Principal Controls Engineer- Data Center Design and Innovation

Job Description

This is a highly influential technical leadership role focused on defining the future of Building Management Systems (BMS) and Electrical/Mechanical Plant Management Systems (EMPS) for OCI's hyperscale and GW-scale data center platforms. You will provide deep technical expertise in controls architecture, software integration, automation, operational intelligence, and platform standardization to enable world-class reliability, scalability, efficiency, and speed of deployment.

You will partner closely with mechanical, electrical, network, software, operations, commissioning, manufacturing, and supply chain engineering teams to develop and scale a unified controls ecosystem supporting OCI's next-generation infrastructure.

This role is ideal for a hands-on technical leader who enjoys solving complex engineering challenges, influencing strategy through expertise, and driving innovation without direct people management responsibilities.
What You'll Do Technical Strategy & Architecture

• Define and evolve the technical architecture for BMS and EMPS controls systems across OCI's global data center portfolio.
• Develop long-term controls and automation roadmaps supporting hyperscale cloud and AI infrastructure growth.
• Establish standardized controls philosophies, software frameworks, integration architectures, and deployment models.
• Drive innovation in software-driven infrastructure management focused on resiliency, automation, telemetry, observability, and operational efficiency.
• Provide technical leadership for controls integration across mechanical, electrical, thermal, and critical infrastructure systems.

Standards & Engineering Excellence

• Develop global engineering standards, design guidelines, software requirements, and integration protocols for BMS/EMPS platforms.
• Define controls cybersecurity, alarming, telemetry, redundancy, and data integrity requirements for mission-critical operations.
• Create scalable design patterns that ensure consistency across regions, vendors, and deployment models.
• Establish validation, testing, commissioning, and lifecycle management practices for controls software and hardware platforms.

Controls Software & Platform Innovation

• Lead technical development of next-generation controls platforms, automation systems, and operational analytics capabilities.
• Drive adoption of intelligent monitoring, predictive analytics, automated optimization, and AI-enabled operational controls.
• Partner with software engineering teams to define data architectures, APIs, visualization platforms, and enterprise integrations.
• Design scalable approaches for fleet-wide controls management, remote operations, and digital infrastructure visibility.

Vendor & Technology Leadership

• Evaluate and qualify controls vendors, hardware platforms, and software technologies.
• Define interoperability requirements, performance benchmarks, and technology selection criteria.
• Collaborate with manufacturers and strategic partners to drive innovation and influence future product roadmaps.
• Conduct technical reviews and provide expert guidance during vendor engagements and product evaluations.

Cross-Functional Technical Leadership

• Serve as a trusted technical advisor across engineering, operations, commissioning, construction, manufacturing, and software teams.
• Lead complex technical initiatives spanning multiple disciplines and organizations.
• Review designs, resolve critical technical issues, and provide subject matter expertise throughout project lifecycles.
• Mentor engineers and contribute to the development of OCI's controls engineering community

Responsibilities

What We're Looking For

• Deep expertise in BMS, EMPS, SCADA, PLC, or mission-critical controls systems within hyperscale data centers, industrial infrastructure, or large-scale critical facilities.
• Proven experience designing controls architectures and engineering standards for large-scale infrastructure deployments.
• Strong understanding of mechanical and electrical plant operations, thermal systems, power infrastructure, and mission-critical reliability requirements.
• Experience developing controls software strategies, automation platforms, telemetry systems, and operational analytics solutions.
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex cross-functional technical initiatives through influence and technical expertise.
• Strong vendor evaluation and technology assessment experience across controls hardware and software ecosystems.
• Excellent technical communication, problem-solving, and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, high-growth, highly technical environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting hyperscale or GW-scale data center infrastructure.
• Familiarity with AI/HPC infrastructure, liquid cooling, and high-density compute environments.
• Experience with digital twins, advanced analytics, machine learning, or autonomous infrastructure operations.
• Knowledge of global regulatory and compliance standards related to controls systems and critical infrastructure.
• Background in cloud infrastructure, industrial automation, or large-scale critical facilities engineering.

This role offers the opportunity to shape the future technical direction of controls systems powering OCI's next generation of cloud and AI infrastructure while remaining deeply engaged in architecture, engineering, and innovation as a senior individual contributor.

Infrastructure Design and Development-Infrastructure Support:
-Ensures response to data center build and construction related emergencies as needed.
-Oversees design and debug investigations and support failure analysis and resolution activities.

Innovation:
-Leads the research of new designs, materials, and construction methods for data center equipment and related components, including site and building.
-Spearheads the identification of and monitors the need for new tools to improve the quality of data and analytics.
-Architects and evaluates new power and advanced cooling technologies that enable the delivery of artificial intelligence (AI) products and other technologies driving up density and performance in data centers.
-Drives the development of optimal components and solutions for future OCI fleet requirements by partners (e.g., technology providers and design partners).

Innovation-Patent Generation:
-Spearheads the identification of opportunities to generate intellectual property to help strengthen OCI's position as a leader in Cloud Computing.

Quality Assurance-Documentation:
-Drives the development of OCI data center facilities requirements documentation.

Quality Assurance:
-Oversees product evaluation.
-Ensures that quality benchmarks are upheld for new sites, regions, and/or deployments.

Quality Assurance-Standard Development/Maintenance:
-Drives implementation of updates to design standards and specifications for consistency, maximum system reliability and optimal facility utilization.
-Monitors adherence to global data center infrastructure standards.
-Ensures adherence to whitespace design standards.

Stakeholder/Partner Management:
-Leads communication and collaboration with third-party vendors (e.g., data center lease providers, equipment manufacturers), internal cross-functional stakeholders, and data center engineering organizational team.

Team Management-Team Success:
-Ensures the translation of team needs into program goals.
-Leads the prioritization of deliverables based on OCI priorities and industry/historical insights.
-Drives success criteria and performance metrics (e.g., OKRs, KPIs) for feature areas and works across multiple business lines (e.g., Hardware Development, Engineering, Procurement, Data Center Software Analytics) to ensure objectives are supported.

Thermal Management-Thermal Management Solutions:
-Leads partnership cross-functionally (e.g., data center design, construction, mechanical/electrical engineering teams) to ensure the provision of optimized, scalable cooling solutions, as well as thermal solutions optimized for the entire stack.
-Ensures alignment with power and cooling standards (e.g., input voltage, rack density, heat rejection, power consumption) for OCI shapes throughout data center fleet.

Thermal Management-Thermal Testing, Simulation, and Reviews:
-Leads the review of thermal simulation models from partners to identify risks and improve efficiency.

Thermal Management-Thermal Design:
-Ensures alignment of OCI thermal hardware design and data center physical infrastructure.
-Leads collaboration with multifunctional engineering groups to deliver hardware and data center sites that meet the associated thermal specifications.
-Leads collaboration with firmware and controls engineering teams to create robust thermal control and monitoring systems.
-Contributes to high-level thermal design direction and data center strategy for complex systems (e.g., general purpose compute, high-performance computing [HPC], other specialized programs).

Core Responsibilities
Planning & Execution:
-Manages and provides direction on timelines, deliverables, and budgets when applicable for critical high-impact projects or initiatives that impact the line of business, ensuring timely completion and adherence to requirements. Anticipates and plans for shifts in resources or timelines based on changing business priorities, ensuring optimal outcomes.

Collaboration & Partnership:
-Influences cross-functional leaders and external stakeholders to gain alignment on strategic objectives. Fosters partnerships with key business leaders, stakeholders, and/or customers, identifying opportunities for expanding partnerships and promoting long-term organizational success. Champions transparency and inclusivity by actively seeking, listening to, and incorporating diverse perspectives.
Problem Solving:
-Leads specialized, advanced problem-solving efforts, serving as an escalation point for complex issues. Guides others to leverage innovative data-driven techniques to address ambiguous or novel issues, identify root causes, and drives the implementation of solutions that prevent future issues.
Continuous Learning:
-Leverages deep industry knowledge and expertise to serve as a thought leader within the organization. Contributes to the advancement of the field or industry through thought leadership (e.g., conference presentations, white papers, research contributions). Maintains and evolves expertise in relevant areas by proactively monitoring emerging trends, technologies, and industry standards, ensuring the organization remains current with best practices. Champions continuous learning and knowledge sharing, promoting professional development across teams. Applies new knowledge to drive advancement and mentors others to do the same.

Continuous Improvement:
-Develops innovative solutions and drives the implementation of ideas that increase the efficiency and effectiveness of processes, protocols, and workflows across the organization. Evaluates effectiveness of updated approaches and methods for continued improvement to enhance efficiencies and ensure changes align with organizational goals. Designs and develops metrics to measure success of improvement initiatives.

Performance and Development:
-Serves as a subject matter expert regarding talent needs and organizational talent strategy. Imparts leadership and expert knowledge throughout the talent development pipeline including candidate interviews, candidate assessment, and hiring decisions, ensuring alignment with organizational talent strategy.

Qualifications

Disclaimer:

Certain U.S. based or U.S. customer or client-facing roles may be required to comply with applicable requirements, such as immunization/occupational health mandates, and/or drug testing requirements.

Range and benefit information provided in this posting are specific to the stated locations only

US: Hiring Range in USD from: $146,300 to $306,400 per annum. May be eligible for bonus, equity, and compensation deferral.

Oracle maintains broad salary ranges for its roles in order to account for variations in knowledge, skills, experience, market conditions and locations, as well as reflect Oracle's differing products, industries and lines of business.
Candidates are typically placed into the range based on the preceding factors as well as internal peer equity.

Oracle US offers a comprehensive benefits package which includes the following:
1. Medical, dental, and vision insurance, including expert medical opinion
2. Short term disability and long term disability
3. Life insurance and AD&D
4. Supplemental life insurance (Employee/Spouse/Child)
5. Health care and dependent care Flexible Spending Accounts
6. Pre-tax commuter and parking benefits
7. 401(k) Savings and Investment Plan with company match
8. Paid time off: Flexible Vacation is provided to all eligible employees assigned to a salaried (non-overtime eligible) position. Accrued Vacation is provided to all other employees eligible for vacation benefits. For employees working at least 35 hours per week, the vacation accrual rate is 13 days annually for the first three years of employment and 18 days annually for subsequent years of employment. Vacation accrual is prorated for employees working between 20 and 34 hours per week. Employees working fewer than 20 hours per week are not eligible for vacation.
9. 11 paid holidays
10. Paid sick leave: 72 hours of paid sick leave upon date of hire. Refreshes each calendar year. Unused balance will carry over each year up to a maximum cap of 112 hours.
11. Paid parental leave
12. Adoption assistance
13. Employee Stock Purchase Plan
14. Financial planning and group legal
15. Voluntary benefits including auto, homeowner and pet insurance

The role will generally accept applications for at least three calendar days from the posting date or as long as the job remains posted.
Career Level - IC5

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