Search
Leadership and engineering search for data center and AI platform teams
Kernavique Search fills permanent leadership and engineering roles for the companies building and running AI infrastructure in the United States. We search for commissioning leads and managers, mission-critical electrical and mechanical engineers, construction and project leads for data center programs, and AI platform and forward deployed engineering leads. Every search starts with a written brief and ends with named people you can interview.
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Permanent leadership and engineering hires
Shortlist timing agreed at the brief.
Search
Four services
- 01
Leadership search
Directors, practice leads, heads of mission-critical and heads of AI platform. A dedicated, committed search, run by us from brief to start.Leadership search in detail - 02
Engineering search
Commissioning, mission-critical MEP, construction and project, platform and forward deployed engineers. Contingent or committed; we recommend which on the brief call.Engineering search in detail - 03
Team builds
Several roles against one plan, delivered in sequence so the first hires can shape the later ones. It starts with a Capability Blueprint.Team builds in detail - 04
Market mapping
Who holds the role you need, where they are and what would move them, before a search starts. Useful when you are opening a new hub or testing whether a role can be filled at all.Market mapping in detail
Who Search is for
- Engineering and commissioning consultancies with data center work.
- MEP and general contractors delivering data center programs.
- Colocation and hyperscale operators in Northern Virginia, Atlanta, Columbus, Phoenix and Dallas–Fort Worth.
- Consultancies building an AI platform practice.
How we work
Hiring and capacity
Search, Capacity and Expertise
- BriefA 30-minute call. We write the specification back to you.
- ShortlistNamed people, with our notes, to a timing agreed at the brief.
- InterviewsWe run the process. You make the decision.
- StartWe stay involved through the first 90 days.
Related: What a data center commissioning manager costs in October 2026
Questions buyers ask
- How quickly will we see people?
- We agree the shortlist timing with you at the brief call, based on the role and the market. The shortlist names real people, with our notes on each.
- What is the difference between a contingent and a committed search?
- A committed search is dedicated: we run it to a plan and a timeline agreed at the start, and it suits leadership and hard-to-fill roles. A contingent search suits engineering roles where the market is active and you are also hiring directly. We recommend one on the brief call and explain why.
- Which locations do you cover?
- The United States, with a focus on the data center hubs of Northern Virginia, Atlanta, Columbus, Phoenix and Dallas–Fort Worth, and on AI platform roles nationally. We also work in Chicago and Austin–San Antonio, and search nationally for senior people who will relocate or travel.
- Do you search for commissioning and CxA roles?
- Yes. Commissioning leads and managers across mechanical, electrical and CxA are a core part of Search. In July 2026 Turner & Townsend named commissioning agents and engineers among the hardest critical roles to fill in data center construction (Data Center Knowledge, July 22, 2026).
- What happens after someone starts?
- We stay involved through the first 90 days. We check in with you and with the new hire, so problems surface early rather than months later.
Terms on this page
- MEP
- Mechanical, electrical and plumbing: the building-services trades and engineering in a data center.
- 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.