Director of Technical Program Management, Physical Deployment at Nscale, San Francisco

Director of Technical Program Management, Physical Deployment at Nscale in San Francisco. Contract. $290,000 to $350,000 a year. Apply with swipeandhired.

Nscale builds and operates large-scale AI infrastructure, delivering GPU clusters for leading hyperscalers, AI labs and enterprises across North America, EMEA and APAC. The Deployment PMO turns signed contracts into live AI infrastructure, coordinating the many teams and partners involved in bringing large GPU clusters online.

About the role

As Director of Physical Deployment, you own every cluster from data center early access through to the point where every GPU rack is powered on, cabled and passing hardware acceptance testing. You will turn construction, power, cooling and supply chain realities into schedules the business can commit to, and hold partners to them.

Your scope begins when Nscale takes handover of the data hall and ends when the racks are ready for logical bring-up. It covers site readiness, rack receipt and placement, power and cooling activation, structured cabling, and vendor-led hardware testing. You will hand a clean, fully documented floor to the Logical Deployment team for network configuration, validation and customer handoff.

This is a field leadership role. Expect to spend 90% or more of your time travelling, leading from the data center floor.

What you’ll do

Own physical delivery

• Own the integrated physical schedule for each cluster, covering data center early access, rack delivery, power, cooling, cabling and hardware acceptance testing.

• Set and defend milestone dates. Build in buffer, and escalate early when float disappears.

• Run daily and weekly site cadences with data center partners, OEMs (such as Dell, Lenovo and Supermicro), cabling vendors and onsite teams.

• Maintain rack-level tracking so leadership can see exactly where every rack stands and manage supply and site risk.

• Track GPU, rack, switch, transceiver and cabling materials against need dates, working with Supply Chain and BOM specialists.

• Work with data center partners on power and cooling readiness, including primary cooling loops, phased energization and temporary solutions.

• Lead recovery plans when supply, construction or vendor staffing slips, including re-sequencing work, re-routing hardware and adding resources.

Lead people and partners

• Lead, hire and develop a team of Physical Deployment TPMs, with clear ownership for each site.

• Hold vendors accountable to SOWs, staffing plans and quality standards.

• Hand off cleanly to Logical Deployment, with complete documentation, punch lists and test results.

Build the operating model

• Define the physical deployment playbook, including entry criteria, gates, checklists and standard timelines.

• Partner with the tooling team on automation for rack tracking, cabling verification and status reporting.

• Report weekly status and risks to the VP and senior leadership, clearly separating forecast from upside.

What success looks like in your first 6–12 months

• Every active cluster has one integrated physical schedule, owned by a named TPM and reviewed weekly.

• Physical milestones hit their committed dates, or slips are flagged at least two weeks ahead with a recovery plan.

• Rack-level status is visible to leadership without manual chasing.

• A documented physical deployment playbook is in use on every new site.

• Logical Deployment receives floors with no open blockers at handoff.

• The Physical Deployment team is fully staffed, with clear site ownership and a succession path.

What you bring

• 12+ years in data center, hyperscale infrastructure or large-scale hardware deployment, including 5+ years leading teams.

• Direct experience delivering multi-megawatt GPU or HPC clusters, from data hall readiness through rack energization.

• Working knowledge of data center power, liquid and air cooling, structured cabling and rack integration.

• A track record of managing OEMs, data center operators and construction partners to firm commitments.

• Strength in building integrated schedules and critical paths across many parties, and in recovering them when they slip.

• Clear, concise executive communication, both in writing and in the room, with honest forecasts.

• Ability to travel 90% or more of the time, primarily to data center sites, often at short notice.

How you lead

This is a Director-level role. We are looking for a leader who owns outcomes rather than one who reports on them.

• Decisive: You call the real date, even when it’s unpopular, and pair it with a recovery plan. You make calls on incomplete information and stand behind them.

• Assertive with partners: You hold data center partners, OEMs and vendors to their commitments. When a partner slips, you escalate early, directly and with evidence.

• Accountable: You own the outcome for every site in your scope. Rather than “waiting on the vendor,” you explain what you are doing about it.

• Steady under pressure: You bring order to a site in crisis and help your team think clearly when schedules collapse.

• Credible with executives: You brief SVPs and customers with a clear, honest position: what’s true, what’s at risk, and what you need from them.

• A builder of leaders: You hire strong TPMs, give them real ownership, and grow them into site and pillar leaders.

• Hands-on: You walk the data hall and know the state of the floor firsthand. Status reports alone are not enough.

Preferred qualifications

• Hands-on experience with NVIDIA GB200/GB300 or Vera Rubin NVL72-class rack deployments.

• Experience at a hyperscaler, neocloud or AI lab deploying 10K+ GPU clusters.

• Familiarity with rack-level burn-in and hardware validation.

• Experience introducing tooling or automation for rack tracking and deployment reporting.

• PMP, or a construction or engineering background.

The range below reflects the base salary for the position. Actual compensation may vary based on job-related factors such as skill set, experience, education, and location. In addition to base salary, this role may be eligible for bonus, equity, and/or commission programs. Nscale may offer a competitive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, flexible paid time off, parental leave, and retirement plan participation.

Salary Range
$290,000 — $350,000 USD

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