Remote Data Center Operations Lead Jobs in Detroit, MI

Utilidata is a fast-growing NVIDIA-backed AI company enabling AI data centers to dynamically orchestrate power and unlock more compute capacity from existing energy infrastructure. For over a decade, we have applied AI to the electric grid — bringing real-time visibility and power-flow control to complex energy infrastructure. Our Karman platform, built on a custom NVIDIA module, brings that same capability to AI data centers, giving operators a way to better use the power already available to them.
We are looking for an Application Engineer, Data Center Software to join our Technical Programs team. This is a founding role in a new Application Engineering function, responsible for building the integration layer — custom API connectors, configuration checkers, and test frameworks — between Karman and the diverse software environments operated by our data center customers. This person will work directly with customer operations and engineering teams to define requirements, lead technical discussions, and translate customer needs into integration designs. Because the integration surface is still being defined, this role carries real influence over how Karman's software integrations take shape, including the processes, tools, and standards that future engineers will build on. We are looking for candidates who are technically deep, customer-savvy, and energized by the challenge of building new integration surfaces in a fast-moving product environment.
Responsibilities

• Work directly with customer data center operations and engineering teams to assess software environments, lead integration discussions, and translate requirements into actionable designs across DCIM platforms, custom dashboards, hypervisors, and management APIs
• Design, develop, and validate custom API connectors between Karman and customer-specific data center software systems
• Validate server builds against Karman's software requirements; write and execute configuration checkers and test suites for installation across customer environments
• Conduct benchmark-driven and exploratory performance testing to identify and resolve bottlenecks
• Debug integration issues and installation failures independently, leveraging deep familiarity with the Karman platform built through close collaboration with internal software engineering teams
• Drive execution and sign-off of software installation requirement checklists for each customer engagement
• Take an AI-first approach to automating processes and generating test frameworks, configuration checkers, integration artifacts, and deployment documentation
• Build the software integration playbook — repeatable processes, templates, and documentation that scale the function beyond individual customer engagements
• Create and maintain software integration artifacts, including SW validation checklists, test plans, configuration guides, KPI trackers, and After-Action Reports
• Participate in roadmap meetings, engineering design reviews, and sprint planning to maintain a current understanding of the Karman platform
• Serve as the feedback loop between customer deployments and core engineering, translating integration learnings into platform improvements
• Support the TechOps team with software integration expertise for escalated production incidents related to initial installation
• Participate in on-call rotation to provide 24x7 customer support 

Minimum Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience in systems integration, application engineering, solutions engineering, platform engineering, or related technical roles supporting enterprise software deployments in data center environments
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or similar field OR equivalent training and on the job experience 
• Strong working knowledge of Linux-based environments, including software installation, system configuration, troubleshooting, and validation
• Demonstrated ability to design and implement API integrations between disparate software systems, including REST APIs and other common patterns
• Experience working with containerized and virtualized environments, including the ability to understand and troubleshoot customer deployment architectures
• Experience developing integration validation tools, configuration checks, test automation, or deployment verification processes for enterprise software environments
• Ability to develop scripts, automation, and integration tooling using Python or Rust
• Familiarity with APIs, messaging frameworks, and integration technologies such as REST, gRPC, Kafka, Protobuf, or similar technologies
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to engage customer data center operations teams and translate requirements into integration designs
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and own complex technical problems end-to-end
• High learning agility across diverse customer software environments
• Experience integrating with DCIM platforms, hypervisors, or data center management APIs (e.g., Redfish, IPMI, or vendor-specific management interfaces)
• Experience working directly with customers, stakeholders, or cross-functional technical teams to gather requirements, design solutions, and troubleshoot complex integration challenges

Enhanced Qualifications (Nice to Have)

• Familiarity with observability and monitoring tooling common in data center environments (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana)
• Experience building or contributing to structured software integration processes, checklists, or validation frameworks
• Experience with GitOps-based deployment workflows (e.g., ArgoCD, Helm)

Salary Range: $175,000 to $245,000 base compensation depending on experience and level, plus stock options. This role spans multiple job levels; final level and compensation will be determined based on the candidate's experience.
Location: This position can be performed remotely from within the United States. Preference will be given to candidates based in or around the Bay Area, CA. Periodic travel to customer data center sites and the company’s HQ in Ann Arbor, MI is required.
Our Commitments
Utilidata values the diversity of our team. We provide equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy or childbirth, sexual orientation, genetics, genetic information, marital status, or status as a covered veteran or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state and local laws.
We are committed to:

• Creating a diverse and inclusive workplace that is welcoming, supportive, affirming and respectful
• Empowering employees to solve problems and work together to make a difference
• Providing mentorship and growth opportunities as part of a collaborative team
• A flexible work environment with flexible paid time off
• Competitive compensation and benefits, including health, dental, vision, and employer-match 401k

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