Meta Platforms and BlackRock have formed a roughly $14 billion joint venture to build a 1-gigawatt AI data center campus in Northeast El Paso, and the talent it needs to run that campus is not sitting idle in West Texas. The deal closed in late July 2026. Meta contributed the land and in-progress construction assets, BlackRock-managed funds took an 80% ownership stake, and the campus was already under construction when the ink dried. Capacity is expected to come online in 2028. That schedule compresses every hiring decision.

El Paso's general cost of living runs well below Dallas or Phoenix, which means candidates relocating from higher-cost markets will notice the difference. Build that into your offer structure before a candidate turns down an otherwise strong package.

For commissioning engineers, look for documented experience on hyperscale builds, not just commercial HVAC or generic MEP work. NEBB, AABC, or formal Cx agent credentials matter. Electrical commissioning at utility-scale requires candidates who have worked with medium-voltage switchgear and generator systems at meaningful load. For critical-facilities engineers and technicians, the baseline is an active Data Center Certified Associate (DCCA) or equivalent, plus hands-on experience with a DCIM platform and a demonstrated understanding of N+2 redundancy architectures. Any candidate who has operated inside a hyperscale environment is worth a closer look, even if the geography or company name is unfamiliar.

Commissioning engineers are almost always contract or contract-to-hire. Expect 12-to-18-month engagements tied to project milestones. Per diem is standard when the candidate is traveling from out of market, and most will be. Build per diem into the bill rate conversation early. Operations roles are permanent, but the 2028 go-live means you may be onboarding critical-facilities staff six to nine months before revenue operations begin. Retention bonuses tied to a go-live milestone are an effective tool. Relocation packages for experienced operators are not optional in this market; they are the price of getting anyone qualified to move to El Paso from Austin, Denver, or Northern Virginia.

Construction trades come from El Paso, West Texas, southern New Mexico, and regional contractors with a history of remote industrial builds. The maquila and logistics ecosystem along the border has produced a large pool of workers comfortable with high-voltage electrical and large-scale mechanical systems. Commissioning engineers are sourced nationally. Dallas, Phoenix, Northern Virginia, and the Pacific Northwest each have concentrations. LinkedIn searches by NEBB credential and hyperscale project name outperform geography-based searches for this role. Critical-facilities engineers exist in small clusters around established hyperscale markets. Austin and San Antonio are the closest Texas populations of meaningful size. Phoenix and Denver have deeper benches but require relocation. Entry-level technicians are the one role where El Paso's local workforce and any upskilling pipeline Meta builds can genuinely feed the operation over time. Start those conversations with workforce development contacts at the University of Texas at El Paso and El Paso Community College now, not in 2027.

Here is the non-obvious insight for this market. El Paso sits at the center of a bi-national industrial economy. Ciudad Juárez across the border has run large-scale manufacturing operations for decades, and the El Paso metro has grown on logistics, defense, and warehousing. That history produced a construction labor pool that is unusually deep for a city of its size, which is part of why Meta broke ground here before the BlackRock deal even closed.

The problem emerges after the last commissioning engineer leaves. There is no established hyperscale operations community in El Paso. No existing campus has been training critical-facilities technicians at scale. When Meta begins staffing a 1-GW facility for 24/7 operations, it will be drawing from a local pool with strong mechanical and electrical instincts but almost no direct hyperscale experience. That gap is filled one of two ways: import experienced operators from other markets on competitive packages, or build an aggressive upskilling program that converts local industrial and military-affiliated workers into data center technicians over 12 to 18 months. The smart play is both, in parallel.

The venture was announced July 28, 2026. Operations are targeted to begin coming online in 2028. That leaves roughly 18 months before commissioning engineers need to be on site, and commissioning searches for a project of this scale take longer than most clients expect. Permanent operations roles should start posting no later than mid-2027 to allow for sourcing, interviews, background checks, and relocation. Entry-level technicians who will benefit from any structured training need to be identified even earlier. If your client is waiting for a signed lease or a construction milestone before releasing headcount approvals, that is already too late for the commissioning wave.

NextDCX recruits for your toughest data center roles. Share the work, location, and experience your team needs. We run a fresh search for every role, approach people directly, and speak with every candidate before introducing them. You get people screened for the work, pay, location, and availability, ready to meet your hiring team. We also support recruiting partners. El Paso is a market where the difference between a qualified operator and a well-intentioned industrial tech is going to matter at scale, and we know how to tell them apart.

For the full buildout details, see Meta and BlackRock's El Paso joint venture filing.

Comp sources: ZipRecruiter and dcgeeks 2026 salary data.