About the Role

We are looking for an experienced Director of AI Infrastructure Hardware to lead the deployment, operation, reliability, and lifecycle management of Firebird AI's hardware infrastructure.

This role owns the physical infrastructure layer that powers our AI platforms, including GPU servers, networking equipment, racks, cabling, optics, power distribution, and supporting hardware systems. You will serve as the primary point of coordination between internal engineering teams, hardware vendors, system integrators, data center operators, and break/fix support providers.

What You’ll Do

Hardware Infrastructure Ownership

• Own the lifecycle of AI infrastructure hardware, including GPU servers, networking equipment, racks, cabling, optics, transceivers, PDUs, and supporting infrastructure.
• Establish hardware standards, deployment requirements, and operational readiness criteria.
• Drive capacity planning, hardware refresh planning, and infrastructure scalability initiatives.
• Ensure accurate asset tracking, inventory management, and lifecycle documentation.

Deployment & Integration

• Oversee hardware delivery, installation, rack integration, testing, and operational handover.
• Review and validate rack layouts, cabling plans, hardware integration designs, and deployment documentation.
• Ensure proper integration between servers, networking equipment, management networks, and supporting infrastructure.
• Coordinate deployment activities across internal teams, vendors, contractors, and data center partners.

Vendor & Partner Management

• Act as the primary point of contact for hardware vendors, OEMs, system integrators, colocation providers, and support partners.
• Manage vendor performance, escalation processes, service delivery, and operational commitments.
• Coordinate RMA activities, hardware replacements, warranty management, and spare parts logistics.
• Drive accountability and clear ownership across all external partners.

Operations & Incident Management

• Establish and manage hardware support, break/fix, and incident response processes.
• Coordinate troubleshooting and resolution of hardware-related incidents across servers, networking equipment, power systems, and supporting infrastructure.
• Drive timely service restoration and escalation management for critical infrastructure issues.
• Monitor hardware reliability, recurring failures, operational risks, and service performance metrics.

Documentation & Continuous Improvement

• Maintain infrastructure documentation, including rack layouts, cable maps, port mappings, asset inventories, and operational procedures.
• Develop hardware acceptance, validation, and operational readiness processes.
• Identify operational gaps and implement improvements to increase reliability, efficiency, and scalability.
• Support long-term infrastructure strategy and operational maturity initiatives.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with infrastructure, networking, platform, security, procurement, finance, and operations teams.
• Support infrastructure expansion projects and new deployment initiatives.
• Provide leadership and technical guidance on hardware-related decisions and operational priorities.

What We’re Looking For

• Strong experience leading hardware infrastructure operations in data centers, AI infrastructure, cloud infrastructure, telecommunications, or other mission-critical environments.
• Deep understanding of server platforms, networking equipment, rack-level infrastructure, optics, cabling systems, and hardware deployment practices.
• Experience managing hardware vendors, OEMs, system integrators, and external service providers.
• Strong operational mindset with experience in incident management, break/fix operations, and service restoration.
• Proven ability to drive complex infrastructure initiatives involving multiple stakeholders.
• High sense of ownership, accountability, and execution.
• Excellent communication, organizational, and vendor management skills.

Nice to Have

• Experience with large-scale GPU clusters and AI infrastructure.
• Familiarity with NVIDIA platforms and high-performance networking environments.
• Experience with InfiniBand and large-scale Ethernet deployments.
• Experience working with colocation data centers and mission-critical infrastructure environments.