Principal Design Engineer

Job description

Crusoe is on a mission to accelerate the abundance of energy and intelligence. As the only vertically integrated AI infrastructure company built from the ground up, we own and operate each layer of the stack — from electrons to tokens — to power the world's most ambitious AI workloads. When you join Crusoe, you join a team that is building the future, faster. We're in the midst of the greatest industrial revolution of our time. The demand for AI compute is boundless, and power is a bottleneck. We're solving that — with an energy-first approach that makes AI infrastructure better for the world and faster for the people innovating with AI. We're looking for problem-solving, opportunity-finding teammates with a sense of urgency, who believe in the scale of our ambition and thrive on a path not fully paved — people who want to grow their careers alongside a team of experts across energy, manufacturing, data center construction, and cloud services. If you want to do the most meaningful work of your career, help our customers and partners advance their AI strategies, and be part of a high-performing team that believes in each other, come build with us at Crusoe. About This Role: Crusoe is a vertically integrated AI Factory company with a mission to accelerate the abundance of energy and intelligence. Our competitive advantage—"Speed is the only moat"—is directly tied to our ability to rapidly design, manufacture, and deploy our own modular power and compute infrastructure. We are seeking a Principal Design Engineer to own the full-lifecycle engineering design of our "Spark" modular data center (MDC) product line. You will be the technical authority across electrical, mechanical, thermal, and structural domains and the primary engineering interface to our external design and contract manufacturing partners. You will translate aggressive product roadmap requirements into manufacturable, deployable, and safe physical systems that power the next generation of AI workloads. What You’ll Be Working On: - Design Ownership & First-Principles Engineering: Drive the medium- and low-voltage electrical architecture, structural enclosure design, and thermal management for Direct Liquid Cooling (DLC/CDU). - Design for Manufacturing (DFM): Embed DFM best practices into every design revision, ensuring engineering packages are optimized for high-volume production at Crusoe Industries and external manufacturing partners. - Safety & Compliance: Ensure all designs comply with applicable safety standards including UL, CE, NEC, NFPA, and OSHA for modular and containerized electrical equipment. - Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT): Own the development and continuous improvement of FAT protocols to verify electrical distribution, protection, UPS performance, and structural integrity before unit release. - External Partner Management: Serve as the primary engineering contact for all external design firms and specialty consultants, owning scope definition, deliverable quality, and schedule accountability. - Liquid Cooling Transition: Lead systems-level engineering for the shift from air-cooled units to DLC/CDU architectures, managing integration impacts on power density and structural loads. - Technical Documentation: Own the complete engineering design package for each Spark version, including drawings, specifications, BOMs, and interface control documents ready for manufacturing hand-off. What You’ll Bring to the Team: - Education: Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related discipline. A Master’s degree and an active Professional Engineer (PE) license are strongly preferred. - Experience: 10+ years of progressive engineering experience in data center design, modular infrastructure, or industrial power systems. - Partner Management: 10+ years of demonstrated experience managing external design engineering partners with direct accountability for budget and schedule. - Technical Depth: Mastery across medium-voltage power distribution, structural analysis for containerized systems, heat transfer fundamentals, and seismic/wind load calculations. - Safety Mastery: Expert knowledge of electrical safety standards (NFPA 70E), arc flash hazard analysis, and UL/CE compliance. - Software Proficiency: Proficiency with CAD/BIM platforms, electrical single-line design tools, and/or thermal simulation software. Bonus Points: - Familiarity with the physical layer requirements of high-performance computing (HPC) and large-scale AI workloads. - Experience with agency certification strategies for modular electrical equipment in multiple global jurisdictions. - Track record of scaling a physical product from prototype through high-volume production. Benefits: - Competitive compensation - Restricted Stock Units - Paid time off & paid holidays - Comprehensive health, dental & vision insurance - Employer contributions to HSA account - Paid parental leave - Paid life insurance, short-term and long-term disability - Professional development & tuition reimbursement - Mental health & wellness support - Commuter benefits (parking & transit) - Cell phone stipend - 401(k) Retirement plan with company match up to 4% of salary - Volunteer time off Compensation Range: Compensation will be paid in the range of $200,000 – $240,000 + Bonus. Restricted Stock Units are included in all offers. Compensation to be determined by the applicant's education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity and market alignment Crusoe is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, citizenship, marital status, sex/gender, sexual preference/ orientation, gender identity, age, veteran status, national origin, or any other status protected by law or regulation.