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AI Infrastructure and Data Center Recruiting

Data center and AI infrastructure recruiting

We recruit commissioning agents, critical facilities engineers, controls engineers and GPU cluster engineers for data center and AI infrastructure employers in the United States. We also track 115 data center projects in nine markets and publish the hiring figures each month.

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Replacement guarantee
120 days
Fixed-scope engagements
6
  • Ex-Amazon, AWS & Google recruiter
  • AI infrastructure + data center focus
  • 120-day replacement guarantee
  • U.S.-wide

How we work

  • Founder-led search
  • Human-reviewed research
  • Fixed-fee and fixed-monthly engagements
  • Weekly written reporting
  • Client-owned research and pipeline
  • United States coverage

Project tracker

Tracked markets

We track 115 data center projects in nine U.S. markets, from proposal to turnover, and update every one each month.

115 data center projects tracked in nine U.S. marketsNorthern Virginia: 11 projects, 1 under construction, 2 stalled or cancelled; Dallas-Fort Worth: 14 projects, 2 under construction, 3 stalled or cancelled; Phoenix: 15 projects, 2 under construction, 4 stalled or cancelled; Atlanta: 16 projects, 2 under construction, 6 stalled or cancelled; Columbus: 15 projects, 5 under construction, 4 stalled or cancelled; Salt Lake City: 12 projects, 4 under construction, 2 stalled or cancelled; San Antonio: 11 projects, 4 under construction, 2 stalled or cancelled; Hillsboro: 9 projects, 2 under construction, 3 stalled or cancelled; Chicago: 12 projects, 1 under construction, 6 stalled or cancelledNorthern Virginia: 11 projects, 1 under construction, 3 approved, 2 stalled or cancelledNorthern Virginia11 projects · 1 buildingDallas-Fort Worth: 14 projects, 2 under construction, 5 approved, 3 stalled or cancelledDallas-Fort Worth14 projects · 2 buildingPhoenix: 15 projects, 2 under construction, 7 approved, 4 stalled or cancelledPhoenix15 projects · 2 buildingAtlanta: 16 projects, 2 under construction, 6 approved, 6 stalled or cancelledAtlanta16 projects · 2 buildingColumbus: 15 projects, 5 under construction, 3 approved, 4 stalled or cancelledColumbus15 projects · 5 buildingSalt Lake City: 12 projects, 4 under construction, 3 approved, 2 stalled or cancelledSalt Lake City12 projects · 4 buildingSan Antonio: 11 projects, 4 under construction, 1 approved, 2 stalled or cancelledSan Antonio11 projects · 4 buildingHillsboro: 9 projects, 2 under construction, 2 approved, 3 stalled or cancelledHillsboro9 projects · 2 buildingChicago: 12 projects, 1 under construction, 3 approved, 6 stalled or cancelledChicago12 projects · 1 building
Circle size shows projects tracked in each market. Select a market to open its tracker.

Open the data center tracker or read the state of data center hiring

Specialties

Role families

We recruit in three areas.

01

AI Infrastructure

  • GPU and HPC infrastructure
  • Distributed systems
  • Network and fabric
  • Cloud and platform engineering
  • SRE and observability
  • MLOps and model serving
  • Data platform
  • Forward-deployed and solutions engineering
02

The Bridge Layer

  • Controls and BMS software
  • DCIM
  • GPU fleet telemetry and observability
  • Capacity and power-aware scheduling
  • Commissioning validation software
03

Data center disciplines

  • Commissioning (CxA, QCxP)
  • Critical facilities
  • Electrical and mechanical engineering
  • Controls and EPMS
  • Project controls
  • Power
  • Construction and project management

The infrastructure lifecycle

Lifecycle roles

Who you need at each stage of a build, and what goes wrong when the hire comes late.

  1. 01

    Power

    Roles

    • Substation and utility engineers
    • Electrical design leads
    • Energy managers

    Late hire risk

    Utility interconnect timelines slip when no one owns the power schedule.

    Power and project controls recruiting
  2. 02

    Build

    Roles

    • Construction managers
    • MEP superintendents
    • Project controls

    Late hire risk

    Local labor shortages often show up only after competing projects have hired most of the available people.

    Data center recruiting
  3. 03

    Commissioning

    Roles

    • CxA and QCxP agents
    • Controls and BMS engineers
    • Startup technicians

    Late hire risk

    Commissioning talent is scarce and booked against fixed IST windows.

    Commissioning recruiting
  4. 04

    Operations

    Roles

    • Critical facilities managers
    • Chief engineers
    • Shift technicians

    Late hire risk

    Operations seats open too late, so the candidates left are holding other offers and pay has moved.

    Critical facilities recruiting
  5. 05

    Compute

    Roles

    • GPU and HPC cluster engineering
    • Network fabric and InfiniBand
    • Distributed systems and storage
    • Hardware deployment and fleet operations

    Late hire risk

    GPU fabric and cluster networking are a different talent pool from enterprise networking. Sourcing them the same way returns people who have not run a cluster at scale.

    GPU and HPC recruiting
  6. 06

    AI platform

    Roles

    • Platform engineering and SRE
    • MLOps, LLMOps and model serving
    • Inference, latency and cost engineering
    • Forward-deployed and solutions engineering

    Late hire risk

    An SRE, an MLOps engineer and a forward-deployed engineer come from different companies, so each search starts from its own target list.

    Platform, SRE and observability recruiting
Power
  • Substation and utility engineers
  • Electrical design leads
  • Energy managers

Utility interconnect timelines slip when no one owns the power schedule.

Power and project controls recruiting
Build
  • Construction managers
  • MEP superintendents
  • Project controls

Local labor shortages often show up only after competing projects have hired most of the available people.

Data center recruiting
Commissioning
  • CxA and QCxP agents
  • Controls and BMS engineers
  • Startup technicians

Commissioning talent is scarce and booked against fixed IST windows.

Commissioning recruiting
Operations
  • Critical facilities managers
  • Chief engineers
  • Shift technicians

Operations seats open too late, so the candidates left are holding other offers and pay has moved.

Critical facilities recruiting
Compute
  • GPU and HPC cluster engineering
  • Network fabric and InfiniBand
  • Distributed systems and storage
  • Hardware deployment and fleet operations

GPU fabric and cluster networking are a different talent pool from enterprise networking. Sourcing them the same way returns people who have not run a cluster at scale.

GPU and HPC recruiting
AI platform
  • Platform engineering and SRE
  • MLOps, LLMOps and model serving
  • Inference, latency and cost engineering
  • Forward-deployed and solutions engineering

An SRE, an MLOps engineer and a forward-deployed engineer come from different companies, so each search starts from its own target list.

Platform, SRE and observability recruiting
Illustrative sequence. On a real project the stages overlap and the roles for each one are searched before the stage starts.

One job description often describes three different people.

A req that wants mechanical, electrical and controls commissioning experience in one person usually sits open. Those are three separate groups of candidates. On the compute side, the same goes for platform, reliability and model serving.

Triggers

Hiring situations

Most clients call us in one of these situations. A hiring diagnostic call sorts out whether you need a search, a market map or a change to the role.

Recruiter coverage

Your talent team is strong on volume roles but has no map of commissioning agents, controls engineers or GPU platform talent.

Embedded Search Sprint

New hiring plan

New funding or a signed customer means new headcount. We write the role definitions and map the talent before anything is posted.

Talent Intelligence Sprint

Reposted roles

Before more sourcing, we find out what is stopping candidates: the scope, the pay band, the location or a slow interview loop.

Search Recovery Sprint

New leadership

A new leader inherits open roles and pay bands set before they arrived. We check both against the current market before the search starts.

Selective Executive Search

Vendor customer win

Deployment, solutions and support coverage has to exist before the first customer milestone, without adding a permanent talent function yet.

Fractional Talent Partner

Engagements

Engagement scopes

Each engagement lists what you get, how long it runs and what it costs. We commit to the deliverables listed. We don't guarantee hires.

Talent Intelligence Sprint

When it fits: You need to know whether the role is fillable, at what compensation and in which market, before committing to a search.

  • Named target companies by discipline
  • How many people do this work in each metro, and where they sit
  • Compensation expectations observed in live conversations
  • Written brief and a working session to review it
Time box
Two to three weeks
Commercial structure
Fixed-fee research engagement, no placement obligation
Investment
$5,000 to $8,000, fixed fee
Complete when
The agreed research deliverables are delivered and reviewed with your hiring team.
Request a talent market map

Search Recovery Sprint

When it fits: A critical role has been reposted or open for more than 60 days and nobody can say exactly why.

  • Where candidates drop out of the process and what they say about the role
  • Rebuilt role brief around the actual must-haves
  • The requirement or pay band that is shutting out candidates, named in writing
  • Targeted outreach restart with weekly written reporting
Time box
Four to six weeks
Commercial structure
Fixed fee per role, no placement obligation
Investment
Scoped per role
Complete when
The diagnosis, rebuilt brief and outreach restart have been delivered and reviewed with your hiring team.
Search recovery for stalled roles

Embedded Search Sprint

When it fits: You have a defined set of hard roles and want a dedicated recruiter operating inside your process.

  • Scorecards agreed per role
  • Direct outreach with weekly written reporting
  • Written candidate cases including risks
  • Interview coordination and compensation feedback
Time box
Two-month minimum term
Commercial structure
Fixed monthly engagement fee, capacity-based
Investment
$9,500 to $12,500 per month
Complete when
The agreed engagement period, search deliverables, reporting cadence and handoff requirements have been fulfilled, or the scope is extended by mutual agreement.
Embedded recruiting for infrastructure teams

Fractional Talent Partner

When it fits: You need recruiting leadership, process and compensation intelligence without adding a full-time talent hire.

  • Hiring plan and sequencing across the portfolio
  • Interview process and scorecard design
  • Compensation bands updated with pay heard on candidate calls
  • Recruiter enablement and research library handover
Time box
Three-month initial term
Commercial structure
Fixed monthly retainer, defined weekly capacity
Investment
$14,000 to $18,000 per month
Complete when
The agreed operating period and recruiting-system deliverables have been completed, with extension available by mutual agreement.
Fractional talent partner scope

Site Launch or Team Build

When it fits: A new site, region or platform team has to be staffed against a milestone schedule.

  • Hiring sequence tied to construction and commissioning dates
  • Which disciplines and markets are short of people, and by how much
  • Relocation and local supply strategy
  • Milestone reporting and full pipeline handover
Time box
Custom milestone schedule
Commercial structure
Fixed monthly engagement fee against the milestone plan
Investment
$22,000 to $35,000 per month
Complete when
The agreed milestone deliverables, workforce plan, active-search work and pipeline handoff have been completed.
Site launch and team build

Selective Executive Search

When it fits: A leadership seat carries the plan: head of infrastructure, head of platform, director of critical facilities or VP of engineering.

  • Stakeholder interviews and a written success profile
  • Confidential market mapping across named target organizations
  • Structured assessment against the agreed profile
  • Compensation and offer strategy through the start date
Time box
Scoped per search
Commercial structure
Fixed fee, invoiced in stages
Investment
$35,000 to $75,000, fixed fee
Complete when
The agreed research, assessment and process deliverables for the search have been fulfilled, or the scope is revised by mutual agreement.
Selective executive search

Method

Search stages

Every search follows the same six steps, and you get a written output at each one. At the end we hand over all the research and the full candidate pipeline.

  1. Step 1

    Brief

    A written role brief, a scorecard agreed with the hiring manager, and a check of scope, pay and location against the candidate market before outreach starts.

  2. Step 2

    Market map

    A named list of target companies across AI infrastructure firms, operators, EPCs and OEMs, built with AI tools and checked against people we already know.

  3. Step 3

    Outreach

    Direct outreach from Czarina, with a weekly report on how many people were contacted, who replied and why people passed.

  4. Step 4

    Screening

    Screens against the scorecard, a written case for each candidate including the risks, and their pay expectations on the record.

  5. Step 5

    Offer

    Offer planning, a read on counteroffer risk, and help with the resignation and any relocation through the start date.

  6. Step 6

    Handover

    Your team keeps the pipeline, research files, messaging and comp data. The work stays with you when the engagement ends.

The full explanation of each step lives on the embedded recruiting for infrastructure teams page.

Reporting

Weekly report

You get a written report every week with these sections.

Example weekly search report

Example weekly search-report structure. No client or candidate information shown.

Report fieldWhat it records each week
Target companiesNamed organizations in scope this week and why each one is on the list.
ProfilesPeople profiled against the scorecard, by discipline and market.
Outreach statusContacted, in conversation, declined, or holding for a later stage.
Response themesWhat candidates say about the role and the team.
Compensation feedbackWhat candidates say they need, against your approved band.
Location constraintsOnsite cadence, commute limits and relocation appetite by candidate group.
Qualified conversationsScreens completed against the scorecard, with written assessment notes.
Interview statusStage position for each active candidate and where the process is waiting.
Market objectionsThe reasons candidates give for passing, grouped so they can be acted on.
Role-definition risksScope, level or requirement combinations that no candidate matches.
Recommended changesThe specific adjustment to scope, band, geography or process we advise.
Next actionsWhat we will do next week and what we need from your team to do it.

Deliverables

Handover items

  • A written role definition and a view of the candidate market before sourcing starts
  • A talent map of source companies and adjacent pools
  • Pay data from candidate conversations
  • A weekly pipeline report
  • Every candidate and the market map stay with you

Founder

Founder-led search

Czarina Tabayoyong, founder of Critical Path Hiring.

Czarina Tabayoyong has recruited for more than 15 years across software engineering, cloud infrastructure, platform, AI and ML, data center architecture and project delivery, including cloud and data center architecture roles for AWS Professional Services, recruiting at Amazon and Google, and recruiting programs for hyperscale data center projects. She writes the brief, maps the market, runs the outreach, screens every candidate and handles the offer herself.

Role definition

Separates platform engineering from MLOps, SRE from ML infrastructure, and GPU systems from general cloud engineering.

Sourcing across markets

Finds candidates at hyperscalers, cloud platforms, operators, EPCs, OEMs and integrators, and in nearby fields such as utilities, semiconductor and industrial automation.

AI-assisted research

We use AI tools to build target lists and organize research. Czarina screens every candidate and makes every recommendation herself.

About Critical Path Hiring

Background and how we work.

Who we serve

AI infrastructure companies, GPU cloud platforms, operators, EPCs and vendors.

How we use AI in screening

Which steps AI tools do, which steps Czarina does, and how candidates are reviewed.

Insights

Studies and trackers on data center hiring, pay and projects.

New guide

Data center guide

How data centers get built, what every role does, what the work pays and where it's happening, plus a 56-term glossary.

Read the guideOpen the glossary

Hiring diagnostic

A short call about the role, the candidate market and pay. We'll tell you what we would do, including when the answer isn't a search.

Book a Hiring DiagnosticRequest a Talent Market Map