Staff Mechanical Controls Engineer

Lambda, The Superintelligence Cloud, is a leader in AI cloud infrastructure serving tens of thousands of customers. Our customers range from AI researchers to enterprises and hyperscalers. Lambda's mission is to make compute as ubiquitous as electricity and give everyone the power of superintelligence. One person, one GPU.

If you'd like to build the world's best AI cloud, join us.

*Note: This position requires presence in our San Francisco/San Jose or upcoming Seattle office location 4 days per week; Lambda’s designated work from home day is currently Tuesday.

What You’ll Do

As a Staff Mechanical Controls Engineer, you will be a technical leader responsible for architecting, development, and scaling mechanical and controls infrastructure for Lambda’s GPU-based data centers. You will focus on liquid cooling systems, building management systems (BMS), electrical power management systems (EPMS), telemetry, data pipelines, and advanced data center controls. This role requires deep mechanical engineering expertise and hands-on experience building integrated control systems for hyperscale environments.

Key Responsibilities:

System Architecture & Design

• Develop end-to-end architectures for mechanical and control systems in high-density AI data centers.

• Write and validate Sequences of Operation (SOO) for mechanical and BMS integration.

• Define controls architecture and hierarchy for mechanical systems, ensuring scalability and resilience.

• Drive standardization of mechanical and control system design across sites and vendors.

Controls, Data Pipelines & Telemetry

• Architect and build BMS/controls platforms from the ground up.

• Develop and manage data pipelines for telemetry, controls feedback loops, and performance optimization.

• Identify, define, and validate BMS and EPMS points lists for monitoring, alarms, and control logic.

• Implement automated control logic and optimization algorithms to improve efficiency, reliability, and uptime.

Operations & Scaling

• Support capacity planning for GPU racks up to 1MW+.

• Standardize points lists, SOO, and mechanical design templates across global sites.

• Provide technical leadership for incident response, root cause analysis, and system improvements.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Partner with HPC architects, operations, and product engineering teams.

• Serve as a subject-matter expert in mechanical controls, and telemetry systems for hyperscale environments.

Ideal Candidate Profile

• Strong background in Controls/Automation and Mechanical Engineering.

• Hands-on experience with BMS platforms, EPMS, DCIM tools, SOO development, and controls hierarchy definition.

• Experience architecting controls systems and data pipelines from scratch.

• Ability to identify, define, and standardize BMS and EPMS points lists across projects and vendors.

• Familiarity with hyperscale data centers, cloud service providers, or HPC environments.

• Understanding of the full data center physical infrastructure stack (power, cooling, safety systems).

• Product development mindset with ability to translate concepts into scalable solutions.

• Proven expertise in liquid cooling, including CDUs, thermal management, and hybrid cooling.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Controls Engineering, or related field.

• 5+ years of experience in mechanical and controls engineering for data centers or critical infrastructure.

• Experience programming control logic systems in one or more platforms such as Siemens, Tridium, Distech, Struxureware, or Alerton.

• Proven experience developing SOO, controls hierarchy, and data pipelines for mechanical systems.

• Experience with communication network protocols: BACnet/IP, Modbus TCP, SNMP, OPC-UA.

• Strong understanding of liquid cooling technologies, thermal management, and mechanical system operations.

• Ability to lead troubleshooting, perform root cause analysis, and resolve controls-related issues in live environments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Controls, Mechanical, or Thermal Engineering.

• Experience with large-scale industrial control systems (DDC/PLC, SCADA) in data centers or critical facilities.

• Prior experience designing and deploying BMS and EPMS systems in hyperscale or enterprise environments.

• Understanding of mechanical and electrical systems protocols, controls theory, and industry standards.

• Demonstrated ability to expand controls knowledge base (new systems, emerging technologies, machine learning applications).

• Experience managing multiple projects and cross-disciplinary teams in high-demand environments.

• Strong knowledge of engineering documentation, electrical/mechanical diagrams, and SOPs.

• Excellent communication skills to engage vendors, stakeholders, and cross-functional teams.

• Familiarity with hyperscale data center infrastructure and high-density computing requirements.

Salary Range Information

The annual salary range for this position has been set based on market data and other factors. However, a salary higher or lower than this range may be appropriate for a candidate whose qualifications differ meaningfully from those listed in the job description.

About Lambda

• Founded in 2012, with 500+ employees, and growing fast

• Our investors notably include TWG Global, US Innovative Technology Fund (USIT), Andra Capital, SGW, Andrej Karpathy, ARK Invest, Fincadia Advisors, G Squared, In-Q-Tel (IQT), KHK & Partners, NVIDIA, Pegatron, Supermicro, Wistron, Wiwynn, Gradient Ventures, Mercato Partners, SVB, 1517, and Crescent Cove

• We have research papers accepted at top machine learning and graphics conferences, including NeurIPS, ICCV, SIGGRAPH, and TOG

• Our values are publicly available: https://lambda.ai/careers

• We offer generous cash & equity compensation

• Health, dental, and vision coverage for you and your dependents

• Wellness and commuter stipends for select roles

• 401k Plan with 2% company match (USA employees)

• Flexible paid time off plan that we all actually use

A Final Note:

You do not need to match all of the listed expectations to apply for this position. We are committed to building a team with a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and skills.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Lambda is an Equal Opportunity employer. Applicants are considered without regard to race, color, religion, creed, national origin, age, sex, gender, marital status, sexual orientation and identity, genetic information, veteran status, citizenship, or any other factors prohibited by local, state, or federal law.