People Layer: HR, Facilities, and Settlements
This is the other missing spine.
If this is real infrastructure, it needs people living and working year-round.
Requirements
- Year-round staff rotations
- Housing, healthcare, emergency response
- Schools/training facilities
- Food logistics and supply chain
Workforce Domains
| Domain | Roles |
|---|---|
| Subsea cable ops | Marine engineering, ROV/AUV ops, fiber splicing, repeater systems |
| Data center ops | Electrical, mechanical, network, security, SRE |
| Fab ops (if pursued) | Process engineers, tool maintenance, metrology, cleanroom ops, UPW/chem systems |
| Community ops | Utilities, public works, med/EMS, education, governance/admin |
Facilities Stack (Minimum Viable)
Power
- Reliable generation + backup
- Grid connection where available
- Storage for peak shaving and outage coverage
Water
- Intake + treatment
- Wastewater processing
- Winter operations (freeze protection)
Buildings
- Arctic-grade envelope (insulation, vapor barriers)
- Heating + ventilation
- Fire suppression
Logistics
- Warehouse + spares inventory
- Machine shops for repairs
- Runway/helipad access
- Medevac procedures
Settlement Evolution
Phase 1: Industrial campus + service hamlet ↓Phase 2: Essential services + families ↓Phase 3: Municipally governed settlementTreat this as an infrastructure-backed city-building project: energy, water, comms, housing, schools.
Workforce Pipeline
| Challenge | Approach |
|---|---|
| Recruitment | Partner with technical colleges, Indigenous training programs |
| Retention | Competitive compensation, rotation schedules, family support |
| Training | On-site certification programs, remote learning |
| Career path | Clear progression from technician to specialist to manager |
Key References
- SIA Workforce Policy Blueprint 2024