---
title: 'Cost Lead at Fluidstack'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/cost-lead-fluidstack-austin-h27w11k198xe'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-06'
---

# Cost Lead at Fluidstack

- **Company:** [Fluidstack](https://feeny.ai/companies/fluidstack)
- **Location:** Austin, TX
- **Compensation:** $160k–$250k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-05-25
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-06
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/fluidstack/a19b8b10-1b61-493d-b69b-e6b23e74cdbc/application

**Skills:** Cost management, Quantity surveying, Construction estimating, Data center construction, Mission-critical construction, Change order management, Value engineering, Procore, Sage, Budgeting, Forecasting, Contract negotiation, Cost benchmarking, Owner-side experience, GC consulting, QS consulting, Lump sum contract structures, Cost-plus contract structures

> The Cost Lead owns cost management across the data center portfolio, from early-stage budgeting through construction and final accounting. This role involves developing detailed estimates, maintaining real-time cost forecasts, managing change orders, and building the cost management function from the ground up.

## Job description

## ABOUT FLUIDSTACK

We exist to make humanity more free. For most of human history, you farmed or you starved. Technology gave people more time for the things they wanted to do, instead of things they had to do. Powerful AI will be the biggest lever for human choice we've ever built - but only if models are aligned with what humanity actually wants. There are groups building AI who don't share these goals. Whoever deploys frontier compute infrastructure fastest will decide whether AI expands human freedom or shrinks it.

We're singularly focused on delivering 10 to 100s of GWs of compute faster than anyone else, rethinking every layer of the stack. We acquire power, design and build data centers, and operate them - with teams spanning hardware and software. Speed and scale are our key differentiators. Come be a part of building civilization-scale infrastructure for AI.

We hire people who care deeply about this problem space. If that is you, please apply!

## HOW WE OPERATE

- Be a barrel. Full autonomy. Own things end to end, take on scope without being asked, no permission required to operate outside your core role.
- Insane urgency. We drive everything forward as fast as possible.
- Reason from first principles. Challenge every assumption. Zero analogy thinking, no egos, the best idea wins.
- Love of the game. The frontier of AI is the most interesting problem of our time. We put in long hours at high intensity to push the frontier forward.
- Build something that actually matters. If you're going to spend your time, spend it on something that matters to the world.

## ABOUT THE ROLE

As Cost Lead, you will own cost management across our data center portfolio — from early-stage budgeting and estimating through construction and final account. You'll set up process where it doesn't exist, build benchmarks from scratch, and serve as the Cost Lead of our delivery program. You'll work closely with project managers, A/E design teams, GCs, and other Leads to keep every project on-budget and every decision grounded in credible numbers.

- Own cost planning across all project phases — from concept and pre-design through construction documents and GMP negotiation
- Develop detailed estimates for civil, structural, MEP, HV/LV power, cooling, fuel systems, and shell construction
- Maintain real-time cost forecasts across all active projects; track actuals vs. budget and surface variances early
- Own change order review: assess scope validity, commercial accuracy, and contract entitlement before recommending approval
- Prepare executive-level cost reports across the portfolio — clear, scannable, exception-based
- Manage contingency tracking and cost risk registers across project phases
- Lead value engineering exercises with design and construction teams to optimise cost without compromising scope or schedule
- Support GC and subcontractor procurement: bid leveling, scope gap analysis, and contract negotiation input
- Advise on contract structure and commercial risk allocation across delivery models
- Build the cost management function from the ground up: tools, templates, workflows, and reporting cadence
- Establish and maintain a unit cost benchmark database covering key DC cost categories — from $/MW to equipment and trade breakdowns
- Contribute to precon planning on new sites, including order-of-magnitude estimates to support site selection and investment decisions

## QUALIFICATIONS:

- Experience with cost management, quantity surveying, or construction estimating
- Meaningful hands-on experience on data center or mission-critical construction — hyperscale, colo, or large-scale build-to-suit
- Owner-side experience strongly preferred; GC or QS consulting backgrounds considered if DC domain knowledge is deep
- Deep understanding of the DC cost stack: civil, structural, MEP, HV/LV power, cooling (CRAC/CRAH, DLC, immersion), emergency power, and IT fit-out
- Understands how design decisions — power density, redundancy tier, cooling strategy — translate directly to capital cost
- Comfortable benchmarking at $/MW, $/SF, and $/kW; knows what drives variation between projects
- Strong change order discipline: can assess pricing validity, identify scope gaps, and document entitlement
- Familiar with GMP, lump sum, and cost-plus contract structures
- Proficient with cost management tooling (Procore, Sage, or equivalent); can build process from scratch
- Degree in construction management, quantity surveying, engineering, or related field
- Builder mindset — comfortable setting up function and process where little exists, and operating with urgency in a fast-moving program

## SALARY & BENEFITS

- Competitive total compensation package (salary + equity).
- Retirement or pension plan, in line with local norms.
- Health, dental, and vision insurance.
- Generous PTO policy, in line with local norms.

We are committed to pay equity and transparency.

Fluidstack is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability and protected veterans’ status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Fluidstack will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records pursuant to applicable law.

You will receive a confirmation email once your application has successfully been accepted. If there is an error with your submission and you did not receive a confirmation email, please email careers@fluidstack.io with your resume/CV, the role you've applied for, and the date you submitted your application-- someone from our recruiting team will be in touch.

## About Fluidstack

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Fluidstack builds and operates gigawatt-scale AI data centers and provides fully managed GPU cloud clusters for frontier AI labs, governments, and enterprises.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series A stage; total funding of $11.0B)
- **Headquarters**: New York, New York, United States
- **Founded**: 2017
- **Founders**: Gary Wu (CEO)

## Core Business
- **Primary Industry**: AI Infrastructure / Data Center Construction & Operations / Cloud Computing
- **Target Customers**: Leading AI labs (e.g., Anthropic, poolside), governments, and large enterprises requiring massive-scale compute for training and inference.
- **Mission Statement**: "We exist to make humanity more free... Powerful AI will be the biggest lever for human choice we've ever built — but only if models are aligned with that objective."

## Products & Services
- **Fully Managed GPU Clusters**: Multi-thousand GPU clusters delivered with zero setup, fully managed (no node touching by the customer), with 15-minute engineering response SLAs and built-in monitoring and remediation. Purpose-built for AI workloads.
- **Custom Data Centers**: Design, build, and operate greenfield data centers from the ground up, delivering gigawatts of compute in 6 months versus the industry standard of 18-24 months. Includes power acquisition, site selection, and civil/electrical/mechanical engineering.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed.
- **Total Funding**: $11.0 billion (across 14 rounds). Key rounds include a $750M venture round (March 2026) and a $200M Series A led by Cacti (February 2025).
- **Key Metric**: $11.0B in total funding; leading the deployment of Anthropic’s $50B compute buildout, one of the largest infrastructure projects in US history.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Cacti (lead investor), Anthropic (customer/partner), poolside (customer).
- **Growth Signals**: Headcount grew 516.7% year-over-year to 143 employees. Currently has 270 active job postings. Expanding rapidly across the US (NY, SF, Austin, Seattle, Buffalo) and internationally (UK, France, Sweden, Nigeria, Switzerland).

## Competitive Advantages
- **Speed of Deployment**: Can deliver gigawatts of compute in 6 months vs. the industry’s 18-24 months, giving them a massive first-mover advantage in a capital-constrained market.
- **Full-Stack Control**: They acquire power, design and build data centers, and operate them — owning the entire hardware and software stack from power generation to GPU orchestration.
- **Tier-1 Customer Base**: Trusted by the world’s most ambitious AI labs (Anthropic, poolside), providing both credibility and a feedback loop for product improvement.
- **Purpose-Built Platform**: Not general-purpose cloud; their platform is specifically optimized for AI researchers, removing all infrastructure friction (no K8s configs, no bare metal management).

## Strategic Focus
- **Massive Scale Buildout**: Deploying Anthropic’s $50B data center project across New York and Texas, representing one of the largest infrastructure projects in US history.
- **Global Expansion**: Expanding operations across 8 countries and multiple US states, with a heavy focus on data center site acquisition, power generation, and modular design.
- **Talent Acquisition**: Aggressively hiring across engineering, construction, operations, security, and project management roles to support hypergrowth.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-Driven Work**: Directly building the physical infrastructure for the next generation of AI — a rare opportunity to work on frontier technology with tangible, large-scale impact.
- **Rapid Growth Trajectory**: 516.7% headcount growth YoY with 270 open positions signals massive opportunity for career acceleration and ownership.
- **Technical Depth**: Work spans hardware (electrical, civil, mechanical engineering for data centers) and software (GPU cluster orchestration, monitoring, infrastructure platform engineering), offering diverse technical challenges.
- **Top-Tier Talent Pool**: Employees come from AWS, Tesla, Crusoe, Palantir, Oracle, and Meta, indicating a high-caliber, ambitious work environment.
- **Work Policy**: Remote-friendly for many roles, with hubs in San Francisco, New York, Austin, Seattle, and Buffalo. Departments span Engineering, Operations, Data Center, Security, and more.
- **Culture**: Emphasis on speed, autonomy, and removing friction — "We build technology to enable delivery of gigawatts of compute in 6 months" — reflecting a bias for action and operational excellence.

## Sources
1. [fluidstack.io](https://www.fluidstack.io/)
2. [fluidstack.io/about-us](https://www.fluidstack.io/about-us/about)
3. [fluidstack.io/jobs](https://fluidstack.io/jobs)
4. [LinkedIn](https://es.linkedin.com/company/fluidstack)
5. [CB Insights](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/fluidstack)

## Other roles at Fluidstack

- [Network Engineer, Connectivity & Strategy](https://feeny.ai/job/network-engineer-connectivity-strategy-fluidstack-new-york-pvgj4bn2enx9) — New York, NY
- [Senior Counsel, Real Estate](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-counsel-real-estate-fluidstack-seattle-0zxga7ycp9ks) — Seattle, WA
- [Counsel, Energy](https://feeny.ai/job/counsel-energy-fluidstack-seattle-w1yf5b4ceyza) — Seattle, WA
- [Infrastructure Delivery Program Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/infrastructure-delivery-program-lead-fluidstack-new-york-hg44stcp9x49) — New York, NY
- [Production Engineer, Network](https://feeny.ai/job/production-engineer-network-fluidstack-san-francisco-0179fcmevvdv) — San Francisco, CA
- [Counsel, Infrastructure](https://feeny.ai/job/counsel-infrastructure-fluidstack-seattle-krhj5xg7fkjm) — Seattle, WA
- [Structured Finance, Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/structured-finance-lead-fluidstack-new-york-fqr7f1jy6v42) — New York, NY
- [Structured Finance, Associate](https://feeny.ai/job/structured-finance-associate-fluidstack-new-york-vajx8731ye3j) — New York, NY
- [Software Engineer, Applied AI](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-applied-ai-fluidstack-san-francisco-027sc2j800an) — San Francisco, CA
- [Software Engineer, Ontology](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-ontology-fluidstack-san-francisco-gtb8akaxr5bg) — San Francisco, CA