Director, Memphis Power Plant Operations
xAI · Southaven, United States · 1mo ago
SpaceXAI’s mission is to create AI systems that can accurately understand the universe and aid humanity in its pursuit of knowledge. Our team is small, highly motivated, and focused on engineering excellence. This organization is for individuals who appreciate challenging themselves and thrive on curiosity. We operate with a flat organizational structure. All employees are expected to be hands-on and to contribute directly to the company’s mission. Leadership is given to those who show initiative and consistently deliver excellence. Work ethic and strong prioritization skills are important. All employees are expected to have strong communication skills. They should be able to concisely and accurately share knowledge with their teammates.
ABOUT THE ROLE:
The Director, Memphis Power Plant Operations provides strategic and operational leadership for the gas turbine power generation facility supporting SpaceXAI's Colossus data center campus in Memphis, Tennessee. This role oversees all plant operations, maintenance, commissioning, and continued construction/expansion of the dedicated power plant, with full ownership of delivering reliable, high-availability electrical power to the Colossus AI training clusters. The position is responsible for driving operational excellence, ensuring 24/7 power reliability and quality, safety, environmental compliance, and leading cross-functional teams to achieve aggressive scale-up, availability, cost, and schedule objectives in a high-growth, fast-paced environment.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Provide strategic and operational leadership for the Memphis gas turbine power plant, including 24/7 operations, maintenance, commissioning, and ongoing construction and capacity expansion
- Own end-to-end delivery of electrical power to the Colossus data center sites, ensuring industry-leading reliability, availability, power quality, and redundancy
- Lead multidisciplinary teams of operators, maintenance technicians, engineers, contractors, and support staff in a 24/7 operational and construction environment
- Oversee plant performance, commissioning, testing, and seamless integration with data center electrical infrastructure and load
- Develop and execute comprehensive operations and maintenance strategies, including preventative/predictive maintenance, outage planning, hot gas path management, and OEM coordination for gas turbines, generators, balance of plant, and high-voltage electrical systems
- Manage concurrent construction, equipment installation, civil works, and phased capacity expansions while maintaining safe, reliable operation of the existing plant
- Ensure full compliance with environmental, safety, and regulatory requirements, including air permits, emissions controls, TDEC, EPA, OSHA, and local authorities
- Partner closely with xAI data center operations, engineering, fuel suppliers, OEMs, utilities, and regulatory agencies
- Formulate and execute operating budgets, fuel management, O&M, capital projects, and annual operating plans
- Drive continuous improvement in plant availability, heat rate, emissions, cost, safety metrics, and operational processes
- Establish and promote a culture of uncompromising safety, accountability, operational excellence, rapid execution, and collaboration
- Serve as the site leader and primary representative to the Memphis community, regulators, and stakeholders
- Recruit, develop, coach, and retain high-performing talent; manage staffing, resource allocation, and contractor oversight for both operations and construction
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:
- Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, electrical, or other engineering discipline
- 8+ years of experience in power generation operations, plant management, or related industrial or aerospace operations
- 5+ years of leadership experience managing teams of operators, technicians, and engineers
- Experience operating or managing gas turbine power plants (simple cycle or combined cycle)
PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:
- Experience managing large-scale gas turbine facilities (100 MW+), preferably with high-availability critical power applications (data centers, industrial, or similar)
- Proven track record of achieving and sustaining high plant availability, reliability, and low forced outage rates
- Hands-on experience with plant construction, commissioning, start-up, and concurrent operations/expansion of gas turbine facilities
- Deep knowledge of gas turbine technology (aeroderivative and/or heavy-duty frames), performance optimization, emissions controls (SCR, etc.), and balance of plant systems
- Experience with high-voltage electrical systems, generators, switchgear, protection, and data center or industrial interconnection
- Strong understanding of environmental permitting, air quality compliance, and regulatory reporting for combustion turbines
- Experience in fast-paced, high-growth environments requiring simultaneous operations and major construction
- Demonstrated ability to manage budgets, fuel costs, contractors, and complex stakeholder relationships
- Excellent oral and written communication, leadership, and interpersonal skills
- Unfazed by major, abrupt changes in strategic direction or aggressive timelines
- Ability to work in a demanding, autonomously driven, start-up atmosphere
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
- Ability to support and supervise plant operations and construction outside of normal business hours, including nights, weekends, and on-call response
- Must be based at the Memphis, TN site
- Willingness to work extended hours as needed to support plant reliability and construction milestones
- General physical fitness required; ability to walk the plant site, access equipment, and work in industrial/outdoor environments (heat, noise, etc.)
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