AWS Infrastructure Services owns the design, planning, delivery, and operation of all AWS global infrastructure. In other words, we're the people who keep the cloud running. We support all AWS data centers and all of the servers, storage, networking, power, and cooling equipment that ensure our customers have continual access to the innovation they rely on. We work on the most challenging problems, with thousands of variables impacting the supply chain — and we're looking for talented people who want to help.
You'll join a diverse team of software, hardware, and network engineers, supply chain specialists, security experts, operations managers, and other vital roles. You'll collaborate with people across AWS to help us deliver the highest standards for safety and security while providing seemingly infinite capacity at the lowest possible cost for our customers. And you'll experience an inclusive culture that welcomes bold ideas and empowers you to own them to completion.
AWS is seeking a High Voltage (HV) Subject Matter Expert (SME) to serve as a technical authority within AMER's Amazon Commissioning (ACx) leadership team. This role owns the end-to-end HV commissioning strategy for the AMER region — including program-level planning, risk identification, and mitigation across concurrent projects — while driving technical standards and continuous improvement of Medium Voltage and High Voltage infrastructure across Amazon's rapidly expanding global data center footprint. The ideal candidate operates with significant autonomy, influences multi-regional commissioning programs, and mentors junior engineers while shaping the future of AWS HV infrastructure delivery. Successful candidates shall be willing to travel and will be based in Herndon, VA.
Key job responsibilities
Commissioning Strategy & Technical Leadership
-Serve as the technical decision-maker for complex, ambiguous commissioning challenges where no established precedent exists, defining and continuously improving commissioning frameworks, test scripts, and acceptance criteria used across the ACx team.
-Lead cross-system integration commissioning for complex, interdependent infrastructure (e.g., EPMS-to-BMS integration, protection relay coordination across HV/MV boundaries), with systems expertise spanning low, medium, and high voltage power and related systems.
-Provide technical authority sign-off on system integration test plans and energization readiness (C2E) for high-risk or novel substation configurations.
-Serve as the primary technical interface between ACx, HVDE, Design, and Construction teams for all HV/MV commissioning matters in the region.
Systems of Expertise
-Low, medium, and high voltage power systems
-Generators, UPS, HVAC, and Chilled Water systems
-Building Management Systems (BMS) and Electrical Power Monitoring Systems (EPMS)
Vendor & Stakeholder Management
-Lead strategic vendor relationships for commissioning contractors and OEM service representatives, including performance evaluation, capability development, and escalation management.
-Manage and support vendors while providing multi-discipline input into the scheduling, design, and planning of projects to contractors and other teams involved.
-Influence procurement and contracting decisions by providing technical input on commissioning scope, vendor qualifications, and acceptance criteria during the pre-award phase.
Compliance, Standards & Continuous Improvement
-Own the regional HV commissioning compliance program, ensuring all projects meet BOD, specification, and regulatory requirements — proactively identifying gaps before they become deficiencies.
-Author and maintain ACx standard operating procedures (SOPs), commissioning specifications, and BOD inputs for HV/MV systems.
-Identify and drive resolution of systemic design or commissioning deficiencies that recur across multiple projects, escalating findings to HVDE and design teams.
-Lead post-commissioning lessons-learned reviews and translate findings into actionable updates to commissioning standards, test scripts, and design feedback loops.
-Represent ACx in cross-functional design reviews (Pre-Review, SME Review) to ensure commissioning requirements are embedded at the design stage, not retrofitted during construction.
Metrics, Reporting & Data-Driven Improvement
-Define, own, and continuously improve the commissioning metrics framework for the AMER region, including KPIs for schedule adherence, deficiency rates, C2E readiness, and energization success.
-Produce MBR-ready reporting that provides actionable insights — not just status updates — to the ACx Regional Manager and senior AWS Infrastructure leadership.
-Use data from commissioning outcomes to identify systemic trends and drive upstream improvements in design, procurement, and construction practices.
Technical Mentorship & Knowledge Management
-Mentor and develop commissioning engineers, providing technical guidance, career coaching, and stretch assignment opportunities
-Lead technical deep-dives, design reviews, and commissioning readiness assessments across the ACx team, elevating the technical bar of the broader organization
-Contribute to hiring and calibration by participating in interview loops and providing calibrated feedback on engineering candidates
-Represent ACx as a subject matter expert in cross-organizational forums, including design reviews, standards committees, and vendor technical evaluations
-Drive knowledge management by authoring internal wikis, runbooks, and training materials that scale expertise across the team
Physical Requirements
-Walk job sites in uneven terrain
-Work at heights and from ladders
-Regularly walk, use hands and fingers, reach with hands and arms, stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl
-Lift and/or move up to 49 pounds; participate in group lifts for 50 pounds or more
-Carry objects weighing up to 49 pounds for short distances
-Work shifts longer than eight hours in duration with potential for nights and weekends
-Perform physical tasks throughout the day without becoming overly fatigued
-Ability to manipulate small wires and objects with precision
-Work in noisy environments
-Work in environments that are colder or hotter than a standard office environment
-Troubleshoot using handheld equipment
-Respond to off-hour emergency calls
About the team
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world's most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform. We pioneered cloud computing and never stopped innovating — that's why customers from the most successful startups to Global 500 companies trust our robust suite of products and services to power their businesses.
Amazon values diverse experiences. Even if you do not meet all of the preferred qualifications and skills listed in the job description, we encourage candidates to apply. If your career is just starting, hasn't followed a traditional path, or includes alternative experiences, don't let it stop you from applying.
We value work-life harmony. Achieving success at work should never come at the expense of sacrifices at home, which is why we strive for flexibility as part of our working culture. When we feel supported in the workplace and at home, there's nothing we can't achieve in the cloud.
Here at AWS, it's in our nature to learn and be curious. Our employee-led affinity groups foster a culture of inclusion that empowers us to be proud of our differences. Ongoing events and learning experiences, including our Conversations on Race and Ethnicity (CORE) and AmazeCon conferences, inspire us to never stop embracing our uniqueness.
We're continuously raising our performance bar as we strive to become Earth's Best Employer. That's why you'll find endless knowledge-sharing, mentorship, and other career-advancing resources here to help you develop into a better-rounded professional.
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