r/datacenter

Are these data centers exclusively for AI or other data as well? If we are all using AI then dont we actually need these centers? I dont see ai usage going down

hey everyone,

i'm trying to look past all the massive AI hype and actually understand the physical engineering limits we are running into right now.

it feels like everyone talks about GPUs, but from what i’m reading, the real bottleneck has completely shifted to heavy physical infrastructure that cannot be scaled or solved overnight. i want to know the truth from people working in power systems, substations, or hardware design.

a few specific things i'm trying to wrap my head around:

1. the transformer shortage: i read that many new data center projects are getting delayed or cancelled because companies literally cannot buy transformers or switchgear. if you work in power systems, is it true that you have to wait 3 to 5 years just to get basic gear to connect to the power grid?
2. the utility grid part: people talk about building a 100MW data center like it's easy, but local power grids cannot supply that much electricity quickly. are data centers actually building their own onsite power sources right now?
3. Cooling system: old data centers cooled everything with air, but these new racks use huge amounts of power (100kW+). from an electrical and control systems view, what are the biggest problems or breakdown risks when trying to use liquid cooling at this scale?

also, just to step back a bit—are ai data centers really a unique grid-stability problem compared to traditional ones? or is it just massive hype because normal cloud data centers already use a ton of power anyway? does the load behavior of an ai cluster actually strain the grid differently, or is it just the pure scale of it?

i’m just want to know how these specific physical limitations or component shortages are changing design standards. what other massive engineering bottlenecks am i completely missing here? what should i look into if i want to understand this stuff better?

thanks for any insight!

I am a founder working on modular and fast water supply for data centers. Before we build more of this I want to know whether I have got the problem right.

The story you read everywhere is that land and power are solvable now and water is the thing that holds projects up. A recent report states that Northern Virginia water use is up a lot since 2019, a handful of states have brought in legislation. But reported trends and what actually happens on a project are different things, and I don't have enough project-level input to know which one I'm looking at.

What we are building: containerized treatment plants that take locally available non-potable water, starting with reclaimed and STP effluent, and treat it to cooling tower makeup spec. We'd own and run the plant and sell you the water on a contract rather than selling you equipment. Roughly 5,000 to 10,000 m³/day per unit.

What I want to know:

a. Have you seen water allocation or utility capacity actually hold up a project, or does it get resolved during diligence without much drama?

b. Who owns this internally? Development, facilities, utilities, or does it sit between them and become nobody's problem until late?

c. If you had land and power secured and the utility came back with less water than the campus needed, what would you do today?

If the honest answer is that water gets handled and nobody loses sleep over it, that's worth knowing and I'd rather hear it now.

If you have dealt with this on a real project and are up for a conversation, I would really really appreciate it!

Thanks in advance!

Hey all, I'm located in Michigan and I recently accepted a Data Center Engineer Associate position 4 months ago. I roughly make 63-65k based off of on-call pay/overtime/salary. I've seen around this thread people making more then 100k as an DCE. Is this true? What's your experience and should I ride this position out before jumping into a different role. Thanks ahead of time!

I am 68 years old, I was a Central office technician for AT&T. It’s been awhile butI would like get back into telecommunications again if anyone would be willing to hire me.

Thank you

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Say a 100 satellite cluster.

Or would the power requirements be to large for small LEO's like Starlink clusters.

I've been looking into the sensors that monitor electrical equipment in data centers. Power meters, CTs, temp sensors in the switchgear and UPS rooms, residual current, etc. Spoke to a few electricians and they go out of calibration every once in a while. Curious how this actually works on the ground.

Who usually owns the calibration side of things for those sensors in the electrical rooms?

Critical facilities team, BMS or EPMS group, in house electricians, or do you mostly use third party testing firms? When one turns up out of cal, whats the normal process?

Do you document the as found data, check if any alarms or readings were affected, recalibrate it right there or just swap it, that kind of thing? Does it change much between hyperscale, colo, ?and so on

Also, if you ask the electrical maintenance guys from the testing companies for the calibration records, can they usually produce them on the spot if you need them for an audit or something?

Just trying to get a realistic picture of this situation. Appreciate any insights.

Hi, I’m a final-year engineering student working on a project to design a data centre within three commercial shoplots in a warm and humid climate, with ambient conditions of around 30°C and 80% relative humidity. At the moment, the design uses 20 server racks, with rear-door heat exchangers (RDHx) as the main method of removing IT heat.

My lecturer feels that I’m following the project brief too closely and not thinking far enough outside the box, especially when it comes to creating a clear competitive advantage or unique selling point for the facility. I have tried arguing about my estimated PUE, however he thinks its a weak arguement and wanted me to redesign/modify some infrastructure within the data centre.

I’m therefore looking for ideas from people with experience in data-centre design, operation, cooling, or MEP systems. What would you redesign, modify, or add to a small shoplot-based data centre to make it genuinely more attractive than a conventional design?

I'm in the process of a career change after 20yrs. Moving from telecom industry to Data Center. Anyone in the DFW area have insight on the career market, pay scale and atmosphere working in DCs in Texas?

I am very grateful the opportunity I got,I got a DIAT role in Microsoft. I just want to know anyone else in the same position can they share their daily routine. I want to start my first day strong. What is a typical day sounds like. What are the challenges is there any routine or meeting or any style you have selected among your team to smooth the work process.

Here is the a summary of my experience trying to get into a data center position.
My DCT Journey

But essentially, I interview with google roughly 6-7 weeks ago for an L2 position. I passed 2/3 of the interviews except for the networking one. I assumed I was SOL for the next year for the cool down period. Well, yesterday my recruiter emailed me asking if I had a moment to talk about a job opportunity.
After she called me, she said they all really liked me and she has a decent amount of positions about to open up but I need to pass the networking interview. They want to re interview me asap for only the networking portion. So tomorrow I am now interviewing at 11am for a 45 minute interview.

I am so nervous and I need to brush up over the next 24 hours before I interview.

Has anyone had any experience with Google circling back around to them to re interview after almost 2 months? She made it seem pretty urgent to get me to re interview to get inclined, like it could move fast if I pass. But i don't know for sure. I need to focus on passing first.

Excuse my ignorance but is there an L5 or just until L4 at AWS?

I come from a large hyperscaler and was subsequently courted by Fluidstack after seeing several colleagues leave for them. I went through the interview process all the way to an offer just to see what was up. I ultimately ended up turning it down due to a large number of red flags, though the offer itself was substantial.

• They are a small player wanting to grow quickly. I learned early on in the interview process that they aren't very far along with any of their projects. They're mostly riding the AI hype and trying to scale fast. They tout a $50 billion investment from Anthropic, with the caveat that it's not an investment in the company, they are being paid to build for Anthropic which is "committing" to invest that much money in data centers.
• Due to that rapid growth, they had zero structure or organization. The director I talked to had plenty of ideas about what he wanted to do, but it mostly sounded like they were just treading water. At the time I interviewed, they didn’t even have a formal HR department, though there was lots of talk about moving toward standard tech-company benefits.
• Their main hiring strategy seems to be "throw money at tech employees and get them to join." Their offers are large ($200k–$300k), and they're using their cash pile to quickly snag experienced engineers.
• The problem is that their interview process is a mess. They are throwing money at an army of recruiters who spam anyone in a tech data center role. Everything (from the initial screen to the technical interview and the hiring manager call) was a joke. Basically, they were confirming I had a pulse and could answer basic questions. Talking to the CEO during the process was interesting, but it also confirmed they have zero experience building an infrastructure company. It was concerning how easy it was to get an offer, but that ties into my next point.
• Even more concerning, and a major reason I turned them down, is the quality of their hiring. Don't get me wrong, we lost a few good engineers to them. However, I’ve also seen low-level engineers and poor-performing techs get hired directly into senior roles. It aligns with the rest of the interview process: get bodies in the door and figure it out later.
• One thing that felt shady was the RSU numbers they quote in their offer letters. If you aren't familiar with startups and are coming straight from a big tech company, it looks like future riches. However, they are common (non-preferred) shares, and they quote the preferred investor share price from their last raise to inflate the perceived value in the offer letter.
• From friends who were hired, the travel requirements are extremely high. You are expected to be constantly traveling out to data centers to get things built and commissioned, or flying to vendor sites for FATs and inspections. If you don't mind jet-setting to rural areas and working 60–80 hour weeks, it's a well-paying gig.

Don't get me wrong, if I had received this offer 10 years ago, I would've been on the first flight to Buffalo. But as someone further along in my career, the cash isn't high enough and the funny-money RSUs aren't worth the time away from my family. If you're willing to trade free time for a good salary and you thrive in chaos, it's not a bad company to consider. Just go in with your eyes open.

Feel free to ask me questions about the interview process, and I can share more context.

I just want to keep it secret for now and have no one else to share it with but I just passed the DC phone screen and am being moved forward.

This is huuuge for me! Google is my dream company and my final goal in my career. But at the same time it’s only the beginning.

Any tips, welcome!

hey, does anyone have solid information (good or bad) on this company?