# Principal Hardware Design Engineer - Company: [Designworkstalent]() - Location: Bellevue - Remote: Yes - Team: Engineering - Employment type: Full Time - Posted: July 21, 2026 ## Job description # **Principal Hardware / Machine Design Engineer** **Location:** Hybrid | Bellevue, WA Area **Titles:** Principal (multiple roles available) ; Staff level may be considered # **Design the Hardware Powering the Next Generation of AI Infrastructure** ## **About the Opportunity** A well-funded, rapidly growing AI infrastructure company is building a next-generation cloud platform designed to power the full lifecycle of artificial intelligence. The organization is developing a comprehensive AI infrastructure, platform, and services portfolio that supports the full spectrum of AI workloads—including large-scale compute, model training, fine-tuning, inference, and emerging agentic AI applications. Backed by significant long-term investment, the company combines the speed, ownership, and innovation of a startup with the stability and resources of an established parent organization. Engineering teams are intentionally lean, highly collaborative, and AI-native, leveraging modern automation and tooling to build world-class infrastructure capable of supporting the most demanding AI workloads. We're seeking a **Principal Hardware / Machine Design Engineer** to lead the design of next-generation GPU server and rack infrastructure. This role is ideal for an engineer who enjoys translating vendor reference architectures into highly optimized, production-ready systems that maximize performance, reliability, serviceability, and cost efficiency. ## **The Opportunity** As one of the earliest infrastructure engineers on the team, you'll own the physical design of GPU servers and rack-scale systems that form the foundation of a rapidly expanding AI platform. Working closely with GPU vendors, ODMs/OEMs, data center engineering, networking, and operations teams, you'll drive hardware architecture from concept through deployment while influencing future infrastructure strategy. This is a highly visible individual contributor role with broad ownership and the opportunity to shape hardware standards for a rapidly growing AI infrastructure organization. ## **What You'll Do** * Lead the design and configuration of GPU servers and rack-scale infrastructure using vendor reference architectures from NVIDIA, AMD, and emerging AI hardware providers. * Partner closely with ODMs and OEMs to develop, validate, and optimize custom hardware platforms for production deployment. * Own rack-level architecture, including mechanical layout, power distribution, thermal design, cable management, serviceability, and deployment standards. * Evaluate new GPU platforms, server technologies, and hardware innovations to determine their suitability for next-generation AI workloads. * Collaborate with data center engineering, networking, infrastructure, and operations teams to ensure seamless integration across facilities and production environments. * Balance performance, reliability, manufacturability, scalability, and total cost of ownership when designing infrastructure solutions. * Support hardware validation, qualification, and production readiness for large-scale deployments. * Help establish engineering standards, hardware specifications, and design best practices as the infrastructure organization grows. ## **What We're Looking For** * Extensive experience designing GPU-based servers, rack infrastructure, or large-scale compute platforms. * Deep knowledge of GPU server architecture and vendor reference designs, particularly NVIDIA and AMD ecosystems. * Experience working directly with ODMs and OEM partners to design, customize, qualify, and manufacture production hardware. * Strong understanding of rack-level infrastructure, including power, cooling, airflow, mechanical integration, cable management, and serviceability. * Experience supporting hyperscale cloud, AI infrastructure, HPC, or large-scale data center environments. * Ability to evaluate architectural trade-offs across performance, scalability, reliability, and cost. * Comfortable operating as a senior technical leader within a fast-moving, high-growth engineering organization. ## **Preferred Qualifications** * Experience designing infrastructure supporting AI training clusters or large-scale inference platforms. * Experience with liquid cooling technologies, high-density rack deployments, or advanced thermal management. * Familiarity with multiple GPU generations and evolving accelerator technologies. * Background designing hardware platforms for cloud providers, hyperscalers, or AI infrastructure companies. * Experience influencing long-term hardware architecture and infrastructure strategy. ## **Compensation** * Competitive base pay for Bellevue market * Certain roles are eligible for additional rewards, including merit increases, annual bonus, and long term incentives. These awards are allocated based on individual performance * U.S. based employees have access to medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401(k) plan and company match, employees also receive per calendar year, paid holidays. ## **Location** * Hybrid role based in the Bellevue, WA area. * Approximately three days per week in the office. * Candidates elsewhere in the U.S. who are open to relocation are encouraged to apply. * U.S. work authorization is required. Visa sponsorship is not currently available. ## **Why Join?** * Design the hardware foundation powering one of the industry's most ambitious AI infrastructure platforms. * Own architecture decisions spanning GPU servers, rack systems, and next-generation compute infrastructure. * Work directly with leading hardware vendors and manufacturing partners to build production-scale AI systems. * Join early enough to influence technical direction, engineering standards, and infrastructure strategy. * Collaborate with an exceptional team solving some of the most challenging problems in AI infrastructure, high-performance computing, and hyperscale systems. * Enjoy the autonomy and impact of a startup environment backed by substantial long-term investment and a bold vision for the future of AI. ## Apply [Apply on Designworkstalent]() Canonical job page: