Principal Data Center Controls Engineer
Montera, United StatesRemote OK
Full-time
Salary
$200k–$250k/ annually
Free account to apply · application completed on Montera
Salary
$200k–$250k/ annually
Free account to apply · application completed on Montera
About Montera
At Montera, we’re building the future of digital infrastructure. Founder-led with $1.5B backed by Stonepeak, Montera is driven by a future-focused vision: to develop and operate hyperscale data centers essential for tomorrow's technology. Our mission is to deliver strategically located, hyperscale data centers designed for speed, reliability, and scalability. Backed by decades of experience in design, construction, and operations, we don’t just build—we execute with purpose.
Our Values
Client First Alignment: We align every solution to our clients’ goals.
Speed with Certainty: Velocity matters. We deliver with urgency and precision.
Operational Excellence: Decades of experience drive our high standards.
Safety & Integrity: Safety is non-negotiable. We lead with integrity and transparency.
Ownership Mentality: We think like owners, because we are.
The Opportunity
Montera is seeking a Principal Controls Engineer to lead portfolio-wide standards, own reference architectures, and are accountable for design and operational outcomes across multiple sites.
This role reports to the Vice President, Data Center Design for direct design delivery, and provides dotted-line support to the CTO on product definition — contributing discipline expertise to requirements capture and the definition of Montera’s product.
The Principal Data Center Controls Engineer owns the controls schema, monitoring architecture, and data model that run across Montera’s fleet — spanning BMS, electrical SCADA, and DCIM. This role defines the single source of truth for every monitored and controlled point in the facility and, critically, defines the data exposure model: what operational telemetry Montera surfaces to itself for operations and what it exposes to the customer under the lease and SLAs. Montera facilities are single-tenant — one customer per building or campus — so the exposed points are defined in direct conjunction with that customer.
The role works hand-in-glove with the Principal Network Engineer. Controls defines the data — points, tags, semantics, exposure scope; Network delivers the secure transport, segmentation, and demarcation that lets Montera and the customer consume that data without compromising OT security. Neither the controls schema nor the customer data-exposure model can be delivered by either role alone; the two are designed and governed jointly.
The Principal Controls Engineer also owns the equipment-points relationship with external development and OEM partners, and establishes the data foundation required to leverage AI-driven optimization platforms (e.g., Phaidra) for condition-based maintenance, autonomous cooling optimization, and closed-loop control.
What You'll Do
Controls Schema & Reference Architecture
Own the portfolio controls schema and reference architectures for BMS, electrical SCADA, and DCIM across greenfield and brownfield sites, including redundancy, failover, and survivability models.
Define and govern the master points list, tagging and semantic data model (e.g., Brick / Haystack-style tagging), point naming conventions, engineering units, alarm philosophy, trending, and data-retention standards.
Establish the data hierarchy and normalization layer that makes fleet-wide telemetry consistent, machine-readable, and analytics-ready from day one.
Set sequences of operation, interlocks, setpoint strategies, and critical alarm pathways for mechanical and electrical plant (chilled water loops, adiabatic/thermal storage, MV/LV distribution, UPS, generation) targeting five-nines availability.
Customer Data Exposure & Demarcation
This is the defining accountability of the role and is executed jointly with the Principal Network Engineer.
Define the customer data-exposure model in direct conjunction with the single tenant: which points, at what granularity, latency, and update cadence, are exposed — typically environmental conditions, metering/sub-metering ($/W and PUE inputs), space/rack telemetry, SLA-relevant availability, and event/alarm feeds.
Specify the northbound interfaces and contracts for that exposure (e.g., BACnet/IP, Modbus, OPC UA, MQTT/Sparkplug, REST/API, or a curated data lake / historian feed) and the read-only, least-privilege boundary that protects Montera OT.
Partner with the Principal Network Engineer to translate the exposure scope into segmentation, DMZ/broker placement, firewall policy, and role-based access — ensuring the demarcation between Montera-operated OT and customer-consumed data is explicit, auditable, and secure.
Translate lease and SLA commitments into concrete, testable telemetry deliverables; define acceptance criteria for customer data feeds and support them through customer technical reviews.
External Development & Equipment-Points Partners
Own the equipment-points relationship with OEMs, packaged-equipment vendors, and external controls development partners — issuing points-list specifications, integration standards, and factory/site acceptance requirements for delivered controllers.
Govern third-party controller integration (chillers, CDUs, switchgear, UPS, generators, leak detection, life-safety interfaces) so every device conforms to the Montera schema and tagging model rather than vendor-native defaults.
Drive factory witness testing and points verification with development partners ahead of site delivery to protect schedule and RFS milestones.
AI-Enabled Operations & Condition-Based Maintenance
Establish the data quality, completeness, and telemetry foundation required for AI/ML optimization platforms (e.g., Phaidra) to run condition-based maintenance, anomaly detection, and autonomous cooling/energy optimization.
Define the safe control-handoff model, guardrails, setpoint limits, and human-in-the-loop and fallback behavior for AI-driven closed-loop control of mechanical plant.
Work with the Network Engineer to provision the secure data pipeline and compute/connectivity pattern these platforms require, whether edge, on-prem, or cloud.
Use operational and model feedback to evolve the schema, improve PUE and reliability, and drive fleet-wide continuous improvement.
Commissioning, IST & Handover
Define controls acceptance criteria and integrated systems testing (IST) plans; lead controls scope through Level 4/5 commissioning and issue resolution.
Validate failover, alarm, and control behavior — including customer data feeds and any AI control integrations — prior to turnover.
Establish operational runbooks, as-built controls documentation, and code/handover standards for safe day-2 operations.
Vendor Strategy & Governance
Lead selection and technical governance of controls integrators and platform vendors; drive standardization and lifecycle maintainability across the portfolio.
Own technical change control for the controls schema and data model, protecting fleet consistency as the portfolio scales.
Who You Are:
Bachelor’s degree in Controls, Electrical, Mechanical, or Systems Engineering, or related field (Master’s preferred).
10+ years of experience delivering BMS, electrical SCADA, and/or DCIM for hyperscale or mission-critical facilities, ideally in high-density AI/inference environments.
Deep command of controls data modeling and semantic tagging (Brick, Project Haystack, or equivalent) and of northbound integration protocols (BACnet/IP, Modbus, OPC UA, MQTT/Sparkplug, REST).
Proven experience defining data-exposure / demarcation models for external consumers (the customer, cloud analytics, or optimization platforms) in secure OT environments.
Track record integrating third-party/OEM equipment controllers and running factory/site points verification.
Hands-on experience enabling or operating AI/ML optimization platforms (e.g., Phaidra) or comparable analytics for condition-based maintenance and cooling optimization is strongly preferred.
Strong command of sequences of operation, alarm management, commissioning/IST, and multi-vendor integration.
Proven collaboration with network and cybersecurity teams to deliver secure OT architectures.
Why Join Montera?
At Montera, you’ll shape the next generation of digital infrastructure while being supported by a team that values integrity, collaboration, and long-term partnership. We’re a remote-first company that empowers our people with flexibility, ownership, and meaningful rewards.
Compensation:
At Montera, we believe great work starts with investing in great people. That is why we offer a competitive and thoughtful total compensation package designed to recognize the value each team member brings.
Our compensation ranges are informed by market data and aligned to job level and role. When making hiring and compensation decisions, we consider a variety of factors, including skills, experience, education, training, competencies, and overall business needs.
The reasonable compensation range for this role is $200,000 - $250,000.
Our Benefits at a Glance:
Comprehensive Health Coverage: We pay 90% of health premiums for employees and their dependents.
Generous Time Off: Up to 8 weeks of paid time off per year, which includes holidays, PTO, and sick time.
Parental Leave: Up to 8 weeks of paid time off after 6 months of employment.
Financial Security: 401(k) plan with immediate eligibility, no vesting requirement, and employer match contributions up to 6%.
Learning & Development Reimbursement: Up to $3,500 reimbursed annually for approved courses, certifications, conferences and professional development opportunities.
Extra Support: Remote work stipend to help you stay connected.
At Montera, you’ll have the autonomy to do great work and the benefits to thrive personally and professionally.
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