Data Center Project Architect

About the Role

Armada is hiring a Data Center Project Architect to support the Galleon and Leviathan product lines — a brand-new capability for the company. As we scale Modular Data Center (MDC) deployments to sites around the world, we need someone who can own the architectural thread that runs from early site due diligence through permitting, design, and construction, and make sure it holds together across every geography we operate in.

You will identify and vet domestic/international architecture and permitting vendors, assess code and zoning risk on new sites before it becomes a costly redesign, and build the standardized, modular design language that lets our campus, MDC, and building designs scale instead of being reinvented for every site. You'll also be the architectural point of contact linking Armada's product and engineering teams with outside architects, general contractors, and local code consultants, making sure life-safety and operational requirements make it intact from design into as-built construction.

What You'll Do (Key Responsibilities)

• Global vendor liaison & permitting compliance — Identify, vet, and liaise with domestic/international architecture vendors and local permitting/code consultants on every active project site, confirming each can produce building designs and permit submissions compliant with local building, fire, and life-safety codes (IBC and its international/AHJ equivalents).
• Site due diligence & code/permitting risk assessment — Own early-stage architectural due diligence for new sites globally: evaluating local zoning, building code, and permitting pathways, and flagging vendor gaps or approval risk before they cause late-stage redesign or slip a permitting timeline.
• Standardized, modular campus design — Develop and maintain a repeatable architectural concept for Modular Data Center (MDC) buildings, auxiliary buildings (administration/office, security, support spaces), and overall campus layout, defining a consistent design language that scales across geographies instead of a one-off design per site.
• In-house design for new products and sites — Personally develop architectural design for new Armada products and first-of-a-kind site conditions where no vendor solution or precedent yet exists, establishing the design basis in-house before handing off to local architects and permitting consultants for jurisdictional review and approval.
• Life safety, occupancy & operational workflow integration through construction — Act as the architectural point of contact linking Armada product/engineering with international architects, general contractors, and local code consultants, ensuring life-safety, occupancy, and operational workflow requirements carry through correctly from design into fabrication, installation, and as-built construction.
• Architectural governance, documentation & operational readiness sign-off — Build and maintain architectural design standards, permitting checklists, and code-compliance workflows by geography; track open architectural/permitting items across active sites; and provide the final sign-off confirming MDC and site are permitted, code-compliant, and ready for operational handoff.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Architecture (or related field); professional licensure (RA/AIA or international equivalent).
• 5–7 years of hands-on experience leading architectural design and permitting on ground-up commercial, industrial, or mission-critical facilities, including direct work with local AHJs (Authorities Having Jurisdiction), including the ability to independently perform architectural design in-house for new Armada products and site conditions, rather than relying solely on outside vendors.
• Working knowledge of IBC and the ability to navigate comparable international building, fire, and life-safety codes across multiple countries.
• Comfort operating with a high degree of autonomy — you'll be defining the playbook, not inheriting one.
• Willingness and ability to travel approximately 20–30% to project sites, vendor offices, and construction locations worldwide.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience with modular or prefabricated construction methodologies, ideally for data centers or other mission-critical/industrial facilities.
• Exposure to data center–specific design considerations: equipment yard layout, cooling and power infrastructure coordination, and security/operations building programming.
• Experience vetting, directing, and holding external architecture and permitting vendors accountable across concurrent, geographically dispersed projects.
• Experience standing up design standards, templates, or governance processes for a growing team or portfolio, rather than only executing against existing ones.
• Background collaborating directly with product/hardware engineering teams, general contractors, and local consultants across multiple regions or countries.