Nscale is the vertically integrated AI cloud engineered for AI. We own and operate the full stack — energy, data centers, GPU superclusters, orchestration, and AI services — delivering high-performance infrastructure to AI-native companies, enterprises, and governments across Europe and the US. At Nscale, our Design Management team turns new ideas, pilots, and critical site challenges into built, tested reality across our data center portfolio. We thrive on a culture of relentless innovation, ownership, and accountability, where every team member takes pride in their work and drives it with excellence and urgency. As Principal Design Manager, Special Projects, you will own the design of Nscale's special projects: the work that doesn't fit a standard data center delivery template. One quarter this might be a lab facility to test a new cooling approach. The next, it might be a portfolio-wide value engineering initiative, a fast-turn design to fix a critical utility or site problem, or a first-of-a-kind pilot of a modular building system. Each project is novel and important, and each needs an experienced design manager who can define the problem, build the right team, and deliver.
The core toolkit is the same as a Principal Design Manager on a production data center project: project-level AE and specialist procurement, internal stakeholder coordination, external partner integration, delivery of fully coordinated design packages, and leading Construction Administration. Special projects often start without a defined scope, a precedent, or an obvious consultant, and this role is comfortable starting there.
You'll report to the Vice President, Design Management. This is an individual contributor role: you'll lead AE teams, specialist consultants, vendors, and internal stakeholders through influence and project authority rather than line management. Apply the same design review and coordination discipline to a pilot as to a production building
Earn trust across Design Innovation, Design Technology, Construction, Operations, and external partners by adding value, not claiming territory
Know the difference between a promising concept and one that can actually be built, tested, and operated
Special Projects Leadership
Serve as the single point of accountability for design on a changing portfolio of special projects, including innovation and pilot projects, lab and test facilities, value engineering initiatives, and critical site issue resolutions.
Define each project from the ground up when needed: problem statement, objectives, success criteria, scope, budget, schedule, risks, and the team required to deliver it.
Build and own the design schedule for each project, sequencing deliverables to support procurement, construction, and testing milestones.
Manage several concurrent special projects of very different type, scale, and urgency without losing visibility or control on any of them.
Drive design decisions with a clear hierarchy of priorities: safety first, then schedule, quality, cost, and sustainability.
Innovation, Pilot, and Lab Projects
Partner with Design Innovation to translate concepts and research questions into deliverable projects with a defined test plan and measurable outcomes.
Lead the design of lab, test, and validation facilities, including the unusual power, cooling, structural, instrumentation, and safety requirements they carry.




Design pilots to produce usable data, with instrumentation, access, and flexibility built in from the start, and document results, performance, and cost so Nscale can make a clear scale-or-stop decision.
Scope and lead value engineering studies across the portfolio, targeting the systems, assemblies, details, and specifications with the highest cost or schedule leverage.
Run structured VE analysis with AE partners, cost consultants, vendors, and Construction, evaluating alternatives for cost, schedule, constructability, maintainability, and risk.
Validate VE proposals against Nscale's design standards, code requirements, and operational needs, then drive adopted outcomes into our standards, AE bench, and live projects and track the realized savings.
Respond rapidly to critical design-related issues on live sites, such as utility constraints, unexpected site conditions, code and inspection problems, equipment or system failures, and operational constraints.
Deliver coordinated, buildable design solutions on the timeline the site needs, including temporary and interim measures where appropriate, coordinating with Construction, Operations, and the site's Principal Design Manager so fixes integrate cleanly with production design.
Identify and qualify specialists outside Nscale's standard AE bench when a project needs expertise the bench doesn't have.
Prepare and issue RFPs, evaluate proposals, lead fee negotiations, and recommend award, then administer contracts and hold partners accountable to schedule, quality, and responsiveness.
Run a disciplined requirements capture and freeze process with every internal stakeholder, including Design Innovation, Design Technology, Construction, Operations, Commissioning, Security, Network, Procurement, EHS, and Finance.
Design Coordination and Quality
Drive structured design reviews at defined milestones, holding internal SMEs accountable for completing reviews and closing out comments, scaled to the project but never skipped.
Review constructability, maintainability, testability, and operational access with Construction and Operations, and deliver complete, coordinated construction document sets for every project.
Lead Construction Administration for each special project as the design authority to the construction team and the owner's interface to the AE.
Hold the AE accountable for RFI and submittal turnaround, prioritizing critical-path and long-lead items, and drive field design issues to fast, documented resolution.
Conduct regular site visits and support commissioning, start-up, and testing, including the test programs that pilots and labs exist to run.
Close out the design side of every project, delivering as-builts, record models, O&M; documentation, and test results to Operations and Design Innovation.
Capture lessons learned, performance data, costs, and design details from every special project in a form the production program can use.
Partner with Engineering and Design Innovation to update Nscale's design standards, details,



and general form factor catalog, and brief Design Managers and the AE bench on adopted innovations and VE outcomes.
Report special project status, results, risks, and decisions clearly to the Vice President, Design Management and senior leadership.
12+ years of experience in the design and construction industry, in design management, technical program management, architecture, engineering, or construction.
~ Experience as the design lead on projects delivered from problem definition or concept through construction documents and Construction Administration.
~ Experience delivering at least one of the following: a lab, test, or research facility; or a rapid-response design fix on a live site.
~ Enough technical grounding across architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical, and civil disciplines to ask the right questions, recognize when a specialist is needed, and hold consultants accountable for the answer.
~ Strong design technology literacy, and comfort working directly in BIM environments, coordination tools, and document management platforms.
~ A strong cross-functional collaborator who works well with Design Innovation, Construction, Operations, vendors, and research partners without needing to control every decision.
~ Bachelor's degree in Architecture, Civil, Structural, Mechanical, or Electrical Engineering, Construction Management, or a related discipline.
Direct experience in data center or hyperscale AI infrastructure design and delivery, including data center electrical, mechanical, and fire protection systems.
Hands-on experience with modular, prefabricated, or offsite construction on a completed project.
Experience with liquid cooling, alternative or on-site power systems, or other emerging data center technologies.
Experience working with research, academic, or vendor R&D; partners on built pilots or test programs.
Familiarity with commissioning and test protocols for mission-critical facilities.
Existing relationships with specialist consultants and vendors in the US data center and advanced-facility market.
Master's degree in Architecture, Engineering, Construction Management, or a related field.
Nscale's ambition to design and build data centers differently creates a steady stream of pilots, labs, value engineering studies, and urgent site problems. Without a dedicated design lead, good ideas stall at the concept stage and production design managers get pulled off their projects to fight fires. This role is how the design function turns ideas into built reality. Success means every special project has a defined scope and an accountable team within weeks, pilots produce clear data that leads to a scale-or-stop decision, VE savings are real and embedded in our standards, critical site issues are fixed fast, and every project makes the whole portfolio smarter, faster, or cheaper.
At Nscale, you'll find a collaborative, supportive, and innovative environment where your contributions spark real impact. Join our thriving remote-first team. We build seamless virtual collaboration, empowering you wherever you work.
Nscale may offer a competitive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, flexible paid time off, parental leave, and retirement plan participation.
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📌 Principal Manager, Design, Special Projects, AMERS (Amer)
🏢 Nscale
📍 Amer