Director – Data Center Equipment Quality

Lambda, The Superintelligence Cloud, is a leader in AI cloud infrastructure serving tens of thousands of customers. Our customers range from AI researchers to enterprises and hyperscalers. Lambda's mission is to make compute as ubiquitous as electricity and give everyone the power of superintelligence. One person, one GPU.

If you'd like to build the world's best AI cloud, join us.

*Note: This position requires presence in our San Francisco, San Jose, or Bellevue office location 4 days per week; Lambda’s designated work from home day is currently Tuesday.

What You'll Do

• Own quality for Lambda's datacenter infrastructure equipment — transformers, medium- and low-voltage (MV/LV) switchgear, generators, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), busway, power distribution, chillers, coolant distribution units (CDUs), air handling and liquid cooling systems, and prefabricated and modular solutions — from supplier qualification through delivery, installation, and commissioning

• Set the quality standards and technical requirements every supplier must meet — quality plans, inspection and test plans (ITPs), factory acceptance test (FAT) protocols, documentation and turnover packages, and acceptance criteria

• Qualify new suppliers, products, and manufacturing sites through capability assessments, process audits, first-article inspections, and formal production part approvals (PPAP-style) before they enter Lambda's supply base

• Travel to manufacturing facilities, integration yards, and datacenter sites to lead factory audits, witness testing, source inspections, and pre-shipment reviews — ensuring every product meets requirements before it ships

• Partner closely with Design, Engineering, and Commissioning to translate design specifications into testable quality requirements, carry factory test results through each commissioning level (L1 factory testing through L5 integrated systems testing), and close the loop between factory results and field performance

• Serve as the escalation point for project teams on equipment quality issues — triage nonconformance reports (NCRs), coordinate with suppliers on containment and repair, and drive resolution that protects schedule

• Lead root cause analysis and corrective and preventive action (CAPA) with suppliers using structured methods such as 8D, FMEA, and DMAIC, and verify fixes are implemented across all affected units and sites

• Build supplier quality scorecards and KPIs — defect rates, FAT first-pass yield, field failures, NCR closure time, cost of poor quality — and review performance with supplier leadership

• Partner with Category Management and Sourcing to embed quality requirements, warranties, and remedies into supplier contracts, and to factor quality performance into award decisions

• Establish quality systems and governance — document control, NCR and CAPA tracking, lessons learned, and quality data — that scale across Lambda's growing portfolio of sites

• Deliver executive-level briefings on supplier quality, emerging risks, and the schedule and cost impact of quality issues

You

• Have 10+ years in supplier quality, quality engineering, manufacturing quality, or commissioning, with at least 5 years focused on datacenter, mission-critical, energy, or heavy industrial electrical and mechanical equipment

• Hold a Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Mechanical, or Industrial Engineering or a related technical field, or have equivalent experience

• Have 5+ years of people leadership managing quality engineers or inspectors, while staying hands-on in audits, testing, and escalations yourself

• Know datacenter power and cooling equipment and how it is built, tested, and commissioned — you can read drawings, specifications, test reports, and one-line diagrams

• Have led supplier audits, factory witness testing, and first-article inspections at original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and integrator facilities

• Have set quality standards, specifications, or acceptance requirements that suppliers and project teams adopted

• Have driven root cause analysis and corrective action to closure using structured methods such as 8D, FMEA, or DMAIC

• Have worked shoulder to shoulder with design engineers, commissioning agents, and construction teams on live projects

• Are fluent with data — process capability, defect trends, and field failure analysis — and use it to anticipate risk

• Communicate clearly and decisively with suppliers, project teams, and executives, especially when a quality issue threatens schedule

• Can travel up to 25–50% to manufacturing facilities and datacenter sites at least initially as programs are being set up.

Nice to Have

• Experience at a hyperscaler, AI cloud, colocation provider, or datacenter developer

• Experience on the OEM or integrator side in quality, test, or manufacturing engineering

• Experience with high-voltage equipment, including utility transformers and substations

• Experience with prefabricated and modular power or cooling solutions, and with liquid cooling and high-density AI infrastructure

• Familiarity with ISO 9001, APQP, PPAP, UL, IEEE, IEC, and NETA standards

• ASQ certification (CQE, CQA, CMQ/OE) or Six Sigma Black Belt

• Experience standing up a supplier quality function where little existed

• Experience applying AI and automation tooling to inspection, quality data, or supplier management workflows

Salary Range Information

The annual salary range for this position has been set based on market data and other factors. However, a salary higher or lower than this range may be appropriate for a candidate whose qualifications differ meaningfully from those listed in the job description.

About Lambda

• Founded in 2012, with 500+ employees, and growing fast

• Our investors notably include TWG Global, US Innovative Technology Fund (USIT), Andra Capital, SGW, Andrej Karpathy, ARK Invest, Fincadia Advisors, G Squared, In-Q-Tel (IQT), KHK & Partners, NVIDIA, Pegatron, Supermicro, Wistron, Wiwynn, Gradient Ventures, Mercato Partners, SVB, 1517, and Crescent Cove

• We have research papers accepted at top machine learning and graphics conferences, including NeurIPS, ICCV, SIGGRAPH, and TOG

• Our values are publicly available: https://lambda.ai/careers

• We offer generous cash & equity compensation

• Health, dental, and vision coverage for you and your dependents

• Wellness and commuter stipends for select roles

• 401k Plan with 2% company match (USA employees)

• Flexible paid time off plan that we all actually use

Equal Opportunity Employer

Lambda is an Equal Opportunity employer. Applicants are considered without regard to race, color, religion, creed, national origin, age, sex, gender, marital status, sexual orientation and identity, genetic information, veteran status, citizenship, or any other factors prohibited by local, state, or federal law.