Area Lead, Data Center Operations, Third-Party Data Center

Google; Austin (TX); Hybrid; USD 205,000 - 285,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Bonus target

Job summary

Google's Data Center team designs and operates highly complex electrical, mechanical, and HVAC systems. As a Third-Party Data Center Area Lead, you will lead a high-performing team deeply integrated into colocation operations—covering electrical, cooling, and IT infrastructure—and partner with vendor providers to uphold global standards.

You will collaborate with internal engineering teams and external partners to drive operability, maintainability, and reliability while optimizing budget

Qualifications

• Associate's degree or certified training in Industrial Engineering, Electrical or Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Management, Reliability Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
• 12 years of experience in electrical, mechanical/HVAC, or controls in an industrial/commercial environment.
• 3 years of experience in developing and managing managers.

Responsibilities

• Lead and empower a team of Technical Operations Managers across North and South America with accountability for Third-Party Data Center facility operations.
• Provide direct oversight to 3PDC operations providers, auditing compliance and monitoring critical systems to minimize risk.
• Conduct operational assessments, risk analyses, site evaluations, and influence data center designs for future infrastructure.
• Act as the primary operational partner for stakeholders, driving alignment and continuous improvement across facility programs.
• Oversee technical leads in maintenance and repairs while driving regional strategies to reduce costs and improve efficiency.

Skills

Leadership

Industrial/Facilities knowledge

Education

Associate's degree or certified training

Bachelor's or Master's in Engineering/Related field

Job description

This role is not eligible for U.S. immigration sponsorship.

Note: By applying to this position you will have an opportunity to share your preferred working location from the following: Wilmer, TX, USA; Austin, TX, USA; Lancaster, TX, USA; Houston, TX, USA.

Minimum qualifications

• Associate's degree, trade school certification, or other certified training in Industrial Engineering, Electrical or Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Management, Reliability Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
• 12 years of experience in electrical, mechanical/HVAC, or controls experience in an industrial/commercial environment.
• 3 years of experience in developing and managing managers.

Preferred qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Industrial, Electrical, or Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Management, Reliability Engineering, a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Experience with Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM) and applying predictive engineering principles across mission-critical facilities.
• Experience managing compliance programs and driving continuous improvement in facility, safety, and operational standards across third-party colocation environments.
• Proven track record of communicating complex technical concepts, risk analyses, and directions effectively with cross-functional leaders and executives.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze operational metrics, build data-driven resource requirement forecasts, and optimize multi-site facility budgets.

About The Job

The Data Center team designs and operates some of the most sophisticated electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and HVAC systems in the world. Facility Technicians at Google data centers operate, monitor and support physical facilities conditions. Some duties will include heating and cooling of air and water, power supply, generators, UPS systems, electrical distribution and control and monitoring systems. You regularly help inspect, maintain and repair various data center systems such as piping and non-critical electrical or mechanical system components). You'll provide daily assistance to senior technicians as you read blueprints/schematics, conduct tours of systems and assess their working order.

You will develop creative approaches to reducing operational costs while improving overall data center efficiency. You ensure that environmental and safety standards are consistently met, identifying problems and making repairs quickly In emergency situations or abnormal conditions, you manage data center performance issues and outages to minimize the recovery time from failures.

As a Third-Party Data Center (3PDC) Area Lead, you will lead and empower a high-performing team deeply integrated into every facet of our colocation operations—encompassing electrical, cooling, and Information Technology (IT) infrastructure.

Serving as a critical bridge between internal teams—including Google Data Center Engineering, Engineering Field Services, and Network Infrastructure—and external vendor partners, you will advocate operational standards across all third-party facilities. In this leadership role, you will act as the unified operations organization, driving Operability, Maintainability, and Reliability as foundational criteria to protect, sustain, and scale Google’s mission-critical global assets.

The AI and Infrastructure team is redefining what’s possible. We empower Google customers with breakthrough capabilities and insights by delivering AI and Infrastructure at unparalleled scale, efficiency, reliability and velocity. Our customers include Googlers, Google Cloud customers, and billions of Google users worldwide.

We're the driving force behind Google's groundbreaking innovations, empowering the development of our cutting-edge AI models, delivering unparalleled computing power to global services, and providing the essential platforms that enable developers to build the future. From software to hardware our teams are shaping the future of world-leading hyperscale computing, with key teams working on the development of our TPUs, Vertex AI for Google Cloud, Google Global Networking, Data Center operations, systems research, and much more.

Individual pay is determined by factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

US: $205000 - $285000 (USD) + 25% bonus target + equity + benefits

Responsibilities

Learn more about benefits at Google .

• Lead and empower a team of Technical Operations Managers across North and South America with full tactical accountability for Third-Party Data Center (3PDC) facility operations, ensuring compliance with Google design standards and project schedules.
• Provide direct oversight to 3PDC operations providers, auditing compliance and monitoring critical systems to minimize risk, ensure rapid excursion response, and maintain equipment to global standards.
• Conduct operational assessments, risk analysis, and site selection evaluations, apply deep technical domain knowledge to influence next-generation data center designs and optimize future infrastructure.
• Act as the primary operational partner for key stakeholders, driving alignment, transparent communication, and continuous improvement across facility and maintenance programs globally.
• Oversee technical leads in executing critical maintenance and repairs while driving regional strategies to minimize operational costs, maximize efficiency, and reduce environmental impact.

Google is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. See also Google's EEO Policy and EEO is the Law. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know by completing our Accommodations for Applicants form .