Roles · Leadership
Directors of commissioning, construction leaders and heads of AI platform
Infrastructure and platform leaders run the teams that build and operate AI infrastructure: directors of commissioning, heads of mission-critical, data center construction and delivery leaders, and heads of AI platform. Hyperscalers, AI cloud providers and software companies hire them to own a portfolio, a region or a platform. Kernavique fills these roles through leadership search, run from brief to start. Oracle published $139,400 to $291,800 for a Director, Commissioning QA/QC in Abilene, Texas (read October 11, 2026).
Last updated
Infrastructure and platform leaders
What the role does
- Owns commissioning strategy and execution across a portfolio, from design review through integrated systems testing to ready-for-service, including go/no-go decisions.
- Leads commissioning, QA/QC, startup sequencing and energization readiness across active projects, tracking measures such as first-pass yield.
- Drives speed to market across a regional construction portfolio, from planning and procurement through design, construction, commissioning and handoff.
- Leads design, construction and capital project support for a metro region, and develops teams of engineers and project managers.
- Sets AI strategy across platform, infrastructure, product and research, and manages the AI budget and technical standards.
- Owns the roadmap for a model platform’s reliability, scalability and cost, including failover and routing between model providers.
Skills and credentials
Commissioning and quality credentials
Oracle’s Director, Commissioning QA/QC ad names PMP, CxA, CCP, CQE, CMQ/OE, OSHA 10 or OSHA 30, and LEED among related credentials. Microsoft’s Lease Commissioning Director ad lists none, asking for a bachelor’s degree and 8+ years of technical engineering experience, or equivalents.
Years in the field and in management
Oracle asks for 12+ years of experience and 5+ years managing people. Microsoft’s DCD Subregional Leader asks for 12+ years and prefers 15+ years on data center projects and 10+ years of people management.
Partner and contractor relationships
Microsoft’s Lease Commissioning Director builds executive relationships with lease providers, and Google’s Data Center Services Metro Lead leads vendor development for general and trade contractors.
AI strategy and budget
SimpliSafe’s Head of AI reports to the CTO, leads AI/ML infrastructure, research and product features, and manages the AI budget.
Model and evaluation platforms
Harvey’s model infrastructure lead runs a multi-provider model platform covering failover, capacity and incident response. Duolingo’s AI Platform manager leads 5–6 engineers building tools for datasets, prompts and evaluations.
What the market pays
- Microsoft
M5: $142,800 to $274,800 a year
Lease Commissioning Director
United States, Multiple Locations. Base salary, typical U.S. range (not local).
- Oracle
$139,400 to $291,800 a year
Director, Commissioning QA/QC
Abilene, TX; United States. Not stated; hiring range, bonus and equity separate.
- Amazon (AWS)
$182,300 to $272,500 a year
Head of Pre-Construction, AMER Data Center Delivery, Data Center Planning and Delivery
USA, VA, Herndon. Base salary.
- Microsoft
M6: $130,900 to $277,200 a year
DCD Subregional Leader - Construction Acceleration
United States, Wisconsin, Mount Pleasant. Base salary, typical U.S. range (not local).
- Crusoe
up to $260,000 - $310,000 + Bonus
Senior Director, Construction
San Francisco, CA; Dallas, TX. Not stated; plus bonus, RSUs separate.
- Google
US: $188,000 to $274,000
Data Center Services Metro Lead
Appling, GA, USA. Not stated; bonus target and equity on top.
- SimpliSafe
$300,000 to $400,000
Head of AI - Engineering & Product
Boston, MA. Base salary, target annual range.
- Harvey
$260K – $340K
Engineering Manager, Model Infrastructure
San Francisco. Not stated; salary, plus equity and bonus.
- Duolingo
$204,000 to $306,000
Senior Engineering Manager, AI Platform
New York, NY; Pittsburgh, PA. Not stated; salary range, plus equity.
- Coinbase
$253,895 to $298,700
Senior Engineering Manager, Core AI Automation (Platform)
Remote - USA. Base salary, excludes equity and bonus.
| Employer | Role, as titled in the ad | Location | Published range | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft | Lease Commissioning Director | United States, Multiple Locations | M5: $142,800 to $274,800 a year | Base salary, typical U.S. range (not local) |
| Oracle | Director, Commissioning QA/QC | Abilene, TX; United States | $139,400 to $291,800 a year | Not stated; hiring range, bonus and equity separate |
| Amazon (AWS) | Head of Pre-Construction, AMER Data Center Delivery, Data Center Planning and Delivery | USA, VA, Herndon | $182,300 to $272,500 a year | Base salary |
| Microsoft | DCD Subregional Leader - Construction Acceleration | United States, Wisconsin, Mount Pleasant | M6: $130,900 to $277,200 a year | Base salary, typical U.S. range (not local) |
| Crusoe | Senior Director, Construction | San Francisco, CA; Dallas, TX | up to $260,000 - $310,000 + Bonus | Not stated; plus bonus, RSUs separate |
| Data Center Services Metro Lead | Appling, GA, USA | US: $188,000 to $274,000 | Not stated; bonus target and equity on top | |
| SimpliSafe | Head of AI - Engineering & Product | Boston, MA | $300,000 to $400,000 | Base salary, target annual range |
| Harvey | Engineering Manager, Model Infrastructure | San Francisco | $260K – $340K | Not stated; salary, plus equity and bonus |
| Duolingo | Senior Engineering Manager, AI Platform | New York, NY; Pittsburgh, PA | $204,000 to $306,000 | Not stated; salary range, plus equity |
| Coinbase | Senior Engineering Manager, Core AI Automation (Platform) | Remote - USA | $253,895 to $298,700 | Base salary, excludes equity and bonus |
Few employers publish pay under head-of-platform titles, so the platform rows include senior engineering managers who own an AI or model platform. Microsoft’s ranges are typical US ranges rather than local ones. Each employer links to its ad. All read October 11, 2026.
How we fill it
- Leadership search
Search
A dedicated search for directors of commissioning, heads of mission-critical, construction and delivery leaders, and heads of AI platform, run by Kernavique from brief to start.
- Market mapping
Search
For a new region or a role few people hold, we map who runs comparable portfolios and platforms, where they sit and what would move them.
- Capability Blueprint
Advisory
Before the hire, a written design of the team the leader will run: the roles, the order to hire them and the contract and permanent mix.
- Compensation Benchmarking
Advisory
Leadership pay by scope and level from named employers’ published ranges, so the offer rests on evidence.
In demand in: Northern Virginia, Dallas–Fort Worth
Questions buyers ask
- What does a director of commissioning earn?
- In ads we read on October 11, 2026, Oracle published $139,400 to $291,800 for a Director, Commissioning QA/QC in Abilene, Texas. Microsoft gave a typical US base range of $142,800 to $274,800 for its Lease Commissioning Director at level M5. Oracle does not call its range base pay, and puts bonus and equity outside it.
- What does a head of AI platform earn?
- Few employers publish pay under that exact title. In ads we read on October 11, 2026, SimpliSafe published a target annual base range of $300,000 to $400,000 for its Head of AI - Engineering & Product in Boston. Duolingo published $204,000 to $306,000 for a Senior Engineering Manager, AI Platform in New York and Pittsburgh, and Harvey $260K – $340K, plus equity and bonus, for an Engineering Manager, Model Infrastructure in San Francisco.
- Can you find a head of mission-critical or a VP of data center delivery?
- Yes, through leadership search. None of the ads we read on October 11, 2026, for a head of mission-critical or a VP of data center construction or delivery published a range. We benchmark these roles against director and head roles of similar scope, such as Amazon’s Head of Pre-Construction, AMER Data Center Delivery, at $182,300 to $272,500 base.
- How do you run a leadership search?
- As a dedicated search from brief to start. We write the brief back to you, map who holds comparable roles, approach them directly and stay involved through the first 90 days. We agree the shortlist timing with you at the brief call, based on the role and the market.
Terms on this page
- CxA
- Commissioning authority, also called a commissioning agent: the party that checks a building’s systems are installed and perform as designed. ACG also issues a credential of the same name.
- CCP
- Certified Commissioning Professional, a credential issued by the Building Commissioning Certification Board (BCCB).
- OSHA
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the US federal workplace safety agency. OSHA 10 and OSHA 30 are its outreach training courses.
Sources
- 01
Microsoft, Lease Commissioning Director (job ad)
Dated Oct 5, 2026. Read Oct 11, 2026. apply.careers.microsoft.com
- 02
Oracle, Director, Commissioning QA/QC (job ad)
Dated Sep 14, 2026. Read Oct 11, 2026. careers.oracle.com
- 03
Amazon, Head of Pre-Construction, AMER Data Center Delivery, Data Center Planning and Delivery (job ad)
Dated Sep 9, 2026. Read Oct 11, 2026. amazon.jobs
- 04
Microsoft, DCD Subregional Leader - Construction Acceleration (job ad)
Dated Sep 30, 2026. Read Oct 11, 2026. apply.careers.microsoft.com
- 05
Crusoe, Senior Director, Construction (job ad)
Dated Aug 5, 2026. Read Oct 11, 2026. jobs.ashbyhq.com
- 06
Google, Data Center Services Metro Lead (job ad)
Read Oct 11, 2026. google.com
Show all 10 sourcesShow fewer sources
- 07
SimpliSafe, Head of AI - Engineering & Product (job ad)
Dated Jun 11, 2026. Read Oct 11, 2026. job-boards.greenhouse.io
- 08
Harvey, Engineering Manager, Model Infrastructure (job ad)
Dated Jul 22, 2026. Read Oct 11, 2026. jobs.ashbyhq.com
- 09
Duolingo, Senior Engineering Manager, AI Platform (job ad)
Dated Sep 3, 2026. Read Oct 11, 2026. careers.duolingo.com
- 10
Coinbase, Senior Engineering Manager, Core AI Automation (Platform) (job ad)
Dated Aug 12, 2026. Read Oct 11, 2026. coinbase.com