BENGALURU: India’s AI data-centre boom is creating an unexpected winner: engineers from mechanical, electrical and industrial backgrounds. As companies race to build energy-intensive AI infrastructure, mechanical, electrical and cooling engineers-roles long overshadowed by software jobs-are back in demand, commanding hefty salaries and opening a new career path for industrial talent.Companies actively hiring span the full AI infrastructure chain. They include colocation players such as Equinix, STT GDC India, Yotta, CtrlS and NTT; hyperscalers including AWS, Google and Microsoft; and engineering and cooling majors such as L&T, Tata Projects, Schneider Electric, Vertiv, Siemens, Honeywell and Johnson Controls. For India’s engineers, the AI boom is increasingly becoming a physical infrastructure story, driven by substations, cooling plants and power systems as much as by code.The hiring surge is being fuelled by the rapid expansion of India’s data-centre industry. According to Avendus Capital, operational data-centre capacity is expected to rise from about 1.6GW in 2025 to 5GW by 2030. More than 3GW of capacity is already under development, requiring nearly $25 billion in investments, while AI-specific capacity is expected to quadruple.Exclusive hiring data shared with TOI by executive search firm Ishwa Consulting shows specialised roles emerging across AI data centres, including AI infrastructure architects, liquid cooling specialists, power procurement heads and grid resilience managers.The salaries are eye-catching. AI infrastructure architects earn between Rs 1 crore and Rs 1.5 crore annually, while greenfield site heads can command up to Rs 1.8 crore. Heads of critical facilities and specialist cooling teams are making Rs 50 lakh to over Rs 1 crore a year. Engineers with seven to 12 years of experience are earning Rs 15 lakh to Rs 30 lakh, while entry-level cooling and critical-facility engineers start at Rs 5 lakh to Rs 8 lakh annually.The biggest hiring rush is happening in cooling. Companies are actively recruiting data-centre cooling engineers, HVAC design engineers, critical facilities engineers, commissioning engineers and liquid cooling specialists, while BMS and controls engineers are also seeing strong demand as facilities become increasingly automated.
