Principal Electrical Engineer, Data Center

About the role

The Data Center Principal Electrical Engineer has the ability to understand customer demand as well as the technology and business opportunities that exist in order to lead the organization forward. You understand key problems and propose and analyze multiple solutions to produce the most efficient, cost-effective, resilient, and scalable electrical designs achievable. The Principal Electrical Engineer provides the vision, rationale, and recommendations to leadership teams from AWS and our colocation partners for next-generation data center design, while ensuring current systems meet performance and operational standards.

About AIS

AWS Infrastructure Services (AIS) owns the design, planning, delivery, and operation of all AWS global infrastructure. In other words, we’re the people who keep the cloud running. We support all AWS data centers and all of the servers, storage, networking, power, and cooling equipment that ensure our customers have continual access to the innovation they rely on. We work on the most challenging problems, with thousands of variables impacting the supply chain — and we’re looking for talented people who want to help. You’ll join a diverse team of software, hardware, and network engineers, supply chain specialists, security experts, operations managers, and other vital roles. You’ll collaborate with people across AWS to help us deliver the highest standards for safety and security while providing seemingly infinite capacity at the lowest possible cost for our customers. And you’ll experience an inclusive culture that welcomes bold ideas and empowers you to own them to completion.

Key job responsibilities

As a Principal Electrical Engineer, you are a leader and visionary in your field, working within and overseeing the work of cross-functional teams that include: technical program management, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, control engineering, supply chain management, operations, end users, safety, and security.

Externally, you will provide high-level guidance to colocation design teams, equipment and construction suppliers through specification reviews, design reviews, and qualification test reviews. You will develop technical partnerships with these colocation partners to define AWS-enabled designs to accelerate capacity delivery. You will also participate in external forums/consortiums to understand current trends and developments within the industry.

Your daily responsibilities include all aspects of the data center lifecycle:

• From many years of applicable experience, you understand the key aspects of legacy and modern data center electrical systems. Using this experience, you identify improvement areas in existing and next-generation colocation data center designs to address: high capital/operational costs, reduced efficiencies, high levels of maintenance, security issues, and safety risks
• You conceive, initiate, and lead projects with widespread impact on infrastructure design, innovation, and implementation
• You are responsible for and provide oversight for the review of the electrical design and construction of new colocation data centers and drive alignment between colocation and AWS data center standards
• You demonstrate ability to review business cases and analysis models including Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and Return on Investment (ROI) to select projects and designs
• You are responsible for and oversee the creation of colocation data center basis of design and project specifications to drive standardization in the data center electrical performance
• You decompose complex problems or new technologies or topologies to distill underlying risks and benefits, and identify straightforward and actionable solutions to reduce risk
• You work closely with hardware designers to optimize the interfaces between the IT equipment and colocation facilities as well as understand the future trends and initiatives in IT equipment and infrastructure technology, communicating these to internal and colocation vendor design teams
• You actively and aggressively grow and coach the engineering team through group forums and one-on-one coaching and mentoring to ensure development and promotion of the top engineers inside Amazon
• You oversee and plan engineering goals for key initiatives that support future projects and growth
• You work independently and have frequent reviews with business leadership, other Principal Engineers, and Sr Engineers across AWS
• You actively facilitate the escalation of low-level project and product issues to senior engineering and business leadership

Amazon has a global presence; therefore, 30% to 40% travel will be necessary. International support will be part of the job, and some international travel will be necessary. Support could consist of working on international teams and could require developing schematic and design document packages. An understanding of international electrical design requirements is preferable.

A day in the life

As a Data Center Principal Electrical Engineer, you'll balance strategic vision with hands-on technical leadership. Your day might include reviewing electrical designs for new colocation facilities to ensure they meet AWS standards, collaborating with hardware designers to optimize how IT equipment interfaces with facility infrastructure, and analyzing business cases to determine which projects deliver the greatest return on investment. You'll also mentor emerging engineers through one-on-one coaching, participate in industry forums to stay current with technological trends, and work with colocation partners and equipment suppliers to refine specifications and validate designs. Your work spans the entire data center lifecycle—from identifying efficiency improvements in existing systems to conceiving and leading projects that reshape how we build infrastructure at scale.

About the team

We are a team of engineers, program managers, and operational specialists dedicated to designing data centers that are efficient, resilient, and scalable. Our mission is to partner with colocation providers to accelerate capacity delivery while maintaining the highest standards for performance and safety. We work across AWS and with external partners to define the next generation of data center electrical design. You'll collaborate with mechanical engineers, control systems specialists, supply chain experts, operations teams, and security professionals—each bringing their expertise to solve infrastructure challenges. We're excited to welcome someone who can help us advance our technical standards, develop strong partnerships with colocation vendors, and cultivate the next generation of engineering talent within our organization.

Why AWS

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform. We pioneered cloud computing and never stopped innovating — that’s why customers from the most successful startups to Global 500 companies trust our robust suite of products and services to power their businesses.

Work/Life Balance

We value work-life harmony. Achieving success at work should never come at the expense of sacrifices at home, which is why we strive for flexibility as part of our working culture. When we feel supported in the workplace and at home, there’s nothing we can’t achieve.

Inclusive Team Culture

Here at AWS, it’s in our nature to learn and be curious. Our employee-led affinity groups foster a culture of inclusion that empower us to be proud of our differences. Ongoing events and learning experiences, including our Conversations on Race and Ethnicity (CORE) and AmazeCon conferences, inspire us to never stop embracing our uniqueness.

Mentorship and Career Growth

We’re continuously raising our performance bar as we strive to become Earth’s Best Employer. That’s why you’ll find endless knowledge-sharing, mentorship and other career-advancing resources here to help you develop into a better-rounded professional.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or related field
• 10+ years of experience with MV and LV power systems and electrical design with at least 5 years in data centers or high availability applications
• Extensive Experience designing electrical systems for data centers or similar large-scale infrastructure environments
• Demonstrated expertise in electrical power distribution, backup power systems, and facility infrastructure design
• Experience leading cross-functional technical teams and collaborating with multiple engineering disciplines
• Proficiency with electrical design tools and analysis software

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Master's degree or higher in electrical engineering
• Proven experience in data center construction, operations, or maintenance
• Deep technical knowledge of protection schemes, transformers, UPS, diesel generators, switchgear, PDUs, VFDs, and ATS/STS systems
• Strong command of regional and international electrical and building codes, including NEC, CEC, NFPA, IBC, and OSHA standards
• Track record of researching and implementing innovative data center designs, technologies, and construction methods
• Experience mentoring engineering teams and developing cost-effective solutions that uphold quality, reliability, and maintainability
• Familiarity with mechanical systems and global data center design standards

Amazon has a global presence; therefore, 30% to 40% travel will be necessary. International support will be part of the job, and some international travel will be necessary. Support could consist of working on international teams and could require developing schematic and design document packages. An understanding of international electrical design requirements is preferable.

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.