Data Center Team Manager , Rack Lifecycle Team

Amazon Inc.; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Amazon is seeking a hands-on Rack Lifecycle Team Manager for our Melbourne data centers. You will lead a team of technicians, drive end-to-end rack lifecycle activities from deployment to decommissioning, and coordinate with facilities, security, and logistics to meet capacity targets.

The role emphasizes safety, efficiency, and cost optimization while maintaining AWS standards and environmental policies. This is a site-based leadership position in Australia.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of direct people management, including managers or senior individual contributors
• 3+ years of data center engineering or operations experience
• Experience with data center infrastructure equipment and cabling
• Industry standard certification or equivalent experience in data center environments

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of data center technicians and translate capacity goals into deliverables
• Own site-level rack lifecycle operations from landing to decommissioning
• Coordinate with cross-functional partners across facilities, security, logistics and procurement
• Run war rooms during deployment waves and escalate blockers to leadership
• Maintain accurate DCIM/CMDB records and ensure safety and compliance

Skills

People management

Data center operations

Project coordination

Vendor management

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent in ICT/Engineering

Industry certifications (e.g., CompTIA Network+, CCENT)

Tools

OTDR

VFL

Power meter

Network cabling tools

Job description

AWS Infrastructure Services owns the design, planning, delivery, and operation of all AWS global infrastructure. In other words, we're the people who keep the cloud running. We support all AWS data centers and all of the servers, storage, networking, power, and cooling equipment that ensure our customers have continual access to the innovation they rely on. We work on the most challenging problems, with thousands of variables impacting the supply chain - and we're looking for talented people who want to help.

You'll join a diverse team of software, hardware, and network engineers, supply chain specialists, security experts, operations managers, and other vital roles. You'll collaborate with people across AWS to help us deliver the highest standards for safety and security while providing seemingly infinite capacity at the lowest possible cost for our customers. And you'll experience an inclusive culture that welcomes bold ideas and empowers you to own them to completion.

We are looking for a hands-on, operationally focused Rack Lifecycle Team Manager to join our Infrastructure Operations team, owning the day-to-day execution of rack lifecycle operations within data center sites. This role is responsible for the full continuum of rack operations - from demand intake and rack landing, through Late Binding cabling, rack installation and handoff, to end-of-life decommissioning - at the site level.

You will lead a team of data center technicians, translating organizational capacity goals into executed deliverables on the floor. As a tactical leader, you are the single accountable owner for ensuring every rack needed for customer capacity lands on time, is cabled and installed to standard, has no install blockers at handoff, and is decommissioned safely and compliantly at end-of-life.

Your work directly supports AWS's ability to deliver infrastructure capacity to customers reliably and at the lowest possible cost, while maintaining the highest standards of safety, security, and environmental compliance.

Key job responsibilities

Rack Delivery & Installation

• Lead planning and execution of network deployments including rack installs, structured cabling, fiber trunks, and MMR/CFA builds to meet committed customer capacity dates
• Coordinate site readiness, RSPC readiness (Rack Space Power Cooling); ensure racks are landed, cabled, and ready for cabling patching and install per standards
• Proactively identify and drive resolution of blockers across permits, site access, facilities, power, cross-connects, and vendor dependencies
• Drive cross-team coordination with DCO, DCEO, LOG, security, CDP, Supply chain, Transport and GND during deployment waves, running escalation touchpoints and daily stand-ups as needed
• Ensuring rack installations are as per MOP/SOP and documenting the handovers for later refences and improvements

Cabling Infrastructure (Late Binding)

• Own scope for fiber/copper cabling, patching schedules, and labeling standards for the site
• Validate OTDR/power testing and as-built documentation; ensure cabling meets quality standards and capacity requirements before handoff
• Maintain cabling infrastructure governance including CMDB accuracy and port map integrity post-installation
• Identify systemic cabling quality gaps and implement corrective actions to improve cycle times and first-pass quality

Supply Chain & Logistics

• Track rack, cable, optics, and network BOM from PO to site; monitor lead times, logistics, customs clearance, and site inventory levels
• Flag supply chain risks to schedule early and coordinate with procurement, logistics, and vendor partners on mitigation plans
• Ensure material availability aligns with deployment timelines; maintain site-level inventory accuracy

Stakeholder Management & Blocker Removal

• Serve as the single point of contact for internal customers, DC Ops, facilities, transport, and vendors for site-level rack lifecycle activities
• Run daily and weekly war rooms during deployment waves; provide timely status updates and elevate blockers to senior leadership as needed
• Build effective working relationships with cross-functional partners to ensure alignment and uninterrupted delivery execution

Rack Decommissioning (Decom)

• Own the site-level decommission pipeline for EOL racks; coordinate with Capacity Planning, Network Operations, and DCLM/ALM teams to schedule graceful shutdowns with zero service impact
• Lead physical decommission activities - device wipe, media destruction, cable removal, power disconnect, asset de-tagging, and rack removal - ensuring full MOP and EHS compliance
• Track and recover reusable assets (optics, cables, PDUs, hardware); coordinate RMA, liquidation, or secure disposal per AWS Reverse Logistics and Environmental policies
• Validate that reclaimed power, cooling, and U-space is accurately returned to the available pool; drive re-use to defer new builds and improve TCO
• Ensure data hygiene post-decom including DCIM/CMDB updates, IPAM releases, port map reconciliation, and circuit/cross-connect documentation

Governance, Metrics & Reporting

• Track and report on site-level KPIs including: racks landed vs. plan, Late Binding cabling completion %, capacity ready dates, received vs. installed cycle time, decom backlog vs. flightpath goal, and shipment achievement %
• Define and enforce site-level policies, SOPs, and governance frameworks aligned with AWS standards and industry best practices across all rack lifecycle phases
• Provide accurate, data-driven reporting on delivery performance, blockers, and improvement initiatives to the Cluster Manager and senior leadership
• Champion adoption of tooling (e.g., Boost, MARS, ALM/DCLM) to reduce manual effort, improve data accuracy, and accelerate delivery cycle times

Handover & Documentation

• Ensure clean, documented handoffs to Data Center Operations teams with updated CMDB/DCIM records, port maps, test results, and completed workflow sign-offs - with zero blockers at handoff
• Maintain accurate and current records in DCIM/CMDB, IPAM, and related systems throughout all lifecycle phases
• Ensure all as-built documentation, cabling records, and workflow completions are captured and auditable

Team Leadership & Operations Management

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of data center technicians; manage staffing, scheduling, and day-to-day workforce planning for the site
• Conduct regular team meetings, drive performance accountability, and ensure appropriate training and skill development across all lifecycle functions
• Translate organizational goals into actionable team objectives; manage sprint planning, team output quality, and SLA compliance
• Participate in recruiting, onboarding, and performance management; make staffing recommendations in partnership with manager and HR
• Foster a high-performance, inclusive, and safety-first team culture

A day in the life

As the Rack Lifecycle Team Manager for your site, no two days are the same. You might start your morning reviewing the site's daily rack landing dashboard, checking in with your technicians on an active cabling wave, and triaging a supply chain delay flagged overnight. By midday, you could be on the data center floor coordinating a rack placement with facilities, validating a power sign-off checklist before a network device install, or running a decom stand-up to confirm MOP readiness for an EOL rack removal. In the afternoon, you might be updating CMDB records following a completed handoff, reviewing your team's KPI performance ahead of a weekly operations review, or coaching a technician on structured cabling standards. Your role is tactical and hands-on - you execute with your team, remove blockers in real time, and hold the line on quality and schedule at the site level.

About the team

Diverse Experiences

Amazon values diverse experiences. Even if you do not meet all of the preferred qualifications and skills listed in the job description, we encourage candidates to apply. If your career is just starting, hasn't followed a traditional path, or includes alternative experiences, don't let it stop you from applying.

Why AWS

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform. We pioneered cloud computing and never stopped innovating -that’s why customers from the most successful startups to Global 500 companies trust our robust suite of products and services to power their businesses.

Work/Life Balance

We value work-life harmony. Achieving success at work should never come at the expense of sacrifices at home, which is why we strive for flexibility as part of our working culture. When we feel supported in the workplace and at home, there's nothing we can’t achieve.

Inclusive Team Culture

AWS values curiosity and connection. Our employee-led and company-sponsored affinity groups promote inclusion and empower our people to take pride in what makes us unique. Our inclusion events foster stronger, more collaborative teams. Our continual innovation is fueled by the bold ideas, fresh perspectives, and passionate voices our teams bring to everything we do.

Mentorship and Career Growth

We’re continuously raising our performance bar as we strive to become Earth’s Best Employer. That’s why you’ll find endless knowledge-sharing, mentorship and other career-advancing resources here to help you develop into a better-rounded professional.

Basic Qualifications

• 3+ years of direct people management, including managing managers or senior individual contributors experience
• 3+ years of data center engineering or operations experience

Preferred Qualifications

• 2+ years of data center, critical environment, computer hardware repair, infrastructure cabling, network deployment, or data center operations experience, or experience working in a data center environment (racking and stacking gear, cable management, hot/cold aisle containment)
• 2+ years of network cabling, fiber optics, and test equipment including VFL, power meter, and OTDR experience, or experience related IT
• Experience measuring key operational metrics (e.g., order cycle time, ship estimate accuracy, on-time and complete shipment, inventory record defect rate)
• Experience managing and negotiating contracts and vendor relationships
• - Industry standard certification (CompTIA, CCENT, or Network+), or experience working in a colocation data center facility

Acknowledgement of country:

In the spirit of reconciliation Amazon acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.

IDE statement:

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.