Principal Sustaining Engineering Manager (Spark)

• We are seeking a Sustaining Engineering Leader to own how Spark physical modules perform post-deployment and drive continuous improvement
• While Product Management defines future generations and NPI delivers them for production, you own each generation once it ramps: fleet reliability, field failures, configuration, component obsolescence, and the design modifications required for full service life performance
• In this role, “hardware” and “product” refers to the physical infrastructure of the Spark module: structural steel modules, RPPs, DLC cooling loops, CDUs, chillers, piping headers, electrical and mechanical systems, and power distribution gear
• Compute hardware (servers, GPUs, storage, networking, and rack specifications) is owned by Cloud Product
• Sitting on the Spark design engineering team, you capture how deployed Spark modules perform in service and aggregate the lessons learned and required changes into the design process, so the next version is more reliable, serviceable, and cost-effective
• Working with Data Center Facility Operations and Field Operations, you are the definitive evidence source for Product Management and NPI, turning field data into design requirements and acceptance criteria
• You start as the single-threaded leader of this function and build the team as the fleet expands
• I. Fleet Ownership, Facility Ops Interface & Field Issues
• Year 1 Ramp & Handover: Participate in production release and ramp readiness reviews for deploying generations as the receiving organization. Establish as-built baselines, spares strategies, service intervals, and repair-vs-replace policies prior to initial fleet launch
• Facility Operations Feedback Loop: Serve as the primary engineering interface with the Data Center Facility Operations team. Gather site-level field feedback across broader facility power, thermal, and environmental systems to analyze how site-wide operational dynamics impact individual Spark modules
• Fleet Reliability: Own subsystem failure rates, mean time between failures (MTBF), and repeat failure metrics. Define the required telemetry every deployed unit must report to ensure operational visibility
• Closed-Loop Corrective Action: Stand up and run the Failure Reporting, Analysis, and Corrective Action System (FRACAS) function. Drive root-cause analysis to closure with verified fixes, containing safety or fleet-wide risks immediately when issues arise
• II. Change, Configuration & Obsolescence
• Post-Release Change Control: Own engineering change orders (ECOs) for fielded generations, quantifying cost and fleet impacts prior to approval
• Configuration Baseline: Maintain as-built and as-maintained configuration baselines, ensuring field retrofits precisely target affected units
• Proactive Component Obsolescence: Manage component lifecycles using Diminishing Manufacturing Sources and Material Shortages (DMSMS) practices - modeling last-time buys against fleet demand and qualifying alternate parts before component shortages occur
• Retrofits & Maintenance: Issue change packages, preventive maintenance schedules, and acceptance criteria for Field Operations execution
• III. Feedback Loop to Product Management & NPI
• Requirements into Product: Convert fleet and facility operations data into quantified design requirements for future Product Requirement Document (PRD) iterations
• Qualification into NPI: Supply field-derived acceptance criteria to NPI, ensuring historical failure modes are designed out of future module generations before release
• Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): Own reliability, serviceability, and maintenance inputs driving Spark unit economics and long-term TCO
• Serviceability Advocacy: Represent maintainability and serviceability in design reviews, using field data to influence future hardware architecture

Benefits

• Health & wellbeing: Comprehensive health benefits designed to support your overall wellness
• Time away: Paid time off for vacations, family bonding, and unexpected needs
• 401(k) match: Build your financial future with our 401(k) matching program
• Mental wellness: Resources and support for your emotional wellbeing and navigating life’s challenges

• Required: Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Reliability, or a closely related engineering discipline
• Track record of converting field performance data into design changes that measurably reduce failure rates and service costs
• Experience building sustaining engineering processes (root-cause analysis frameworks, review boards, spares policies) from the ground up
• 10 to 15 years in sustaining, reliability, or product support engineering for deployed capital hardware or infrastructure assets
• Hands-on management of component obsolescence and supplier end-of-life transitions for long-lifecycle hardware
• Obsolescence & Service Economics: Diminishing Manufacturing Sources and Material Shortages (DMSMS) practices, last-time buy modeling, spares planning, and unit service cost drivers
• Configuration Management: PLM workflows, serial-level effectivity, change order management, and as-built control
• Reliability Engineering: Failure Reporting, Analysis, and Corrective Action Systems (FRACAS), structured root-cause analysis (8D, 5-Why), MTBF modeling, and population failure rate analysis
• Direct familiarity with liquid-cooled data center hardware
• The persistence to chase root causes past obvious answers, paired with the practical judgment needed to manage fleet disruptions
• Experience with modular, containerized, or prefabricated infrastructure products in the field