Principal Operations Engineer, Network

ABOUT FLUIDSTACK

We exist to make humanity more free. For most of human history, you farmed or you starved. Technology gave people more time for the things they wanted to do, instead of things they had to do. Powerful AI will be the biggest lever for human choice we've ever built - but only if models are aligned with what humanity actually wants. There are groups building AI who don't share these goals. Whoever deploys frontier compute infrastructure fastest will decide whether AI expands human freedom or shrinks it.

We're singularly focused on delivering 10 to 100s of GWs of compute faster than anyone else, rethinking every layer of the stack. We acquire power, design and build data centers, and operate them - with teams spanning hardware and software. Speed and scale are our key differentiators. Come be a part of building civilization-scale infrastructure for AI.

We hire people who care deeply about this problem space. If that is you, please apply!

HOW WE OPERATE

- Be a barrel. Full autonomy. Own things end to end, take on scope without being asked, no permission required to operate outside your core role.

- Insane urgency. We drive everything forward as fast as possible.

- Reason from first principles. Challenge every assumption. Zero analogy thinking, no egos, the best idea wins.

- Love of the game. The frontier of AI is the most interesting problem of our time. We put in long hours at high intensity to push the frontier forward.

- Build something that actually matters. If you're going to spend your time, spend it on something that matters to the world.

THE DATA CENTER OPERATIONS TEAM

Examples of key problems the team is working on

- Operate at the scale of a nation, not a building. Accelerating toward 10s of GW by the end of the decade, more electricity than most countries consume. You won't just run a data center; you'll run infrastructure the size of a G7.

- Fly the plane while it's being built. Running flawless operations inside a live construction zone, adapting in real time and turning the pace of build-out into our advantage. You will redefine operational excellence.

- Write the playbook, don't inherit it. Most operators step into someone else's system. Here you build one, leaving your fingerprints on how the whole company runs. As we scale 100x, you'll set the standards, shape the operating model, and grow the team by the thousands.

ROLE SCOPE

- Serve as the most senior technical authority for the operational network fleet across the hyperscale AI data center portfolio: switches, routers, cabling (copper and fiber), optics.

- Lead site assessments and operational audits, and drive the technical readiness of the network ops team ahead of site activation.

- Review network platforms and integration designs from an operational lens, and feed learnings back into network engineering, deployment, and supply chain as the build model becomes productionized.

- Author, approve, and execute high-risk network MOPs and change records in live production, and lead fleet-wide root cause analysis on disruptions to closure.

- Hold OEMs, ODMs, and service vendors accountable to a standard, including flawed RMA and integration processes, without burning the relationship.

- Act as the connective tissue and force multiplier across network operations, network engineering, compute operations, facilities, supply chain, and customer-facing teams. Travel 50-75%.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

The below is a starting point. We always make space for exceptional people, so if you don't fit this role exactly, tell us where you would. https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/fluidstack/05c2e69c-42f9-4fcb-9cf0-a467aaf98f1c

- You've spent a career operating mission-critical network topologies at scale, with significant time as the senior technical voice on a site, campus, or fleet.

- You have experience in IP network operations, as well as optical networking.

- You have experience with TCP/IP and network routing protocols (OSPF, …