Head of Data Center Design

Job description

# **Head of Data Center Design** ## **About the role** We are hiring a **Head of Data Center Design** for our client — a company building a **large-scale AI data center** (with a planned capacity of **300 MW**) in Poland, on a site currently undergoing active reconstruction into modern technological infrastructure. The first phase, with a capacity of 50 MW, is planned to go live this year. ## **Role description** The Head of Data Center Design owns the **overall technical design and architecture** of the company's data centers, from initial site feasibility through approved engineering drawings. This role defines the technical vision — **modular POD architecture, cooling strategy (including DLC), power topology**, and reliability targets — and ensures that every design decision, from equipment selection to construction execution, stays aligned with that vision and meets company requirements. This is a **hands-on technical authority role** — the person must personally own decisions on power, cooling/DLC, and overall critical-infrastructure architecture, not just manage the design process. ## **Responsibilities** - **Own** the overall technical design and architecture of the data centers - Define and maintain the **Basis of Design**: modular POD architecture, cooling strategy, power topology, fire suppression, networking - Set design standards for IT deployment (rack layout, containerization, CDU placement) - **Lead design reviews** and approve engineering drawings across disciplines (electrical, mechanical, structural, fire, networking) - Own **PUE, capacity, and reliability targets** at the design stage - Coordinate with equipment and technology partners on specs and integration requirements - Work with implementation teams to ensure **construction execution matches approved design intent** - Evaluate and approve design changes for technical impact (cooling, power, capacity, redundancy) - Lead **site selection technical criteria and feasibility studies** (power availability, grid connection, cooling options) ## **Required experience** - **5+ years** of experience in **hyperscale/modern data center design**, with direct, current or recent ownership of **multidisciplinary DC design** across mechanical, cooling/DLC, and high-density GPU infrastructure — **3+ years in a design leadership role** - Demonstrated ownership of **Basis of Design** documentation for large-scale, modern data center facilities - **Strong hands-on technical expertise in power topology and cooling strategy, including DLC** — this must be personal technical authority, not delegated/coordinated through others - Experience with **high-density GPU/HPC compute environments** and modular/POD-based deployment architectures - Track record of **leading multidisciplinary design reviews** and approving engineering drawings across trades - **English proficiency** sufficient for international technical documentation and stakeholder communication ## **Nice to Have** - **Tier III/IV certification (Uptime Institute)**, or direct experience with certification processes - Experience with **NVIDIA GB200/GB300** or equivalent high-density GPU cluster infrastructure - Background spanning both **design and construction execution** phases - Experience with **EU regulatory frameworks** for power, environmental, and building compliance - Fire suppression and structural loading design experience (beyond coordination level)