Director, Data Center Facilities & Operations

nLighten; Milton Keynes; On-site; GBP 110,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

nLighten is seeking a Head of Facility to own the technical and operational integrity of its physical infrastructure across 34 sites in 7 countries. This director-level role leads Critical Environment Engineering, Ops Excellence & Academy, and Vendor & Contract Management.

The ideal candidate blends deep engineering credibility in critical environments with leadership and commercial rigor to build a function from the ground up. Travel across Europe will be frequent.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in data centers or mission-critical environments.
• 3+ years in a senior management role.
• Experience managing multi-site facilities across geographies.
• Track record of outsourced M&E maintenance programmes and vendor relationships.
• Strong knowledge of data center critical systems: power, cooling, UPS, generators, LV distribution.
• Familiarity with DCIM platforms and PUE monitoring tools.

Responsibilities

• Define and enforce M&E engineering standards across 34 sites, incl. UPS, generators, cooling, LV distribution, and BMS.
• Own the change request process for all M&E works across the portfolio.
• Lead RCA for critical environment incidents and drive actions through to completion.
• Oversee Planned Preventive Maintenance (PPM) across all sites and vendors.
• Review and approve maintenance scopes to prevent scope creep and unnecessary costs.
• Oversee all R&M and cleaning contracts across 7 countries and ensure HSE standards.
• Lead the PUE improvement programme and monitor energy performance data via DCIM Intelligence Hub.
• Build and lead the Facility function: recruit, onboard, and develop sub-function leads; set KPIs.

Skills

Data center operations

Multi-site management

Vendor management

DCIM platforms

PUE monitoring

Technical leadership

Communication to stakeholders

Strategic planning

Tools

DCIM platforms

Asset management

Job description

nLighten is seeking a Head of Facility to own the technical and operational integrity of its physical infrastructure across 34 sites in 7 countries. This director-level role leads Critical Environment Engineering, Ops Excellence & Academy, and Vendor & Contract Management.

The ideal candidate blends deep engineering credibility in critical environments with leadership and commercial rigor to build a function from the ground up. Travel across Europe will be frequent.