Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Montera Infrastructure is a founder-led digital infrastructure company developing and operating hyperscale data centers. The Principal Data Center Controls Engineer will lead portfolio-wide controls standards, reference architectures, telemetry schemas, customer data-exposure models, OEM integrations, commissioning, and AI-enabled operational optimization across BMS, electrical SCADA, and DCIM systems.
Responsibilities
- Own the portfolio controls schema and reference architectures for BMS, electrical SCADA, and DCIM across greenfield and brownfield sites, including redundancy, failover, and survivability models
- Define and govern the master points list, tagging and semantic data model (e.g., Brick / Haystack-style tagging), point naming conventions, engineering units, alarm philosophy, trending, and data-retention standards
- Establish the data hierarchy and normalization layer that makes fleet-wide telemetry consistent, machine-readable, and analytics-ready from day one
- Set sequences of operation, interlocks, setpoint strategies, and critical alarm pathways for mechanical and electrical plant (chilled water loops, adiabatic/thermal storage, MV/LV distribution, UPS, generation) targeting five-nines availability
- This is the defining accountability of the role and is executed jointly with the Principal Network Engineer
- Define the customer data-exposure model in direct conjunction with the single tenant: which points, at what granularity, latency, and update cadence, are exposed — typically environmental conditions, metering/sub-metering ($/W and PUE inputs), space/rack telemetry, SLA-relevant availability, and event/alarm feeds
- Specify the northbound interfaces and contracts for that exposure (e.g., BACnet/IP, Modbus, OPC UA, MQTT/Sparkplug, REST/API, or a curated data lake / historian feed) and the read-only, least-privilege boundary that protects Montera OT
- Partner with the Principal Network Engineer to translate the exposure scope into segmentation, DMZ/broker placement, firewall policy, and role-based access — ensuring the demarcation between Montera-operated OT and customer-consumed data is explicit, auditable, and secure
- Translate lease and SLA commitments into concrete, testable telemetry deliverables; define acceptance criteria for customer data feeds and support them through customer technical reviews
- Own the equipment-points relationship with OEMs, packaged-equipment vendors, and external controls development partners — issuing points-list specifications, integration standards, and factory/site acceptance requirements for delivered controllers
- Govern third-party controller integration (chillers, CDUs, switchgear, UPS, generators, leak detection, life-safety interfaces) so every device conforms to the Montera schema and tagging model rather than vendor-native defaults
- Drive factory witness testing and points verification with development partners ahead of site delivery to protect schedule and RFS milestones
- Establish the data quality, completeness, and telemetry foundation required for AI/ML optimization platforms (e.g., Phaidra) to run condition-based maintenance, anomaly detection, and autonomous cooling/energy optimization
- Define the safe control-handoff model, guardrails, setpoint limits, and human-in-the-loop and fallback behavior for AI-driven closed-loop control of mechanical plant
- Work with the Network Engineer to provision the secure data pipeline and compute/connectivity pattern these platforms require, whether edge, on-prem, or cloud
- Use operational and model feedback to evolve the schema, improve PUE and reliability, and drive fleet-wide continuous improvement
- Define controls acceptance criteria and integrated systems testing (IST) plans; lead controls scope through Level 4/5 commissioning and issue resolution
- Validate failover, alarm, and control behavior — including customer data feeds and any AI control integrations — prior to turnover
- Establish operational runbooks, as-built controls documentation, and code/handover standards for safe day-2 operations
- Lead selection and technical governance of controls integrators and platform vendors; drive standardization and lifecycle maintainability across the portfolio
- Own technical change control for the controls schema and data model, protecting fleet consistency as the portfolio scales
Skills
- Bachelor's degree in Controls, Electrical, Mechanical, or Systems Engineering, or related field
- 10+ years of experience delivering BMS, electrical SCADA, and/or DCIM for hyperscale or mission-critical facilities, ideally in high-density AI/inference environments
- Deep command of controls data modeling and semantic tagging (Brick, Project Haystack, or equivalent) and of northbound integration protocols (BACnet/IP, Modbus, OPC UA, MQTT/Sparkplug, REST)
- Proven experience defining data-exposure / demarcation models for external consumers (the customer, cloud analytics, or optimization platforms) in secure OT environments
- Track record integrating third-party/OEM equipment controllers and running factory/site points verification
- Strong command of sequences of operation, alarm management, commissioning/IST, and multi-vendor integration
- Proven collaboration with network and cybersecurity teams to deliver secure OT architectures
- Master's degree in Controls, Electrical, Mechanical, or Systems Engineering, or related field
- Hands-on experience enabling or operating AI/ML optimization platforms (e.g., Phaidra) or comparable analytics for condition-based maintenance and cooling optimization
Benefits
- Remote-first work arrangement with flexibility and ownership
- 90% of health premiums paid for employees and their dependents
- Up to 8 weeks of paid time off per year, including holidays, PTO, and sick time
- Up to 8 weeks of paid parental leave after 6 months of employment
- 401(k) plan with immediate eligibility and no vesting requirement
- Employer 401(k) match contributions up to 6%
- Up to $3,500 reimbursed annually for approved courses, certifications, conferences, and professional development opportunities
- Remote work stipend
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