data center partners
• Assist in RFP preparation, review and cost/engineering analysis
• Review one-line diagrams and cooling equations for new and existing data centers (Data Center M&E)
• Power component (PDU) review/approval for Hardware sourcing team
• Implement, document and maintain power consumption tracking tools and fulfil ad-hoc reporting requests
• Research new and innovative power efficiency technologies and programs
• Travel up to 25% to perform infrastructure audits, validate data center construction work and buildouts, and participate in commercial processes
• Develop and execute modular and prefabricated data center construction strategies to accelerate time-to-market and optimize cost efficiency
• Perform electrical short-circuit, coordination, arc flash, and load flow engineering studies to ensure system reliability and compliance
• Other duties as assigned
• Partner with Hardware Sourcing and SRE/Infrastructure teams to validate PDU specifications, rack integration plans, and power distribution topologies across global PoP footprints
• Lead electrical design and end-to-end execution for new sites, expansions, and infrastructure upgrades from site qualification and basis of design through energization, commissioning, and operational handover
• Serve as Cloudflare's electrical owner's representative, defining design criteria, scopes, deliverables, responsibility matrices, review gates, and acceptance requirements for data center operators, consulting engineers, contractors, commissioning agents, utilities, and vendors
• Design and review utility-to-rack infrastructure, including utility service, transformers, switchgear, generators, UPS systems, transfer systems, modular and prefabricated electrical assemblies, busway, feeders, whips, rack PDUs, grounding, and metering
• Define electrical interfaces and auxiliary-load requirements for direct-to-chip liquid cooling, coolant distribution units (CDUs), pumps, controls, leak detection, facility water systems, and heat-rejection equipment
• Develop and review basis-of-design documents, single-line diagrams, specifications, equipment schedules, calculations, sequences of operation, and interface control documents
• Oversee technical acceptance of FAT, SAT, Level 1–5 staged commissioning, integrated systems testing, failure-mode testing, deficiency closure, and turnover documentation
• Define EPMS, metering, telemetry, and capacity-tracking requirements for operational power and capacity management

Requirements:

• Bachelors or equivalent experience plus 5+ years of experience in data center mechanical and electrical design and operations/deployment/installation, P.E. certification or equivalent a plus
• Experience in HVAC, Chilled Water Systems, Condenser Water Systems, Pump controls, Glycool/Glycols, AHU units (DX, split, RTU, CRAC, etc.), CRAH, Raised Floor Systems, HOT/COLD aisle containment and Building Management Systems
• Understanding of basic electrical theory (voltage, current, power), basic circuit design & analysis, and single- and three-phase power systems
• Familiarity with Data Center M&E infrastructure design concepts, electrical/UPS topologies, cooling methodologies (central plant, room cooling, high density thermal strategies)
• Familiarity with industry standards for resilient Data Center design and Uptime Institute Tier Classifications
• Excellent verbal, written communication and presentation skills
• Experience working with multiple time zones and multiple cross-functional teams
• Experience working on time sensitive projects with delivery responsibility under pressure
• Understanding of network hardware architecture, data center switching/routing infrastructure, and optical line/transceiver power and thermal profiles
• Experience acting as an owner's technical representative, governing external delivery partners, reviewing third-party designs, resolving technical disputes, and driving noncompliance and project risks through documented closure
• Expertise in medium- and low-voltage distribution, transformers, generators, UPS systems, switchgear, transfer systems, busway, grounding, protection, and rack-level power architectures for high-density deployments
• Understanding of direct-to-chip liquid cooling and the electrical dependencies of CDUs, pumps, controls, facility water systems, and heat-rejection equipment
• Experience with construction administration, equipment testing, energization planning, staged commissioning, integrated systems testing, deficiency management, and failure-mode testing
• Experience with utility coordination, design-deviation governance, power-quality or incident investigations, and lifecycle management of mission-critical electrical infrastructure

Bonus Points:

• Degree in electrical/mechanical engineering or IT a plus
• Experience in large-scale mission critical facility infrastructure design, construction, commissioning, and/or operations a plus
• Experience with industry standards and building codes including NFPA 70/NEC, IEEE, NEMA, ANSI, UMC, ASHRAE, UBC, LEED, and Uptime Institute standards
• Knowledge of programming languages a plus
• JIRA, Confluence admin-level experience a plus
• AutoCAD experience a plus
• Experience with FLOTHERM or Tileflow a plus
• Hands-on experience with hardware validation, power/cooling capacity modeling, or thermal simulation tools (such as FLOTHERM or Tileflow)
• Familiarity with systems programming, scripting (Python, Go, or Bash), or automation workflows for power/infrastructure tracking
• Experience with NVIDIA DGX, GB200/GB300 NVL, OCP Open Rack, or comparable liquid-cooled GPU platforms and AI factory reference architectures
• Experience with ETAP, SKM PowerTools, EasyPower, or equivalent software for dynamic modeling, generator transient analysis, harmonic analysis, and UPS compatibility assessment
• Experience with EPMS/BMS integration, branch-circuit monitoring, rack-level telemetry, metering, capacity forecasting, or automated infrastructure reporting