Principal Engineer, Data Center

Back to jobs New Principal Engineer, Data Center Seattle Apply 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. At DigitalOcean, Senior Deployment Engineer IIs play a critical role in building and scaling the physical infrastructure that powers our cloud platform. Our Deployment team is responsible for new data center builds, infrastructure expansions, hardware deployments, cabling validation, site readiness, and repeatable execution standards that enable DigitalOcean to grow quickly and reliably. This role is for a senior technical deployment owner who can lead complex onsite execution, drive cross-functional alignment, resolve high-impact blockers, improve scalable deployment standards, and support the successful transition of new infrastructure into steady-state operations. You'll join a collaborative, fast-moving team with opportunities to influence large-scale deployments, new data center expansions, and next-generation infrastructure across DigitalOcean's global footprint. This role requires significant onsite deployment support and requires very high levels of domestic and international travel based on project needs. What You'll Be Doing Acting as a senior technical owner for complex deployment programs, new data center builds, large-scale expansions, rack buildouts, cluster deployments, and high-density compute infrastructure Serving as an onsite technical lead or execution owner for major deployment phases, ensuring continuity, quality, schedule alignment, and successful handoff Driving end-to-end onsite deployment execution across vendors, contractors, logistics, schedules, internal teams, dependencies, blockers, and readiness milestones Coordinating cross-functional execution with Data Center Operations, Network Engineering, Infrastructure Engineering, Logistics, Facilities, Security, Procurement, hardware vendors, and deployment partners Defining, validating, and improving deployment standards for rack layouts, cabling, labeling, hardware placement, validation workflows, readiness checks, and operational handoff Leading complex troubleshooting across physical infrastructure, server hardware, GPU platforms, liquid-cooled infrastructure, cabling, optics, network connectivity, Linux OS, tooling, and provisioning workflows Identifying systemic deployment risks and driving mitigation plans before they impact schedule, quality, availability, or operational readiness Validating site readiness across power, cooling, rack elevations, redundancy, load balancing, physical layout, cabling, labeling, DCTrack, NetBox handoff requirements, and deployment documentation Overseeing contractor and vendor execution models, including work sequencing, task assignment, quality validation, issue correction, and performance feedback Establishing repeatable deployment workflows that reduce errors, improve build consistency, accelerate validation, and improve handoff quality across sites Driving daily deployment status, escalation handling, risk communication, blocker resolution, and leadership updates for assigned projects or programs Mentoring Senior Deployment Engineers, Deployment Engineers, local Data Center Operations teams, vendors, and contractors Creating, reviewing, and approving deployment runbooks, MOPs, SOPs, validation workflows, checklists, training materials, and operational handoff documentation Partnering with architecture, network, infrastructure, and operations teams to ensure deployment execution aligns with design intent and long-term scalability Evaluating deployment outcomes, incidents, defects, and lessons learned to identify recurring issues and drive durable improvements Supporting planning and preparation for future deployments, including resourcing, sequencing, tooling, documentation, validation workflows, and lessons learned Contributing to metrics and reporting that measure deployment quality, efficiency, readiness, defect rates, vendor performance, and handoff success Helping define scalable operating models for deployment rotations, contractor support, tertiary escalation, and cross-site execution What You'll Add to DigitalOcean 6 to 8+ years of experience deploying, operating, or supporting infrastructure within large-scale data center, cloud, infrastructure engineering, network, or technical operations environments Deep understanding of data center infrastructure, including compute, networking, storage, GPU hardware, liquid-cooled infrastructure, power, cooling, rack layouts, cabling, and deployment architecture Experience leading large-scale infrastructure deployments, new data center builds, data center expansions, rack buildouts, cluster deployments, or high-density compute rollouts Strong technical troubleshooting skills across hardware, cabling, optics, Linux OS, network connectivity, provisioning workflows, deployment tooling, and site-level infrastructure issues Strong Linux command-line experience and familiarity with bash scripting, automation workflows, diagnostic tooling, logs, and validation scripts Strong understanding of data center cabling plans, front-end and back-end network patterns, port mapping, LLDP validation, labeling standards, and deployment best practices Ability to operate as a senior technical lead in ambiguous, high-pressure, high-cadence deployment environments Ability to lead through influence across contractors, vendors, peers, cross-functional teams, and leadership stakeholders Experience coordinating vendors and contractors in a project capacity, including work sequencing, quality validation, task management, issue correction, and escalation Ability to communicate deployment status, risks, tradeoffs, blockers, and recommendations clearly to leadership and cross-functional partners Ability to identify systemic deployment issues and drive scalable improvements in process, tooling, documentation, training, vendor execution, and operational handoff Ability to create, review, approve, and standardize deployment documentation, runbooks, procedures, MOPs, validation workflows, and training materials Ability to define and use key performance metrics to drive deployment quality, efficiency, consistency, and readiness Ability to support planning, resourcing, and prioritization for future deployment projects and initiatives Strong mentorship skills with the ability to train and develop junior engineers, senior engineers, local site teams, vendors, and contractors Strong ownership mindset with the ability to drive complex deployment issues from identification through resolution and prevention The ability to travel domestically and internationally based on deployment needs Support deployment schedules that include extended onsite periods, non-standard hours, or project-based rotations Valid driver's license and comfort with driving as needed Ability to remain on your feet throughout the workday Ability to lift objects up to 50 lbs

Compensation Range:

$153,600 - $192,000

• This is a hybrid role

JR:

2026-7833 #LI-Hybrid Why You'll Like Working for DigitalOcean We innovate with purpose. You'll be a part of a cutting-edge technology company with an upward trajectory, who are proud to simplify cloud and AI so builders can spend more time creating software that changes the world. As a member of the team, you will be a Shark who thinks big, bold, and scrappy, like an owner with a bias for action and a powerful sense of responsibility for customers, products, employees, and decisions. We prioritize career development. At DO, you'll do the best work of your career. You will work with some of the smartest and most interesting people in the industry. We are a high-performance organization that will always challenge you to think big. Our organizational development team will provide you with resources to ensure you keep growing. We provide employees with reimbursement for relevant conferences, training, and education. All employees have access to LinkedIn Learning's 10,000+ courses to support their continued growth and development. We care about your well-being. Regardless of your location, we will provide you with a competitive array of benefits to support you from our Employee Assistance Program to Local Employee Meetups to flexible time off policy, to name a few. While the philosophy around our benefits is the same worldwide, specific benefits may vary based on local regulations and preferences. We reward our employees. The salary range for this position is based on market data, relevant years of experience, and skills. You may qualify for a bonus in addition to base salary; bonus amounts are determined based on company and individual performance. We also provide equity compensation to eligible employees, including equity grants upon hire and the option to participate in our Employee Stock Purchase Program. DigitalOcean is an equal-opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, ancestry, national origin, caste, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, age, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic makeup, marital status, or military service.

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. Apply for this job

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