Principal Structural Engineer – Data Center Infrastructure (FE)
Jabil· Manufacturing· Sep 25, 2026 · 1mo ago
Austin TX
In office
Full-time
Principal
$132K–$238K
8+ years exp
Job description
At Jabil (NYSE: JBL), we are proud to be a trusted partner for the world's top brands, offering comprehensive engineering, supply chain, and manufacturing solutions. With 60 years of experience across industries and a vast network of over 100 sites worldwide, Jabil combines global reach with local expertise to deliver both scalable and customized solutions. Our commitment extends beyond business success as we strive to build sustainable processes that minimize environmental impact and foster vibrant and diverse communities around the globe.
How will you make an impact?
The Structural Engineer is a core member of the Facility Enablement team, responsible for the structural integrity of both the data center products we build and the manufacturing facilities used to produce them. This role spans the full product lifecycle, from early stage design through factory integration, deployment, and field installation, with a focus on scalable, repeatable, and manufacturable structural solutions aligned with hyperscale delivery models.
The position requires deep expertise in structural steel and concrete design, seismic analysis, and equipment support systems, combined with a practical understanding of how structural systems integrate with high-density MEP environments and modular construction workflows. The role is customer-facing and works closely with mechanical, electrical, manufacturing, BIM, and product engineering teams to deliver code-compliant, platform-based, and production-ready data center solutions.
Job Title: Principal Structural Engineer
Organization : Data Center Infrastructure (DCI) Team
Location: Remote* OR Austin, TX
*Requires up to 30% domestic and/or international travel (rare)
What will you do?
Structural Design & Analysis
Evaluate structural solutions through the lens of technical risk, cost efficiency, and schedule - ensuring designs are robust, buildable, and aligned to delivery timelines.
Lead gravity, wind, seismic, and vibration analysis for modules, frames, racks, and support structures per IBC, ASCE 7, AISC, ACI, and applicable local codes.
Analyze and provide structural recommendations for MDCs, equipment skids, enclosures, and factory-built assemblies.
Validate structural solutions for HAC systems across overhead, rack-integrated, and floor-supported configurations.
Develop seismic bracing and restraint strategies for MEP systems, cable trays, pipe racks, and modular assemblies.
Engineer foundations, steel frames, and anchorage solutions for chillers, generators, UPS systems, pumps, heat exchangers, and fluid distribution equipment.
Define structural strategies for thermal loads, vibration-sensitive equipment, and deflection-managed assemblies.
Develop and maintain DFMEA documentation to identify structural risks and drive mitigation across product families.
Optimize recurring product families for weight, manufacturability, cost, and platform scalability.
Manufacturing Facility & Production Space Support
Support structural design and coordination for manufacturing and production facilities, including floor loading, equipment pads, overhead crane rails, mezzanines, dock infrastructure, and material handling systems.
Evaluate structural implications of factory layout changes, new production equipment installations, and capacity expansions.
Ensure production floor structural systems are compatible with the weight, dynamic loading, and footprint of the data center products being manufactured.
Collaborate with facility planning and operations teams to define structural requirements for new or modified production spaces.
Factory Integration & DFx Enablement
Support factory layout and integration efforts, including load paths, transportation loads, and installation constraints.
Collaborate with manufacturing teams to ensure structural designs meet DFMA requirements; develop standard design templates and modularization strategies to enable repeatability across programs.
Define structural requirements for transportation, lifting, and placing equipment and skids; validate shipping and logistics requirements including OTR dimensional and load limitations.
Ensure structural designs align with factory automation, material-handling capabilities, and assembly workflows.
BIM & Cross-Discipline Coordination
Collaborate with the BIM/Revit team to ensure structural models are integrated, clash-free, and current within the master coordination model.
Participate in multi-discipline model coordination reviews, resolving structural clearances, anchorage zones, and maintenance envelopes across MEP disciplines.
Review and contribute to coordination drawings, ensuring structural elements are accurately represented and conflict-free.
Maintain structural model quality and LOD standards in adherence with the project BIM Execution Plan (BEP).
Fabrication & Implementation
Collaborate with fabrication shops and factory teams to ensure structural designs are buildable, manufacturable, and installation-ready.
Review shop drawings, fabrication details, welds, connections, and material specifications for MDCs, HAC systems, and equipment support structures.
Verify lifting, rigging, transportation, and shipping load cases, including temporary bracing for modules and skids.
Support factory builds, FATs, and field installations; resolve RFIs, NCRs, and production deviations, feeding lessons learned back into design standards.
Documentation, Compliance & Technical Leadership
Produce and review calculations, drawings, specifications, and stamped engineering packages; manage coordination with third-party engineering partners and AHJ approvals where required.
Ensure compliance with applicable codes, seismic standards, customer requirements, and product certification pathways (UL, OSHPD/OSP, etc.) where applicable.
Contribute to internal design standards, platform templates, best practices, and lessons-learned documentation.
Mentor junior engineers, lead design reviews, and serve as a technical escalation point for complex structural issues across the team.
How will you get here?
Education :
Bachelor s degree in Structural Engineering or Civil Engineering (structural emphasis) required
Experience :
8 years of progressive structural engineering experience, including leadership of complex structural systems in high-availability industrial or mission-critical facilities.
Professional Engineer (PE) license required.
Proven experience producing stamped engineering packages, reviewing vendor calculations, and managing AHJ coordination.
Experience with modular construction, prefabricated data center infrastructure, or factory-built assemblies strongly preferred.
Familiarity with hyperscale or colocation data center programs and platform-based delivery models is a significant plus.
Required Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:
Technical Competencies
Proficiency with structural analysis software — SAP2000, ETABS, STAAD, RISA, RAM, or similar.
Working knowledge of IBC, ASCE 7, AISC, ACI, and applicable seismic and non-structural anchorage standards.
Ability to produce and interpret stamped engineering calculations, shop drawings, and fabrication details across steel, concrete, and connection design.
Familiarity with fatigue, vibration, and dynamic loading analysis in environments with rotating or sensitive equipment.
Experience with CAD, PDM, and PLM tools — SolidWorks, Revit, Windchill, Teamcenter, or equivalent.
Familiarity with BIM coordination workflows, clash detection tools (e.g., Navisworks), and LOD standards is a plus.
Domain Familiarity
Practical understanding of data center infrastructure — MDCs, HAC systems, chillers, generators, UPS, PDUs, SFN/cooling piping — and the structural loading, clearance, and anchorage demands they impose.
Familiarity with ASHRAE, SMACNA, and seismic bracing standards as they apply to MEP systems in mission-critical environments.
Understanding of modular and prefabricated construction approaches, factory build sequences, and OTR shipping constraints for large equipment and skids.
Awareness of international codes and standards for global deployment programs is a plus.
Leadership & Communication
Able to present and defend technical positions clearly to engineering, manufacturing, and customer stakeholders — written and verbal.
Comfortable leading design reviews, driving cross-discipline conflict resolution, and making sound engineering decisions under schedule pressure.
Experience mentoring junior engineers and contributing to team-wide standards and knowledge-sharing.
Ability to travel both domestically and internationally up to 30%
Preferred Qualifications:
Master’s Degree is preferred
About the Data Center Infrastructure (DCI) Team :
The DCI team consists of technical subject matter experts who specialize in end-to-end large scale physical infrastructure that powers and enables modern data centers. This includes power distribution systems such as transformers, substations, generators, switchgear, switch panels, busways, ATS units, EDPM, BMS systems, and control panels, as well as cooling solutions ranging from traditional evaporative and indirect cooling systems to emerging liquid cooling technologies including chillers, heat exchangers, CDUs, pumps, and secondary fluid networks. The team also addresses the mechanical structures that house these systems - hot aisle containment, steel enclosures, blanking panels, cable trays, and fiber and networking infrastructure.
The DCI team operates as a cross-industry center of excellence, partnering primarily with various cloud providers across the industry. Team members function as deeply technical subject matter experts who engage directly with customers and supply chain partners to assess requirements, identify challenges, and design infrastructure solutions end-to-end. The ideal contributor brings engineering-level expertise in either power or cooling disciplines, a working knowledge of the full infrastructure dependency chain, and the ability to translate that expertise into clear recommendations and collaborative problem-solving with both technical and business stakeholders.
The pay range for this role is $132,400 - $238,400. Job-related, non-discriminatory factors used to determine the actual offered rate include qualifications and experience, geographic location, education, external market data, and consideration of internal equity. The anticipated close date of this job requisition is: November 30, 2026.
As part of the total rewards package, this position is eligible for a short-term incentive based on performance. In addition, Jabil offers benefits to enhance your health, wealth, and resilient self. These include medical, dental, and vision insurance plans; paid time off accruing at a rate of 3.07 hours during your first year of employment; 4 weeks of paid parental leave; in 2027, 11 company-paid holidays (9 fixed holidays and 2 optional floating holidays), subject to change yearly; 401(k) retirement plan; and employee stock purchase plan.
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Jabil, including its subsidiaries, is an equal opportunity employer and considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
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