Campus Data Center IT Manager

Applied Digital; Fargo (ND); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A data center operations company in Fargo, North Dakota, is seeking a Campus Data Center IT Manager. The successful candidate will oversee daily operations and service availability for the data centers, supporting disaster recovery and business continuity procedures. A Bachelor's degree in IT or a related field along with 5+ years of experience in data center operations is required. Strong communication and stakeholder management skills are essential for this role. This position offers a chance to lead teams and enhance operational efficiencies.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of hands-on data center and infrastructure operations experience.
• Experience with server, virtualization, storage and backup operations.
• Strong documentation skills (SOPs, MOPs, diagrams, inventories).
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.

Responsibilities

• Oversee daily operations and service availability for campus data centers.
• Perform hands-on operations for physical and virtual server environments.
• Support execution of disaster recovery and business continuity procedures.
• Serve as the primary operational liaison between campus and centralized IT.

Skills

Data center operations

Communication

Stakeholder management

Networking fundamentals

Strong documentation skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in IT, Computer Science, Engineering

Job description

The Campus Data Center IT Manager serves as the hands‑on operational lead for the on‑premises data center(s) and distributed server rooms. This role is responsible for reliable day‑to‑day operations, executing work in alignment with centrally defined compute, storage, virtualization, and networking standards and ensuring local infrastructure runs safely and consistently on operational lead for the on‑premises data center(s) and distributed server rooms.

This position functions as a bridge between campus operations and centralized engineering teams, coordinating work, escalating issues and implementing changes—not as an enterprise architect or standalone domain owner. The manager partners closely with Network & Systems Engineering, Facilities and Cyber Security to maintain a stable and compliant campus environment.

Operations & Reliability

• Oversee daily operations and service availability for campus data center(s) and MDF/IDF/server rooms/conference rooms.
• Maintain monitoring, alerting, and runbooks aligned with central observability and operational standards.
• Support campus incident response, coordinating with centralized engineering for deep tier troubleshooting, systemic fixes, and escalations.
• Maintain accurate documentation (rack elevations, cabling diagrams, floor plans, access lists) and ensure changes follow central IT’s change management process.

Platform & Infrastructure Operations

• Perform hands‑on operations for physical and virtual server environments based on central platform engineering baselines (patching, build standards, lifecycle)
• Assist with storage, backup and restore workflows in partnership with centralized storage/backup teams, including routine recovery testing.
• Coordinate networking activities with Network Engineering, implementing campus work (patching, labeling, turn‑ups, cutovers).
• Ensure rack, cabling, power, cooling and system readiness for deployments defined by central engineering.

Capacity, Continuity & Cost

• Support execution of disaster recovery and business continuity procedures defined jointly with central teams and InfoSec.
• Manage site‑level operational budgets, vendor interactions, RMAs and procurement in line with institutional policies.

Security & Compliance

• Support compliance efforts related to IT assets, corporate policies, and remediation efforts as assigned.

Stakeholder Coordination

• Serve as the primary operational liaison between the campus and centralized IT engineering groups
• Communicate change advisories, maintenance windows and service impacts clearly and proactively.
• Drive continuous improvement using metrics, retrospectives and stakeholder feedback.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in IT, Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
• 5+ years of hands‑on data center and infrastructure operations experience
• Experience with server, virtualization, storage and backup operations within structured incident and change frameworks.
• Working level knowledge of networking and systems fundamentals (switching, routing basics, segmentation concepts) and data center cabling standards; ability to work effectively with Network and Systems Engineering.
• Familiarity with environmental and facilities‑related infrastructure (UPS, power distribution, cooling, fire suppression) and experience coordinating their operation with Facilities.
• Strong documentation skills (SOPs, MOPs, diagrams, inventories) and ability to lead during incidents.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting multi‑site environments (primary DC, DR site, distributed MDF/IDFs).
• Background in monitoring/observability practices, SLOs, and on‑call operations.
• Experience participating in or running DR/BCP exercises with cross functional teams.
• Exposure to automation/IaC concepts for repeatable, consistent infrastructure builds (tool agnostic
• Experience operating within hybrid (on‑prem + cloud connected) environments.
• Professional certifications in IT service management, data center operations, systems, networking or security.