Chief Controls Engineer
Full-time and Fort Stockton, Texas
ABOUT POOLSIDE
In this decade, the world will create Artificial General Intelligence. There will only be a small number of companies who will achieve this. Their ability to stack advantages and pull ahead will define the winners. These companies will move faster than anyone else. They will attract the world's most capable talent. They will be on the forefront of applied research, engineering, infrastructure and deployment at scale. They will continue to scale their training to larger & more capable models. They will be given the right to raise large amounts of capital along their journey to enable this. They will create powerful economic engines. They will obsess over the success of their users and customers.
poolside exists to be this company - to build a world where AI will be the engine behind economically valuable work and scientific progress.
About the role
The Chief Controls Engineer is responsible for the overall controls architecture of our data center. This includes BMS, EPMS, SCADA, PLC systems, networking interfaces, trending, alarming, and automation logic. The role also includes controls oversight for liquid-cooling technologies used in high-density AI/HPC deployments such as CDUs, MCDUs, rack manifolds, rear-door heat exchangers, leak-detection networks, and coolant loop monitoring. The Chief Controls Engineer ensures controls reliability, supports commissioning, manages system configurations, leads troubleshooting efforts, and oversees controls integrations across electrical, mechanical, and liquid-cooling systems.
Responsibilities
Serve as technical authority for all BMS, EPMS, SCADA, PLCs, controls communication networks, and related documentation including network diagrams, point lists, alarm matrices, and controls narratives.
Own all controls sequences, alarm logic, trending strategies, system interlocks, and reliability strategies including software revisions, failover validation, and trend-based failure prediction.
Oversee CDU/MCDU controls integration, flow/DP monitoring, coolant loop alarms, D2C cooling logic, and high-density cooling equipment optimization.
Create and approve MOPs, SOPs, and EOPs for controls modifications, graphics updates, alarm changes, and SCADA work while ensuring compliance with cybersecurity policies and industry standards.
Support real-time troubleshooting and incident response during electrical, mechanical, and liquid-cooling events, including data pulls and trending analysis.
Coordinate with engineering teams to optimize sequences of operation, CDU setpoints, and controls alignment for new buildings, expansions, and AI cooling deployments.
Oversee PM activities for all controls systems, network devices, and instrumentation while ensuring system backups, redundancy testing, and change-control records are maintained.
Evaluate and manage vendor performance for controls integrators, instrumentation contractors, and monitoring providers.
Lead integrated systems testing, controls validation, and commissioning activities, validating all controls points, alarms, trends, and interlocks before system turnover.
Review design documents for new construction and expansions to ensure controls integration and alignment.
Provide technical leadership, mentorship, and training development for controls engineers and technicians on fundamentals, alarm management, and troubleshooting.
Support long-term succession planning and skill development across the controls team.
Skills & Experience
Bachelor’s degree in Controls Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field.
8+ years of experience managing controls systems in data centers, industrial plants, utilities, refineries, or similar environments.
Strong knowledge of BMS, EPMS, SCADA, PLC, and controls networking.
Experience with CDU/MCDU controls, coolant monitoring, and AI/HPC liquid-cooling systems.
Ability to develop controls documentation, lead troubleshooting events, and manage change-control processes.
Experience with major BMS/EPMS platforms such as Schneider, Siemens, Honeywell, Delta, Johnson Controls, or ABB a plus
Knowledge of Modbus, BACnet, OPC UA, and industrial controls protocols a plus
Exposure to machine-learning-based predictive maintenance platforms a plus
This is a full-time onsite role based in Fort Stockton, TX
Participation in an on-call rotation for controls-related events
Occasional night or weekend work during cutovers or controls commissioning
Process
Interview w/William Gauthier our Director of Critical Facilities
Interview w/Molly Anderson, Senior Manager of People Operations
Interview w/Lance Smith our VP of Data Centers
Data Retention
Except as otherwise permitted or required by applicable law or regulation, we will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes we collected it for, as required to satisfy any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements, or as necessary to resolve disputes. To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider our statutory obligations, the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes we process your personal data for, and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means. We specify the retention periods for your personal data in our data retention policy. Under some circumstances we may anonymize your personal data so that it can no longer be associated with you. We reserve the right to use such anonymous and de-identified data for any legitimate business purpose without further notice to you or your consent. If you are offered and accept employment with Poolside, the personal data we collected during the application and recruitment process will become part of your employment record, and we may use it in connection with your employment consistent with our employee personal data policies. If you do not become an employee, or, once you are no longer an employee of Poolside, we will retain and securely destroy your personal data in accordance with our document retention policy and applicable laws and regulations.
Rights of Access, Correction, Erasure and Objection
It is important that the personal data we hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if your personal data changes during the recruitment process. By law you may have the right to request access to, correct, and erase the personal data that we hold about you, or object to the processing of your personal data under certain circumstances. You may also have the right to request that we transfer your personal data to another party. If you want to review, verify, correct, or request erasure of your personal data, object to the processing of your personal data, or request that we transfer a copy of your personal data to another party, please contact us at legal@poolside.ai . Any such communication must be in writing. We may request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and your right to access, and to provide you with the personal data that we hold about you or make your requested changes. Applicable law may allow or require us to refuse to provide you with access to some or all of the personal data that we hold about you, or we may have destroyed, erased, or anonymized your personal data in accordance with our record retention obligations and practices. If we cannot provide you with access to your personal data, we will inform you of the reasons why, subject to any legal or regulatory restrictions.
Right to Withdraw Consent
Where you have provided your consent to the collection, processing, and transfer of your personal data, you may have the legal right to withdraw your consent under certain circumstances. To withdraw your consent, if applicable, contact us at legal@poolside.ai
Changes to this Privacy Notice
We reserve the right to update this Privacy Notice at any time, and we will provide you with a new Privacy Notice when we make any updates. If we would like to use your previously collected personal data for different purposes than those we notified you about at the time of collection, we will provide you with notice and, where required by law, seek your consent, before using your personal data for a new or unrelated purpose. We may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent only where required by applicable law or regulation.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about our processing of your personal data or would like to make an access or other request, please contact us at legal@poolside.ai