Rack Design Engineer (Data Center)

Xai
Southaven +1 more
On-site

Who this role is best for

Mechanical engineers with rack design experience in AI/HPC will find this hands-on, cross-disciplinary role in a flat organization structure in Memphis and Southaven.

Best fit for

  • Mechanical engineers with experience in AI/HPC rack design and manufacturing line integration
    — “AI / HPC / GPU rack design: NVIDIA HGX/GB-class, custom OCP, or equivalent high-power liquid-cooled compute”
  • Candidates who have worked in high-velocity hardware environments and taken products to production
    — “Time at a high-velocity hardware organization: AI/GPU cloud, custom compute, or an OEM/ODM team that owned the product end to end”
  • Individuals comfortable with factory environments and debugging hardware on the floor
    — “Comfort in a factory or datacenter build environment, including first articles, yield, and hardware debug on the floor”

Things to consider

  • Extended hours and weekend work are expected to meet project deadlines and deployment timelines
    — “Must be willing to work extended hours and weekends as needed to support design releases”
  • Travel is required for on-site manufacturing and datacenter deployments
    — “Must be willing to travel to manufacturing and datacenter sites”
  • Candidates must be physically capable of lifting 25 lbs and working in active hardware environments
    — “Ability to lift up to 25 lbs. unassisted and work around active factory and datacenter hardware”

How to stand out

  • Highlight experience with liquid cooling systems and high-current electrical integration in your resume
    — “Liquid cooling design: cold plates, manifolds, CDUs, quick disconnects”
  • Showcase your ability to produce CAD drawings and BOMs that enable volume manufacturing
    — “Produce and maintain CAD, BOMs, drawings, and build documentation that a line can run at volume”
  • Demonstrate ownership of products through prototype and production in past roles
    — “Ownership of rack, chassis, or similarly dense electromechanical products through prototype and production”
  • Emphasize your experience with cross-disciplinary collaboration, especially with optical and network teams
    — “Cable and fiber physical design inside the rack (MPO/OSFP dress, bend radius, service loops) in partnership with optical and network engineers”
  • Include examples of driving parts from concept to qualified production in your interview narrative
    — “Drive vendor and in-house parts from concept to qualified production”
Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · HighAutonomy · MediumDecision Impact · Team

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • design high-density AI compute racks
  • integrate compute, networking, power distribution, and liquid cooling
  • drive vendor and in-house parts from concept to production
Typical background
Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or related engineering discipline

Skills & requirements

Required

Mechanical EngineeringElectromechanical Hardware DesignRack DesignPower DistributionLiquid Cooling

Preferred

Rack, Chassis, Or Similarly Dense Electromechanical Products Experience

Stack & domain

Mechanical EngineeringAerospace EngineeringElectromechanical HardwareHigh-density AI Compute RacksDatacenter Network DesignRack BuildsConnectivityIn-house DesignManufacturing LineThermalElectricalOpticalSoftware EngineeringCADBomsDrawingsBuild DocumentationCluster DeploymentNetworkFirmwareProblem-solvingTeamworkCommunicationLeadershipAttention To DetailProject ManagementData CenterAI SystemsCompute ClustersTerrestrial ComputingManufacturing

About the role

Original posting from Xai via Greenhouse

SpaceXAI’s mission is to create AI systems that can accurately understand the universe and aid humanity in its pursuit of knowledge. Our team is small, highly motivated, and focused on engineering excellence. This organization is for individuals who appreciate challenging themselves and thrive on curiosity. We operate with a flat organizational structure. All employees are expected to be hands-on and to contribute directly to the company’s mission. Leadership is given to those who show initiative and consistently deliver excellence. Work ethic and strong prioritization skills are important. All employees are expected to have strong communication skills. They should be able to concisely and accurately share knowledge with their teammates.

ABOUT THE ROLE:

The Data Center Engineering team designs training and inference compute clusters from first principles, pushing thermal, electrical, and optical systems to the limit of physics. We operate as a highly cross disciplinary team comprised of mechanical, electrical, optical, and software engineers, all working to maximize the efficiency, reliability, and deployment speed of terrestrial computing to serve rapidly scaling demand.

This team owns compute architecture, datacenter network design, rack builds, connectivity, in-house design of our own computers, and the manufacturing line that builds that compute. As a Rack Design Engineer, you will own the rack as a product: structure, power, cooling, service paths, and the physical integration of servers, switches, optics, and liquid cooling from first sketch through production rate.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Own mechanical, structural, and integration design of high-density AI compute racks and associated chassis, frames, busbars, manifolds, and cable/fiber raceways

Integrate compute, networking, power distribution, and liquid cooling into a buildable, serviceable, high-yield rack architecture

Design for the in-house manufacturing line: DFM/DFA, fixtures, work instructions, incoming inspection, first article, and production ramp

Close thermal, structural, and power constraints with cooling, electrical, optical, and network counterparts at the cluster level (CDUs, cold plates, quick disconnects, PDUs/busbars, high-current distribution, tray and bend-radius limits)

Drive vendor and in-house parts from concept to qualified production, including sheet metal, extrusions, busbar, manifolds, cable management, and rack accessories

Stand on the floor during prototype and production builds: debug fit, leak, cable dress, airflow/liquid balance, and service time; fold issues into the next revision the same day

Produce and maintain CAD, BOMs, drawings, and build documentation that a line can run at volume

Support cluster deployment of the racks you design, including first-site bring-up and feedback into the next hardware generation

Partner with network, optical, electrical, and firmware teams to deploy custom compute for inference and training across SpaceX programs

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or a related engineering discipline

2+ years of professional experience designing electromechanical hardware that was built and shipped (internship and project experience counts toward this if the hardware was physically produced)

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

Ownership of rack, chassis, or similarly dense electromechanical products through prototype and production

Experience or background in ethernet switching, networking, interconnects, and high power distribution

CAD fluency in SolidWorks, Creo, or NX, with released drawings a shop and a factory can build from

AI / HPC / GPU rack design: NVIDIA HGX/GB-class, custom OCP, or equivalent high-power liquid-cooled compute

Liquid cooling design: cold plates, manifolds, CDUs, quick disconnects, leak detection, and coolant compatibility

High-power rack electrical integration: busbar, PDU, 48V, high-current 3-phase, grounding, and service safety

Cable and fiber physical design inside the rack (MPO/OSFP dress, bend radius, service loops) in partnership with optical and network engineers

Experience taking a rack from NPI onto an in-house manufacturing line (fixtures, cycle time, poka-yoke, rework loops)

Thermal and structural analysis (CFD, FEA) used to make a design decision

Time at a high-velocity hardware organization: AI/GPU cloud, custom compute, or an OEM/ODM team that owned the product end to end

Comfort in a factory or datacenter build environment, including first articles, yield, and hardware debug on the floor

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

Must be willing to work extended hours and weekends as needed to support design releases, line bring-up, and cluster deployments

Must be willing to travel to manufacturing and datacenter sites

Ability to lift up to 25 lbs. unassisted and work around active factory and datacenter hardware

SpaceXAI is an equal opportunity employer. For details on data processing, view our Recruitment Privacy Notice.

Source: Xai careers (Greenhouse)

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