Critical Facilities Manager – Data Center
Location: Northern Virginia
Employment Type: Full-time
Industry: Data Centers / Critical Infrastructure
We are seeking an experienced Critical Facilities Manager to oversee the safe, reliable and efficient operation of critical infrastructure within a large-scale data center environment.
This is a key leadership position responsible for managing day-to-day facilities operations, leading a team of technical professionals, and ensuring the highest standards of uptime, safety, compliance and operational performance are maintained.
The successful candidate will have a strong background in mission-critical facilities, with experience across electrical and/or mechanical infrastructure and the ability to lead technical teams in a 24/7 operational environment.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead and manage day-to-day critical facilities operations across the data centers.
- Manage, mentor and develop a team of Critical Facilities Technicians, Engineers and Lead Technicians.
- Maintain and operate critical electrical and mechanical infrastructure, including:
- UPS systems
- Generators
- Switchgear and distribution systems
- MV/LV electrical systems
- HVAC and cooling systems
- Chillers and CRAH/CRAC units
- BMS/EPMS and associated controls
- Ensure all planned and reactive maintenance activities are completed safely, efficiently and in accordance with site procedures.
- Maintain operational readiness and ensure maximum availability of critical infrastructure.
- Lead incident response, troubleshooting and root-cause analysis for critical facility events.
- Oversee maintenance contractors, service providers and specialist vendors.
- Manage planned maintenance, change management and work-control processes.
- Ensure compliance with company policies, industry standards, health & safety requirements and regulatory obligations.
- Develop and maintain operating procedures, emergency response procedures and maintenance documentation.
- Monitor equipment performance and identify opportunities to improve reliability, efficiency and operational resilience.
- Support capacity planning, infrastructure upgrades, commissioning and expansion projects.
- Produce operational reports, KPI metrics and performance updates for senior management.
- Participate in an on-call or escalation rota where required.
Leadership Responsibilities
The Critical Facilities Manager will play a key role in developing the site's technical workforce.
Responsibilities will include:
- Recruitment and onboarding of technical personnel.
- Performance management and employee development.
- Training and competency management.
- Workforce planning and shift coverage.
- Building a strong safety and operational culture.
- Coaching Lead Technicians and Engineers into future leadership positions.
Experience & Qualifications
The ideal candidate will have:
- Significant experience working within a data center, mission-critical, industrial, semiconductor, pharmaceutical, hospital or similar critical environment.
- Previous management or supervisory experience within facilities, engineering or data centre operations.
- Strong knowledge of critical electrical and mechanical systems.
- Experience managing technical teams in a 24/7 operational environment.
- Experience managing contractors and third-party service providers.
- Strong understanding of preventative and corrective maintenance practices.
- Experience with incident management, change control and emergency procedures.
- Excellent communication, leadership and problem-solving skills.
- A strong commitment to health, safety and operational excellence.
This is an opportunity to join a highly established data center platform operating critical infrastructure at significant scale.
What this role offers:
- Competitive salary and benefits package.
- Opportunity to lead and develop a high-performing technical team.
- Exposure to large-scale, mission-critical infrastructure.
- Career progression within a growing data center organisation.
- Ongoing technical and leadership development.
- The opportunity to contribute to major infrastructure expansion and improvement projects.