Senior Data Architect & Systems Engineer (IT Infrastructure Lead)

Position Overview

• HappyGlobal owns comprehensive end-to-end data assets covering logistics, customs clearance, finance, and cross-border compliance. We are building a private data center from the ground up in Dallas. Serving as the leader of the IT Infrastructure team, this role oversees all domains including data architecture, private cloud, on-premises data center infrastructure, and corporate internal network device management. You will independently lead the full lifecycle from physical data center construction through data architecture implementation, manage junior technical team members, and collaborate with external cybersecurity and business architecture consultants to deliver overall IT infrastructure.

Key Responsibilities

1. Data Architecture Design (Core Leadership Responsibility)

• Lead the design of tiered enterprise business storage architecture; build a dual-layer data system consisting of raw data layer and high-speed summary access layer with supporting efficient AI data access mechanisms.
• Establish unified standards for data classification and archiving to proactively guarantee data access quality for enterprise-wide AI systems.
• Spearhead the development of enterprise data dictionaries, unify terminology standards across business lines, and resolve inconsistent data metrics across departments.
• Implement five core data architecture specifications: prioritized access paths, unified data dictionary framework, dual-layer data storage, hardware vendor agnosticism, and priority on AI access quality.

2. Database, Private Cloud & Operations Automation Management

• Oversee deployment, performance tuning, migration and failover planning for PostgreSQL, MySQL, Milvus/Qdrant vector databases; establish an AWS hybrid backup framework and continuously improve private cloud data security standards.
• Deploy private cloud platforms based on Proxmox / VMware / OpenStack; design internal network architecture and external interfaces, standardize Docker/K8s containerized deployment workflows; complete bare-metal Linux server provisioning and system hardening.
• Implement IaC automation workflows via Terraform/Ansible; build end-to-end monitoring and alerting platforms using Prometheus/Grafana/ELK; design tiered disaster recovery (DR) frameworks and define enforceable RTO/RPO recovery targets.

3. Corporate Internal Network, VPN & MDM Device Governance

• Lead deployment and ongoing operation of Cisco VPN combined with hardware token two-factor authentication systems.
• Design internal access control policies for OA and sales systems; enforce access isolation based on IP addresses / device IDs, restricting sensitive operations to internal network only.
• Select and deploy enterprise MDM platforms including Jamf/Intune; roll out unified endpoint security policies and network admission control, allowing only compliant devices to connect to core internal systems.

4. End-to-End Construction Management of Dallas Private Data Center

• Independently drive the ground-up buildout of the Dallas private data center, including rack layout, structured cabling, and server procurement & rack installation.
• Design NAS/SAN storage architecture, RAID policies and capacity expansion plans; oversee redundant power infrastructure including UPS/PDU and backup generators, CRAC precision cooling, plus environmental monitoring for temperature, humidity, water leakage and access control.
• Independently complete hardware BOM selection, cost estimation and vendor negotiation; design customized solutions aligned with business requirements instead of relying on off-the-shelf vendor offerings.

5. Team Leadership, Cross-team Collaboration & Knowledge Documentation

• Collaborate to implement foundational security controls including baseline access permissions, data encryption, and operation audit logging.
• Develop standardized architecture documentation and operational runbooks; establish internal knowledge repositories to prevent siloed technical knowledge tied to individual employees.
• Track project milestones for data center construction and system rollouts, governing timeline, cost and architectural compliance.

Qualifications

• Large-scale enterprise infrastructure background: Proven track record delivering full data center / private cloud projects at top-tier internet, financial, telecommunications or manufacturing enterprises (caliber including Alibaba Cloud, Tencent Cloud, ByteDance, Baidu, Huawei, Oracle, IBM). Direct experience leading private IDC / private cloud construction from inception.
• End-to-end independent delivery capability: Able to independently execute the full workflow from data center site selection, infrastructure build, hardware racking, system deployment to database go-live, with holistic project governance capabilities.
• Team management experience: Experience mentoring and managing technical staff, including task breakdown, technical training and deliverable review.

Core Required Technical Competencies

• Data & Databases: Expertise in MySQL/PostgreSQL architecture design and performance tuning; hands-on experience building ODS/DWD/DWS tiered data warehouses; proficient in Milvus/Qdrant vector database operations; experience implementing Ceph/NAS/SAN storage preferred.
• Corporate Network Governance: Skilled in deploying Cisco VPN and hardware token two-factor authentication; familiar with MDM platforms including Intune/Jamf; knowledgeable about IP allowlisting, NAC network admission and device certificate authentication.
• Physical Data Center Infrastructure: Knowledge of rack cabling, power and low-voltage electrical planning; capable of independent capacity sizing for UPS, precision air conditioning and data center monitoring systems.
• Virtualization & Private Cloud: Expertise in at least one platform among VMware/Proxmox/OpenStack; proficient with Docker and K8s container orchestration; experience hardening Linux servers.
• Operations Automation: Able to develop operational scripts with Shell/Python/Go; experienced with Terraform and Ansible; built full-stack monitoring and logging ecosystems.

Preferred Qualifications

• Regularly leverage AI tools such as Copilot / Claude Code to improve engineering efficiency; understand underlying mechanics of on-premises LLM deployment including vLLM / Ollama.