
Staff Mechanical Operator at Fluidstack (Abernathy, TX)
Fluidstack· Abernathy, TX·
Role details
Fluidstack at a glance
Builds and operates gigawatt-scale AI data centers and fully managed GPU clusters for frontier AI labs, governments, and enterprises.
Fluidstack acquires power, designs and builds data centers, and operates them, and it delivers fully managed multi-thousand-GPU clusters to AI companies. It pitches gigawatts of compute in roughly six months versus an industry norm of 18 to 24, and is the builder behind Anthropic's $50B US data center buildout.
· latest: In talks for $1B at ~$18B valuation (April 2026, reported) · backed by Cacti, Jane Street, Situational Awareness, Patrick and John Collison
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.
THE DATA CENTER OPERATIONS TEAM
The Data Center Operations team keeps Fluidstack's AI data centers running around the clock, operating the mechanical, electrical, and controls systems that keep gigawatt-scale infrastructure online for frontier AI workloads.
Examples of key problems the team is working on:
- Operate live chiller plants, CRAC/CRAH units, and direct-to-chip liquid cooling loops at densities where minutes of cooling loss mean thermal shutdown of GPU clusters.
- Build preventive and predictive maintenance programs that scale across new sites without adding downtime or headcount linearly.
- Take mechanical systems from commissioning handover to steady-state operations on compressed schedules, closing punch-list and performance gaps before they become incidents.
- Run root-cause analysis on mechanical failures and feed corrective actions back into design, operating procedures, and spare parts strategy.
ROLE SCOPE
- Own mechanical operations on shift as the top escalation point for chiller plant, CRAC/CRAH, air handler, pump, and cooling loop failures in a live, always-on facility.
- Run preventive maintenance execution end to end: scheduling, vendor supervision, lockout/tagout, and QA of completed work, with records rigorous enough to survive a customer or owner audit.
- Lead root-cause analysis for mechanical incidents and drive corrective actions to closure, including procedure updates, setpoint changes, and spare parts adjustments.
- Build and maintain operating procedures (SOPs, MOPs, EOPs) for mechanical systems, and drill them so any operator on shift can execute under failure conditions.
- Drive BMS alarm hygiene and trend analysis so degrading equipment gets caught and fixed before it trips, not after.
- Close out commissioning-to-operations handovers for new mechanical plant, verifying performance against design before accepting systems into the maintenance program.
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR
The below is a starting point. We always make space for exceptional people, so if you don't fit this role exactly, tell us where you would. jobs.ashbyhq.com
- 8+ years of hands-on mechanical or critical facilities operations in data centers, with time at a hyperscale operator, colocation provider, or cloud data center operations team.
- Deep operating knowledge of chillers, cooling towers, CRAC/CRAH units, air handlers, pumps, and hydronic loops, including startup, failover, and recovery under load.
- Fluency in BMS platforms: reading trends, tuning alarms, and diagnosing faults from controls data rather than waiting for equipment to fail.
- A track record owning root-cause analysis and preventive maintenance programs at scale, not just executing tickets someone else wrote.
- Experience as the senior mechanical escalation point on shift, making calls during outages when the runbook runs out.
- Willingness to work rotating shifts and carry on-call responsibility for mechanical outages.
- You operate calmly in high-uptime, fast-scaling environments where the plant you ran last quarter is half the size of the one you run now.
- Bonus: experience with direct-to-chip liquid cooling and CDUs, CFC/HCFC refrigerant certification (EPA 608 Universal or equivalent), or a role in commissioning handover for new-build mechanical plant.
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.
Why work at Fluidstack
- 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.