
Principal Engineer, Data Center Systems Architecture
Sunnyvale, CAJob$256–356K/yrSeen 1 day agoSeen in employer's feed today
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At a glance
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Job overview
Google seeks a Principal Engineer for Systems Architecture within its Data Center organization to define and drive next-generation architectures connecting physical data center infrastructure with IT systems. The engineer will partner with hardware, software, manufacturing, supply chain, delivery, and operations teams, and work with internal engineering teams and external industry partners to advance infrastructure architecture and development.
Skills & qualifications
Skills
Qualifications
Full job description
Principal Engineer, Data Center Systems Architecture
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corporate_fare Google place Sunnyvale, CA, USA bar_chart DirectorShare Principal Engineer, Data Center Systems Architecture
Minimum qualifications:
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Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
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15 years of experience in data center physical infrastructure architecture, systems engineering, and facility design.
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Experience aligning data center physical infrastructure with hardware architectures optimized for Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) workloads.
Preferred qualifications:
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Master's degree or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
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Experience defining and executing long-term technical strategies or architectural visions for global data center infrastructure or enterprise-class server development teams.
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Exceptional technical leadership and indirect influence skills, with experience driving architectural direction across matrixed engineering organizations without direct positional authority.
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Domain expertise in cross-disciplinary systems integration, seamlessly bridging physical facility constraints (e.g., thermal, power, structural) with server hardware and software topologies.
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Ability to lead and influence senior, highly technical stakeholders and cross-functional executives to align on technical roadmaps.
About the job
Google Cloud provides organizations with leading infrastructure, platform capabilities, and industry solutions. We deliver enterprise-grade cloud solutions that leverage Google’s technology to help companies operate more efficiently and adapt to changing needs, giving customers a reliable foundation for the future. Customers in more than 150 countries turn to Google Cloud as their trusted partner to solve their most critical business problems.
Google's custom-designed machines and data centers constitute one of the largest, most efficient, and most powerful computing infrastructures in the world. As a Principal Engineer for Systems Architecture within Google’s Data Center organization, you will define and drive next-generation architectures at the critical intersection of physical data center infrastructure and IT systems.
In this role, you will partner with Hardware, Software, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Delivery, and Operations teams across Google to lead game-changing architectural and development initiatives. You will work closely with internal engineering teams and external industry partners to execute these architectures, providing the technical direction, operational guidance, and industry influence necessary to scale Google's infrastructure for the future.
Behind everything our users see online is the architecture built by the Technical Infrastructure team to keep it running. From developing and maintaining our data centers to building the next generation of Google platforms, we make Google's product portfolio possible. We're proud to be our engineers' engineers and love voiding warranties by taking things apart so we can rebuild them. We keep our networks up and running, ensuring our users have the best and fastest experience possible.
Individual pay is determined by factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.
US: $256000 - $356000 (USD) + 30% bonus target + equity + benefits
Learn more aboutbenefits at Google (https://www.google.com/about/careers/applications/benefits/) .
Responsibilities
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Provide direction and leadership for data center and equipment designs, cross-system optimizations, and global operational strategies. Lead cross-disciplinary architecture, definition, and development across engineering fields (e.g., electrical, mechanical, thermal, structural, controls, industrial) to optimize system design points.
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Drive modular data center design initiatives, pioneering scalable, prefabricated, and containerized architectures that reduce deployment timelines and enhance reproducibility.
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Deliver technical direction, integration expertise, and data analysis for overall system architecture, throughput, and performance, while presenting option tradeoffs to guide executive decision-making.
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Collaborate across teams and partners to design for manufacturability and supply chain efficiency, accelerating delivery speed while optimizing total cost of ownership.
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Analyze operational flows and manufacturability to maximize speed-to-market and capacity serving. Drive standardization efforts to achieve global scale, supply chain resilience, and optimized success criteria to include reliability, cost, weight, transportation, installation, and serviceability.
Information collected and processed as part of your Google Careers profile, and any job applications you choose to submit is subject to Google'sApplicant and Candidate Privacy Policy (./privacy-policy) .
Google is proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. We are committed to building a workforce that is representative of the users we serve, creating a culture of belonging, and providing an equal employment opportunity regardless of race, creed, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy or related condition (including breastfeeding), expecting or parents-to-be, criminal histories consistent with legal requirements, or any other basis protected by law. See alsoGoogle's EEO Policy (https://www.google.com/about/careers/applications/eeo/) ,Know your rights: workplace discrimination is illegal (https://careers.google.com/jobs/dist/legal/EEOC\_KnowYourRights\_10\_20.pdf) ,Belonging at Google (https://about.google/belonging/) , andHow we hire (https://careers.google.com/how-we-hire/) .
If you have a need that requires accommodation, please let us know by completing ourAccommodations for Applicants form (https://goo.gl/forms/aBt6Pu71i1kzpLHe2) .
Google is a global company and, in order to facilitate efficient collaboration and communication globally, English proficiency is a requirement for all roles unless stated otherwise in the job posting.
To all recruitment agencies: Google does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias, Google employees, or any other organization location. Google is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.
Equity is granted exclusively and discretionarily by Alphabet Inc. on the basis of an agreement concluded between you and Alphabet Inc. Alphabet Inc. is your sole contractual partner with respect to equity grants. GSU grants are not guaranteed, are discretionary, are subject to approval by the Alphabet Inc. board of directors or its delegate, the terms of the relevant Alphabet Inc. stock plan, and your grant agreement. They have no impact on statutory payments. Current or past grants do not confer an acquired right.
Google is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. See also https://careers.google.com/eeo/ and https://careers.google.com/jobs/dist/legal/OFCCP_EEO_Post.pdf If you have a need that requires accommodation, please let us know by completing our Accommodations for Applicants form: https://goo.gl/forms/aBt6Pu71i1kzpLHe2.
How this job compares
Set against the 3,163 open Systems Engineering jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 15, 2026.
- Pay
- This posting$256–356K/yr
- California median$153–225K/yr516 salary ranges
- US median$128–205K/yr2,390 salary ranges
This range's midpoint, $306K, is 59% above the California median midpoint ($193K) — in the top quarter of Systems Engineering salary ranges in California.
- Openings
- Olive Jobs lists 620 open Systems Engineering jobs in California and 3,163 across the US. 5% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
- Hiring the most in California
- Anduril55 open
- Northrop Grumman47 open
- NVIDIA23 open
- Experience
- This posting asks for at least 15 years of experience — more than three in four Systems Engineering postings that state a minimum ask for (median 7 years, across 2,443 postings).
- Education
- 1,017 of the 3,163 open Systems Engineering jobs (32%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.
Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 15, 2026. Figures based on too few postings are left out.
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