Operational Technology Engineer

xAI xAI · AI Frontier · Memphis, TN · Data Center

SpaceXAI is seeking an Operational Technology (OT) Engineer to design, implement, and optimize industrial control and monitoring systems for their hyperscale data center campuses and co-located power generation facilities. This role involves architecting resilient OT infrastructure for BMS, EPMS, SCADA, and PLC systems, supporting ultra-dense AI compute loads and massive power infrastructure. The engineer will be hands-on with network design, industrial communication protocols, cybersecurity, and cross-functional collaboration to ensure seamless integration and high availability of control systems.

What you'd actually do

  1. Own end-to-end OT critical infrastructure design, programming, configuration, commissioning, sustainment, and ongoing optimization. Deliver high availability OT infrastructure for critical hyperscale cooling & power control systems, including datacenter facility networks (MDFs/IDFs), industrial control networks (PLCs, turbines, etc.), and server rooms with switches/hosts/virtualization.Provide on-call network infrastructure support for BMS, EPMS, SCADA, PLC, and related systems (connectivity, addressing, protocol transport, troubleshooting at Layers 1–3/4).
  2. Hands-on design and sustainment of Juniper fiber/copper networks in OT/facility environments (EX/QFX series preferred), including segmentation, VRFs, and integration with industrial control networks.
  3. Design, implement, and secure OT networks and communications (BACnet, Modbus, OPC UA, MQTT, Ethernet/IP, and related protocols) while driving robust segmentation, monitoring, and cybersecurity practices.
  4. Drive cross-functional multidisciplinary coordination with mechanical, electrical, structural, facilities operations, IT/OT networking, and construction teams to ensure seamless integration of control systems with overall campus infrastructure.
  5. Perform advanced troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, and continuous improvement of OT systems to maximize availability, and operational resilience.

Skills

Required

  • Bachelor’s degree in Controls Engineering, Automation Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field (or equivalent practical experience)
  • 5+ years of progressive, high-quality hands-on experience as a Controls / OT / Automation Engineer on data centers, semiconductor fabs, power plants, heavy industrial, or other mission-critical facilities.
  • Direct experience designing, implementing, and sustaining OT infrastructure in large-scale critical infrastructure environments for control systems such as BMS, EPMS, and SCADA.
  • Systems administration experience for virtualization platforms (Proxmox/VMware), Juniper networks, and SQL databases.
  • Experience hardening and monitoring OT servers (RAID, UPS-backed, isolated management planes)
  • Experience with industrial communication protocols (BACnet, Modbus TCP/RTU, OPC UA, MQTT, Ethernet/IP, DNP3) and OT network design/segmentation.
  • Familiarity with OT cybersecurity principles, secure remote access, and coordination with IT networking teams (VLANs, VRFs, firewalls, jump hosts, remote access, monitoring).
  • Proven cross-functional collaboration skills with mechanical, electrical, facilities operations, construction, and networking teams.

Nice to have

  • Optional experience with control systems programming (Ignition SCADA, Siemens TIA portal).
  • Experience supporting commissioning of major mechanical and electrical systems in data centers or industrial plants.
  • Willingness to travel to project sites as required and to work extended hours or non-standard shifts when needed to support critical operations and deployments.

What the JD emphasized

  • ultra-dense AI compute loads
  • aggressive deployment timelines
  • exceptional speed of execution
  • fast-paced, technically demanding environments
  • aggressive growth trajectory
  • exceptional speed and uncompromising quality