Cloud Computing

Senior Mechanical Infrastructure Engineer

Richmond, VAOnsiteFull TimeManager / Head$130,000–$160,000 /yrPosted 1 month agoVisa sponsorship available

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Required skills

Mechanical Engineering
Data Center Engineering
cooling infrastructure
high-density datacenter
facility cooling loops
chiller systems
CDUs
Direct Liquid Cooling
rear-door heat exchangers
thermal management

Nice to have

BS Mechanical Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Manufacturing Engineering
free-air/adiabatic
closed loop air
immersion cooling

Role summary

DigitalOcean is seeking a Mechanical Manager for Data Center Engineering to lead the design, deployment, and monitoring of next-generation cooling infrastructure in high-density data center environments. This role involves acting as the primary Subject Matter Expert (SME) for cooling and secondary SME for power-related engineering topics. The manager will be responsible for leading, hiring, training, mentoring, and developing a high-performing team, while also informing facility design requirements and liaising with external engineering teams. The ideal candidate will have hands-on experience deploying and operating cooling infrastructure at scale, with a strong understanding of thermal management principles and monitoring systems.

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 want people who are passionate about optimizing and troubleshooting data center hardware at mega-scale so our customers don’t have to worry!

Reporting to the Director of Datacenter Engineering, you will lead design, deployment, and monitoring of next-generation cooling infrastructure in high-density datacenter environments. The ideal candidate will be eager to face new challenges as DigitalOcean continues to scale its data center footprint and explore new technologies to bring to our customers.

What You’ll Be Doing:

Act as primary SME for all cooling-related engineering topics at DigitalOcean

Act as secondary SME for all power-related engineering topics at DigitalOcean

Evangelize cooling technologies throughout the Infra organization and company

Develop and maintain standards and practices for DigitalOcean datacenter facilities

Inform facility design requirements with best practices for both air and liquid cooling

Liaise with colocation facility engineering teams regarding mechanical system designs

Liaise with vendor hardware engineering teams regarding hardware solution designs

Lead selection of liquid cooling systems during the hardware design, ensuring designs not only meet our current needs but can scale with us

Develop cooling monitoring tooling and systems to aggregate thermal monitoring information and provide alerting capabilities

Coordinate with operations on monitoring thresholds, failure modes and alerting

Assist in troubleshooting cause of failures and work to prevent them in the future

Work closely with Infra teams such as DC Operations and Machine Design to ensure facility readiness for next-generation solutions

What We’ll Expect From You:

Technical Degree (BS Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or Manufacturing Engineering) or equivalent practical experience

Hands-on experience deploying and operating cooling infrastructure at scale (including experience with facility cooling loops and designs, pumps, chiller systems, heat exchangers, CDUs(Cooling Distribution Units), Direct Liquid Cooling, rear-door heat exchangers, etc.)

An in-depth understanding of facility cooling technologies (free-air/adiabatic, closed loop air, cold aisle/hot aisle containment strategies, direct liquid cooling, immersion cooling, etc.)

Strong understanding of thermal management principles in mission critical environments and knowledge of best practices around thermal monitoring and alerting

Clear communication and collaboration across key stakeholders

An insatiable passion for constant improvement

Compensation Range:

$130,000 - $160,000

*This is a onsite role

JR: 2026-7651

#LI-Onsite

Why You’ll Like Working for DigitalOcean

We innovate with purpose. You’ll be a part of a cutting-edge technology company with a high-growth trajectory, who are proud to simplify cloud and AI so builders can spend more time creating software that changes the world. As part of our team, you’ll embody our "Shark" mindset: bold, ambitious, and scrappy. You'll lead with a bias for action and take true ownership of our products, customer success, and team culture.

We prioritize career development. At DigitalOcean, you’ll do the best work of your career. You will join a community of exceptional talent, collaborating closely with some of the brightest and most interesting people in the industry. We are a high-performance and fast-paced organization that will always challenge you to think big. Our talent development team prioritizes your professional 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.

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