Specialists for data centres, factories and critical infrastructure
dba consult finds freelance specialists for the construction and operation of data centres and regulated production facilities, including GMP-regulated pharma production lines: electrical engineering, critical power, cooling, construction management and commissioning. We clarify the assignment, project phase and responsibilities so the consultant’s experience matches the work involved.
When power, cooling and IT need to work as one facility
A data centre or factory brings together several disciplines. Power supply, cooling, controls and networks need to be planned together, and a fault in one part can affect the entire facility.
We begin with the assignment. What phase is the project in, who is responsible for design, construction and testing, and what documentation and security requirements does the owner have? Together, we clarify the role before you meet relevant candidates.
AI infrastructure for research and life science increases the need for GPU clusters, liquid cooling and high capacity grid connections. Waste heat supply to district heating and connections to a constrained electricity grid are also part of these interfaces.
Expertise
From design to data centre commissioning
Electrical engineering and critical power
Electrical engineers for data centres and regulated production, covering high voltage, high density power, supply, switchboards, UPS and standby power. We consider experience with the project’s voltage levels, standards, grid connection and utility interfaces. These capabilities also support construction of GMP-regulated pharma production lines.
Cooling and ventilation
Cooling specialists for data centres, ventilation, cleanrooms and production HVAC, where heat loads and operational reliability must be designed and tested. Liquid cooling includes direct-to-chip, CDUs and cooling circuits for high density racks.
Construction and project management
Construction and project managers for technical installations, contractor coordination and control of time, quality and interfaces. Assignments include data hall and GPU cluster deployment, go/no-go decisions, runbooks and as-built documentation.
Commissioning and testing
Data centre commissioning specialists for L2-L5, functional testing and integrated systems testing before operational handover. Work includes flow tests, coolant quality and temperature limits for liquid cooling.
Controls and monitoring
Experience with BMS, EPMS, SCADA and DCIM, bringing together power, cooling, GPU telemetry and alarms. Assignments also cover waste heat supply from data centres to district heating networks.
Quality and safety
QA/QC and HSE on projects involving many technical disciplines. Security, OT and documentation form part of testing and handover.
Networking and GPU platforms
Network engineers for 400G/800G, InfiniBand and fibre, installation teams for rack and stack and cabling, and platform engineers for Kubernetes and GPU scheduling. Experience with server migration between data centres and load balancer replacement.
Case stories
Assignments in data centres and factories
Five assignments covering deployment, cooling, power, networks and monitoring.
Which assignment resembles yours?
A new data hall with GPU clusters.
Featured case
A new data hall with GPU clusters
A data centre needed to take a new data hall with GPU clusters from construction handover into operations.
The project manager coordinated data hall deployment and brought together go/no-go decisions, runbooks and as-built documentation for handover.
The handover brought together the decision basis and operational documentation for the new data hall.
Assignment
Deployment and handover of a new data hall with GPU clusters.
Responsibility
Project management from construction handover to operations.
Professional contribution
Go/no-go decisions, runbooks and as-built documentation.
Commissioning liquid cooling
A data centre needed L2-L5 commissioning of liquid-cooled racks above 100 kW and conversion of existing installations from air cooling to liquid cooling.
The commissioning engineer worked with CDUs, cooling circuits, flow tests, coolant quality and temperature limits, alongside integrated systems testing.
Testing was documented as the basis for handover. The conversion from air cooling to liquid cooling formed part of a programme without customer downtime.
Assignment
Commissioning and conversion of cooling for high density racks.
Responsibility
L2-L5 commissioning and testing of cooling installations.
Professional contribution
CDUs, direct-to-chip cooling, flow tests, coolant and integrated systems testing.
Power for high density data halls
A data centre needed critical power for high density data halls and a coordinated connection to the electricity grid.
The electrical consultant worked with high voltage, switchboards, UPS and standby power, coordinating the interface with the utility.
The power supply and grid interfaces were brought together in the technical basis for the project.
Assignment
Power supply and grid connection for a data centre.
Responsibility
Electrical coordination of the supply and critical installations.
Professional contribution
High voltage, switchboards, UPS, standby power and utility interfaces.
Networking for AI training
A data centre needed networking for AI training and coordination of servers and systems being moved between data centres.
The network engineer worked with 400G/800G, InfiniBand and fibre, alongside rack and stack, cabling and connection testing. The assignment also covered load balancer replacement.
The migration was completed with minimal downtime, and load balancers were replaced without interrupting critical systems.
Assignment
AI training networking and server migration between data centres.
Responsibility
Network integration, installation and migration coordination.
Professional contribution
400G/800G, InfiniBand, fibre, rack and stack and load balancers.
Waste heat and technical monitoring
A data centre needed to supply waste heat to a district heating network and bring together monitoring of power, cooling and GPU clusters.
The specialist worked with DCIM and BMS, combining power, cooling and GPU telemetry in a shared operational view.
Heat supply and monitoring became part of the overall basis for operating the facility.
Assignment
Waste heat supply to district heating and integrated data centre monitoring.
Responsibility
Integration of technical data and interfaces for heat supply.
Professional contribution
DCIM, BMS, power, cooling and GPU telemetry.
The right experience for technical facilities
A data centre or regulated production facility is not a conventional construction project. Experience with critical operations, redundancy and testing under load matters. When the assignment also involves networks and operations, we consider the connection with architecture and infrastructure.
We bring together IT and electrical engineering, drawing on experience from GMP-regulated pharma production. We aim to present a relevant candidate within 48 hours once the assignment is clarified. We can provide consultants for projects that require security clearance and help with the screening process.
Contact
Let’s talk about your project
Do you need electrical, cooling or construction management specialists for a data centre, a factory or another technical facility? Talk to Claudio about the assignment and the expertise it needs.
Questions and answers
What clients often ask
Can you find one specialist for an existing project team?
Yes. We review the project phase, role and interfaces so we can assess the experience the consultant needs.
Can you provide several disciplines on the same project?
Yes. We can find consultants for electrical engineering, cooling and management and align their roles so responsibilities are clear.
Do you also work with technical facilities other than data centres?
Yes. The same expertise is used in pharma, industry and utilities, where electrical systems, controls and operational reliability are critical.
Can you help clarify our needs before we choose a consultant?
Yes. We start with the project phase and requirements and help define the role.
Can you provide security cleared consultants?
Yes. We can provide consultants for projects that require security clearance and help with the screening process.