Sr. Engineer, Data Center

Job description

This role will be based in Ashburn, VA. At LinkedIn, our approach to flexible work is centered on trust and optimized for culture, connection, clarity, and the evolving needs of our business. The work location of this role is hybrid, meaning it will be performed both from home and from a LinkedIn office on select days, as determined by the business needs of the team. We are seeking a Data Center Engineer, Field Engineering to support owner-side infrastructure validation, commissioning and operational readiness for mission-critical data center facilities across North America. This hands-on, multidisciplinary field engineering role focuses on verifying that mechanical, electrical, cooling, controls, low-voltage, and white-space infrastructure is installed correctly, performs as designed, and is ready for safe and reliable operation. The role places particular emphasis on high-density computing environments, including liquid-cooled GPU and AI infrastructure. You will collaborate with engineering, construction, commissioning, operations, vendors, and equipment manufacturers to identify technical issues, evaluate system performance, determine root causes, validate corrective actions and drive issues through resolution. You will serve as an owner-side technical resource, bridging design intent, installed conditions, commissioning results and operational requirements. Success in this role requires engineering judgment, troubleshooting skills, attention to detail and the ability to communicate technical findings clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. Responsibilities: Perform field engineering activities across data center mechanical, electrical, cooling, controls, low-voltage and white-space infrastructure. Review engineering drawings, specifications, equipment submittals, sequences of operation, and technical design packages. Verify installed conditions against approved designs, technical standards, manufacturer requirements, and operational needs. Identify installation discrepancies, integration concerns, technical risks, and potential operational impacts. Conduct technical field inspections focused on functionality, quality, maintainability, and readiness for testing and commissioning. Evaluate system performance and support troubleshooting and root-cause analysis for field and system-level issues. Document field observations, deficiencies, test results, and recommended corrective actions. Support issue resolution and verify that corrective actions satisfy design, performance, and operational requirements. Communicate technical findings through reports, issue logs, photographs, and stakeholder updates. Support validation and commissioning of liquid-cooling systems serving high-density compute, GPU, and AI environments. Evaluate CDUs, coolant distribution networks, rack-level cooling, manifolds, leak detection, controls, monitoring, and associated mechanical systems. Verify installations against approved drawings, specifications, sequences of operation, and manufacturer requirements. Assess temperatures, pressures, flow rates, instrumentation, alarms, control responses, and overall system performance. Troubleshoot leaks, cooling-performance deficiencies, control issues, sensor discrepancies, communication failures, and system-level anomalies. Support root-cause analysis, corrective-action development, and resolution validation. Collaborate with engineering, vendors, commissioning teams, and operations to confirm system performance and operational readiness. Support post-turnover monitoring, performance optimization, and reliability improvements. Basic Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience. Experience in field engineering, infrastructure engineering, commissioning, system validation, or data center engineering. Experience working in data center, mission-critical, industrial, manufacturing, utility, or similarly complex infrastructure environments. Experience with at least one major infrastructure discipline, including mechanical, electrical, cooling, controls, or low-voltage systems. Experience performing field inspections, installation verification, functional testing, commissioning support, or operational-readiness activities. Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, specifications, equipment submittals, sequences of operation, single-line diagrams, piping and controls diagrams, and technical design packages. Experience identifying and documenting field discrepancies, equipment faults, integration concerns, and system-performance issues. Experience supporting technical troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, corrective-action development, and resolution validation. Ability to communicate technical findings through reports, issue logs, photographs, and stakeholder updates. Ability to work safely in active data center and infrastructure environments. Ability and willingness to travel to project sites as required. Preferred Qualifications: Direct experience with data center white-space infrastructure and rack-ready environments. Experience with electrical distribution systems, including switchgear, PDUs, RPPs, busway, branch circuits, grounding, and rack-level power. Experience with mechanical and cooling systems, including chilled-water systems, air-handling equipment, pumps, heat exchangers, and associated controls. Experience with liquid cooling systems, including CDUs, coolant distribution networks, rack manifolds, leak detection, controls integration, and rack-level cooling. Experience supporting high-density compute, GPU, AI, or similar infrastructure environments. Familiarity with building management systems, electrical power monitoring systems, PLCs, controllers, sensors, alarms, and common communication protocols. Experience supporting commissioning, functional performance testing, integrated systems testing, or reliability va