Senior Manager, Physical Infrastructure Engineering

The posting, as DigitalOcean wrote it

Dive in and do the best work of your career at DigitalOcean. Journey alongside a strong community of top talent who are relentless in their drive to build the simplest scalable cloud. If you have a growth mindset, naturally like to think big and bold, and are energized by the fast-paced environment of a true industry disruptor, you’ll find your place here. We value winning together—while learning, having fun, and making a profound difference for the dreamers and builders in the world.

We are looking for a Senior Manager of Physical Infrastructure Engineering who is passionate about the electrical, mechanical, and controls engineering that keeps leading-edge AI/GPU infrastructure running reliably at scale.

As Senior Manager of Physical Infrastructure Engineering, you will lead a multidisciplinary engineering team — electrical, mechanical, controls/automation, and infrastructure engineering and construction — responsible for the standards, specifications, and technical decisions that every new build, retrofit, and deployment across DigitalOcean's global footprint must meet. You are the technical authority for data center infrastructure: Design & Deployment executes floor layouts and installs against your team’s standards; you own the standards themselves, the engineering judgment behind them, and the reliability outcomes that follow. This role reports directly to the VP of Data Center Operations & Engineering.

What You’ll Do

• Lead and grow a multidisciplinary team covering electrical, mechanical, controls/automation, and data center infrastructure engineering and construction.
• Develop and own engineering standards and specifications for AI/GPU data centers, including liquid cooling (CDU sizing, secondary loop design, leak detection), power distribution, and controls/automation.
• Serve as the technical authority and final engineering escalation point for infrastructure issues that Site Operations and Design & Deployment cannot resolve at their level.
• Provide engineering due diligence on new colocation and build-to-suit facilities before signing — power capacity, cooling topology, electrical infrastructure condition, and expansion feasibility.
• Own vendor and OEM infrastructure engineering relationships (e.g., CDU, UPS, generator, and switchgear manufacturers) — drive root-cause engagements when infrastructure fails, and hold vendors accountable for design defects, not just field service.
• Lead or sponsor root-cause analysis for infrastructure-driven incidents, and own the resulting engineering corrective actions through to verified completion, not just documentation.
• Own infrastructure specifications, technical documentation, and change governance — nothing changes at the infrastructure layer without engineering sign-off.
• Partner with Site Operations, Deployment, Construction, and Design organizations to ensure engineering standards are practical to build and operate, not just technically correct on paper.
• Track and r

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ofessional development and provides resources to support your growth. We provide employees with reimbursement for relevant conferences, training, and education, subject to company policy.

• We care about your well-being. We take a comprehensive approach to our total rewards packages because we know different things drive different people. Our benefits are designed to support you and may include flexible time off, local team meetups, and mental health and well being support. Our benefits philosophy is consistent globally, but specific benefits and eligibility vary by location to reflect local needs and regulations.
• We reward our employees. The salary range for this position is based on market data, relevant years of experience, and skills. Eligible employees may also receive equity compensation, which may include a new hire equity grant and, in participating countries, the opportunity to participate in our Employee Stock Purchase Program. Equity awards are subject to approval and the terms of the applicable plan.
• Non-sales roles : In addition to base salary, this role is eligible to participate in DigitalOcean’s annual bonus plan and may be eligible for a new hire equity grant, subject to plan terms and local eligibility. Bonus amounts depend on company and individual performance.
• Sales roles (sales compensation eligible) : In addition to base salary, this role may be eligible to earn incentive compensation under the applicable sales compensation plan and may be eligible for a new hire equity grant, subject to plan terms and local eligibility.
• DigitalOcean is an equal-opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Application Limit: You may apply to a maximum of 3 positions within any 180-day period. This policy promotes better role-candidate matching and encourages thoughtful applications where your qualifications align most strongly.