The Principal DCIM Design Engineer is responsible for the design, standardization, coordination, and delivery of advanced building management and power monitoring systems (BMS, EPMS, SCADA) across the QTS data center portfolio. This role serves as a design and standards leader, partner integrator, and systems strategist for scalable delivery of Data Center Infrastructure Management platforms. The ideal candidate brings a strong background in industrial controls engineering, coupled with strategic design experience in mission-critical environments. They will drive development of design standards, sequence of operations, instrumentation and control documentation, alarming strategies, integration models, and commissioning readiness across our portfolio. The candidate must demonstrate strong vendor coordination, mentoring capability, and an aptitude for cross-functional leadership.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES - Other duties may be assigned. -
- Lead development and refinement of the DCIM design Basis of Design (BOD) and owner requirements.
- Manage, onboard, and lead AEOR Controls teams as well as owner directed Design System Integrator (DSI) to include business review and cadenced calibrations.
- Direct design consultants and partners in defining architecture, instrumentation, alarming and integration requirements for control systems.
- Develop and implement enterprise-wide controls and alarming standards across BMS/EPMS/SCADA platforms.
- Define product and platform requirements across Aveva System Platform, Ignition, and open I/O frameworks.
- Lead internal reviews of sequence of operations, system architecture, and P&ID diagrams.
- Champion point naming conventions, alarming logic, historical data trending structure, and DCIM integration schemas.
- Collaborate with consultants and integrators during software and factory testing, and ensure consistency with QTS expectations.
- Provide QA/QC oversight during design, deployment, and commissioning.
- Drive digital twin and simulation initiatives to de-risk controls logic and optimize system behavior pre-deployment.
- Partner with procurement and project teams to support Scope of Work (SOW) creation, RFP responses, and vendor onboarding.
- Serve as primary design authority and technical escalation point for DCIM partner execution issues.
- Influence control panel layout, I/O wiring diagrams, system interlocks, and cable schedules.
- Collaborate closely with mechanical, electrical, IT, and construction teams to align controls with project goals.
- Coordinate design change requests, technical RFIs, and updates to DCIM documentation packages.
- Contribute to FMEA-based initiatives for alarm optimization and reduce system noise.
- Mentor regional engineers and partners on QTS standards, expectations, and quality requirements.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS -
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Automation, or equivalent experience.
- 10+ years of experience with control systems in mission-critical environments (specifically data centers and minimum N+1 design requirements).
- Expert-level understanding of EPMS, BMS, and SCADA platforms.
- Experience with Rockwell, Schneider Electric, Siemens, and other PLC platforms.
- Proficiency with BACnet, Modbus, MQTT, TCP/IP, SNMP, and ISO 16484 standards.
- Experience leading cross-functional teams and managing partner deliverables.
- Strong understanding of sequences of operations, instrumentation documentation, and
- alarm hierarchy design.
- Willingness to travel up to 50% and work with remote teams across multiple time zones.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS -
- Rockwell certification.
- Ignition certification.
- Experience with psychrometrics, thermodynamics, and data center mechanical systems.
- Demonstrated experience executing factory/software acceptance testing.
- Experience with high-fidelity simulation or digital twin platforms.
- Working knowledge of SQL, ServiceNow, and Active Directory environments.
- Strong documentation skills across engineering diagrams, specifications, and control logic.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES -
- Excellent communication and coordination skills with internal and external stakeholders.
- Proven ability to lead and mentor others.
- Culturally aligned to humility, objectivity, and collaborative problem-solving.
- Strong project management and documentation control skills.
- Able to balance hands-on technical work with strategic leadership responsibilities.
TOTAL REWARDSThis role is also eligible for a competitive benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance; 401(k) retirement plan; flexible spending and HSA accounts; paid holidays; paid time off; paid volunteer days; employee assistance program; tuition assistance; parental leave; military leave assistance; QTS scholarship for dependents; wellness program, and other company benefits. This role is bonus eligible and may be eligible for equity.
