We’re at a pivotal moment for AI and energy. Demand for compute is skyrocketing, but power constraints are becoming a critical bottleneck. Emerald AI sits at the intersection of these two worlds, enabling AI data centers to scale without overwhelming the grid.
Our Emerald Conductor software platform makes data centers flexible and responsive, allowing them to adjust power usage dynamically. This unlocks massive AI growth without major new infrastructure, while also strengthening the grid and supporting the expansion of renewable energy.
We’re a team of experts across AI, cloud, software, and energy—on a mission to scale AI sustainably. We’re backed by leading investors and partners including Radical Ventures and NVIDIA.
Learn more about our vision, team, and backers at https://www.emeraldai.co/.
About the RoleWe’re hiring a Software Engineer - Datacenter/Power Systems to build the control, telemetry, and optimization layers that connect Emerald’s AI-driven platform to datacenter power infrastructure, microgrids, and industrial energy assets. In this role, you’ll engineer the software that ingests real-time telemetry, orchestrates power and compute resources, and safely executes control strategies across diverse IT & OT environments.
You’ll work at the intersection of power systems, distributed software, and intelligent control, building the integrations, data pipelines, and decision logic that allow Emerald to optimize energy use, resilience, and AI workload performance.
Key ResponsibilitiesBuild software modules that interact with datacenter and industrial power systems.
Implement and maintain telemetry ingestion pipelines for high-volume time-series power and sensor data using TSDBs
Implement control and dispatch logic for UPS/BESS systems, compute, generators, and microgrid operating modes (islanding, black-start sequences, contingency actions).
Design and implement algorithms for demand response, peak shaving, DER dispatch, and energy market participation.
Build optimization or scheduling modules for power flows, workloads, or DER coordination, leveraging constraint models, heuristics, or MPC-style approaches.
Ensure high safety, reliability, and correctness when interacting with real-world energy assets and critical facilities.
7+ years of software engineering experience with a background in Python, Rust, Java, or similar.
Experience building software for datacenter or industrial power/controls environments: DCIM, EMS/BMS, microgrid controllers, SCADA/OT systems.
Practical experience integrating with OT or telemetry protocols (Modbus, REST/gRPC, MQTT, OPC-UA a plus).
Proficiency with time-series data and telemetry pipelines using TSDBs.
Experience with IT power and compute telemetry: NVIDIA DCGM, nvidia-smi, Redfish/IPMI, server/power APIs.
Familiarity with compute orchestration tools (Kubernetes, Slurm, or similar).
Understanding of power systems or energy management: UPS/BESS dispatch, generator controls, islanding/black-start logic.
Familiarity with demand response programs, DERs, or energy market interfaces.
Experience with constraint modeling, heuristic optimization, MILP, MPC, or scheduling algorithms.
Experience integrating forecasting models or RL-based control policies into software systems.
Make an impact. Solve the AI power bottleneck and shape how data centers scale sustainably.
Join a world-class team of AI, cloud, software, and energy experts in a collaborative, low-ego environment.
Build from 0→1. Influence strategy, GTM, org design, and customer/investor engagement from day one.
Competitive pay + equity. Stock options let you share in the value you help create.
Comprehensive benefits, including medical, dental, vision, and 401(k) matching.
Flexible location. Work from D.C., Boston, or the Bay Area, with 1 WFH day/week.
Backed by top investors, including Radical Ventures and NVIDIA.
We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability, and any other protected ground of discrimination under applicable human rights legislation.
Emerald AI strives to respect the dignity and independence of people with disabilities and is committed to giving them the same opportunity to succeed as all other employees.
Inclusiveness is core to our culture at Emerald AI, and we strive to ensure you get the most from your interview experience. Emerald AI makes reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities. If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please reach out to the Talent team.
Top Skills
What We Do
Emerald AI transforms energy-intensive data centers into AI-powered grid allies. The Emerald AI Conductor platform enables AI data centers to flexibly adjust their power consumption from the electricity grid on demand, orchestrating the computing loads of inference, training, and fine-tuning AI models across a network of data centers to bolster the power grid’s reliability while meeting strict compute performance standards.
Flexibility could unlock up to 100 GW, or more than a decade of U.S. AI data center growth and trillions in AI investment, without enormous investments in electric grids or power plants—advancing innovation and competitiveness, ensuring power affordability for communities across the country, and bolstering the reliability of the electric power system.
