Infrastructure Engineer Manager

Department: Operations: Infrastructure Operations

Location: 10: Star – 1601 McGee St. Kansas City, MO 64108

Reports To: VP of Infrastructure

Status: Full-time

Travel Required: Minimal inter-site travel between KC facilities; occasional domestic travel <10%

Direct Reports: Infrastructure Engineers (2 ), and potentially additional site staff

Last Reviewed: 4/16/26

Role Summary

The Chief Engineer is the senior technical and operational authority across Patmos's two Kansas City data centers. This role combines deep MEP expertise with direct people leadership and site management responsibility, serving as the on-the-ground owner of reliability, safety, culture, and continuous improvement for both facilities.

Reporting to the VP of Infrastructure, the Chief Engineer leads a team of Infrastructure Engineers and site staff, setting the standard for technical execution, procedural discipline, and operational excellence. You own how these sites run—from day-to-day operations and incident command to capital planning and compliance readiness. If you're a proven technical leader who thrives on accountability, mentorship, and real-world impact at scale, this role was built for you.

Responsibilities

Core Responsibilities

Site Leadership & People Management

• Serve as site manager for both Kansas City data centers, holding ownership of operational outcomes, team performance, and site culture.
• Directly manage a team of Infrastructure Engineers (2 ) and potentially other on-site staff, including hiring, performance management, scheduling, and professional development.
• Establish clear expectations, operating rhythms, and accountability structures for the site team.
• Develop and maintain staffing models, on-call rotations, and escalation paths that support 24/7 operational coverage.
• Coach and mentor engineers at all levels; build succession pipelines and invest in team capability over time.

Operations & Technical Ownership

• Own the daily operation, predictive/preventive maintenance, and lifecycle management of all MEP systems across both KC sites—including UPS, STS, switchgear, generators, PDUs/RPPs, CRAHs, CRACs, chilled water plants, pumping systems, BMS, and EPMS.
• Serve as the senior incident commander for critical infrastructure events; lead post-incident forensics, root cause analysis (RCA), and corrective action plans to full resolution.
• Execute and oversee live failover testing with zero customer impact, ensuring readiness across all redundant systems.
• Perform or direct capacity planning, load modeling, and trending analysis to support density increases and new customer onboarding.
• Serve as the technical approver for all Method of Procedure (MOP), Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), and Emergency Operating Procedure (EOP) documents.

Project Leadership & Capital Planning

• Work with the construction project manager to drive mechanical and electrical upgrade projects across both sites from feasibility through commissioning— owning the technical scope and vendor selection.
• Act as Owner's Engineer during new construction, retrofits, or major equipment replacements.
• Develop multi-year capital expenditure plans and present business cases to the VP of Infrastructure and executive leadership.

Compliance, Risk & Safety

• Maintain audit-ready documentation and operational readiness for SOC 2, ISO 27001, Uptime Institute Tier Certification, NFPA 70E, OSHA, and local AHJ requirements across both facilities.
• Chair the site Change Advisory Board (CAB) and enforce rigorous change management practices.
• Lead electrical safety (NFPA 70E) and lockout/tagout (LOTO) programs; conduct regular safety audits and ensure the team is properly trained and compliant.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for external auditors, regulators, and certification bodies related to both KC sites.

Vendor & Contract Management

• Manage OEM service contracts, SLAs, and on-site vendor performance for critical equipment (UPS, generators, chillers, etc.) across both Kansas City locations.
• Negotiate scopes of work, pricing, and response times during annual contract renewals.
• Oversee and hold accountable all on-site contractors and commissioning agents working at either KC site.
• Build and maintain strategic relationships with key suppliers, integrators, and local utilities.

Process Improvement & Cross-Site Standardization

• Identify, pilot, and deploy improvements in monitoring, automation, predictive maintenance, and energy efficiency across both sites.
• Drive standardization of SOPs, MOPs, EOPs, and operational practices between the two Kansas City facilities.
• Benchmark site performance against industry leaders and implement best practices that balance reliability with cost and sustainability.
• Represent the KC sites in broader infrastructure planning conversations with the VP of Infrastructure.

Other Duties Assigned: This job description is not designed to cover a comprehensive listing of all activities, duties, or responsibilities required of the employee. Duties may change at any time with or without notice.

Qualifications

Physical Requirements

• Ability to work in loud, cold, or hot mechanical/electrical spaces for extended periods.
• Frequently climb ladders, work at heights, and access tight or confined spaces.
• Ability to lift and carry up to 50 lbs unassisted and 100 lbs with assistance.
• Must wear PPE including arc-flash suits, respirators, and hearing protection as required.
• Must participate in on-call rotation and respond to either Kansas City facility within 60 minutes for critical incidents.

Skills & Qualifications

Required

• 10 years of hands-on data center or mission-critical facilities experience, with at least 3 years in a lead, senior, or supervisory engineering role.
• Demonstrated experience directly managing or mentoring engineers and/or technical staff.
• Deep expertise in redundant electrical topologies (2N, N 1, distributed redundant) and high-efficiency cooling systems serving ≥50 kW/rack densities.
• Expert-level knowledge of NFPA 70E, ASHRAE TC 9.9, Uptime Institute Tier Standards, and applicable building codes.
• Strong analytical skills and comfort with data-driven decision-making (trending, capacity modeling, failure rate analysis).
• Excellent communication skills—able to translate technical complexity for executive audiences and drive accountability within a team.

Preferred

• Journeyman Mechanical or Electrical license (or equivalent experience); Professional Engineering (PE) license a strong plus.
• Relevant certifications: Uptime ATD/ATS, Certified Data Center Management Professional (CDCMP), NFPA CESCP, or similar.
• Direct experience with DCIM platforms (Sunbird, Schneider EcoStruxure, Nlyte, etc.) and BMS/EPMS systems (Siemens Desigo, ALC, Tridium Niagara).
• Multi-site management or portfolio experience preferred.
• Familiarity with liquid cooling implementations (direct-to-chip or immersion) is a strong plus.

About Us

Patmos Hosting, Inc. delivers Freedom as a ServiceTM, providing organizations with an independent alternative to Big Tech's commercial constraints, censorship, cancellation and deplatforming. Patmos owns and operates datacenter infrastructure with decentralized connectivity, open peering, and free Internet Exchange hosting, ensuring resilience and true independence. Its services span multi-megawatt colocation for AI and hyperscale workloads, GPU/high-performance compute, custom data centers, domains, web and cloud hosting, colocation and tailored website and application development.

Founded in 2022, Patmos is headquartered in Kansas City, MO, with teams and datacenters/locations in Kansas City, Dallas, Phoenix, Denver.

Why Join Us

Be part of a mission-driven company defending free speech and internet freedom.

At Patmos, you'll help protect online expression while ensuring legal compliance. Our team is shaping the future of digital freedom by building secure, high-performance internet infrastructure. We value privacy, innovation, and individual liberty—creating a purpose-driven, collaborative environment where your work matters.

Benefits include:

• Unlimited PTO
• 401(k) match (4%)
• Health, dental, & vision insurance
• Short and long term disability
• Life insurance (company paid and supplemental available)
• Generous parental leave, baby bonuses, marital bonuses, and other family-friendly perks
• 14 observed paid holidays that include solemnities

Patmos is an equal opportunity employer and proud member of the Catholic Benefits Association offering employee benefits that promote the dignity of the human person, the dignity of work, and the common good.