Critical Operations Manager

STACK Infrastructure US; New Albany (OH); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

401K program

Cell phone subsidy

Paid time off

Job summary

STACK Infrastructure US is seeking a Critical Operations Manager to lead and manage data center operations at the New Albany campus. You will oversee electrical, mechanical, and fire life safety systems, implement maintenance programs, and drive efficiency and training across the site, with a strong emphasis on safety and uptime.

The role requires extensive experience in critical operations, vendor management, and budgeting, with readiness to work outside normal hours and travel as needed.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• 5–7 years’ data center or critical operations experience.
• 3–5 years in preventive maintenance program management.
• 3–5 years in vendor and project management.
• Knowledge of data center (hyperscale, enterprise, and colocation) and telecommunications industries.
• Experience with MS Office and database software.
• Ability to handle multiple tasks in stressful situations.
• Expert understanding of electrical and mechanical systems used in a data center environment (UPS, Transformers, PDU, RPPs, Chillers, CRAH, CRAC, STS, ATS, Pre-action).
• NFPA70e, NFPA72, NFPA25 knowledge and building codes related to fire life safety.
• Willingness to work outside normal hours, including weekends, nights, and on-call.
• Able to lift up to 25 pounds.
• Occasional travel.

Responsibilities

• Lead and implement a standardized safety culture across STACK data centers.
• Serve as datacenter SME for electrical, mechanical, fire life safety, and other systems.
• Advise on maintenance program status at site level.
• Operate, monitor, maintain, and respond to abnormal conditions.
• Implement site-level efficiency projects and maintain site PUE.
• Ensure preventive and predictive maintenance is executed.
• Train and mentor junior staff.
• Manage vendor relationships and service contracts, including procurement and billing.
• Develop and manage site budgeting and forecasting for CapEx and OpEx.
• Create detailed procedures for maintenance events, emergencies, and site evolutions.
• Ensure construction and commissioning activities do not impact operations.
• Develop training plans aligned with STACK’s program.
• Act as customer liaison for site inquiries.
• Lead incident reporting and RCA processes.
• Review procedures and company standards and policies.
• Manage site audits and compliance.
• Manage systems to avoid outages.
• Manage data floor and cooling capacity for efficiency.
• Navigate CMS, EPMS, and BMS systems.
• Provide day-to-day customer service and support.
• On-call as required.

Skills

Data center ops

Vendor management

Project management

Preventive maintenance

NFPA codes

Electrical systems

Mechanical systems

Budgeting

Leadership

Communication

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Tools

Microsoft Office

Data center monitoring software

Database housing software

Job description

THE COMPANY:STACK INFRASTRUCTURE (STACK) provides digital infrastructure to scale the world’s most innovative companies. We are an award-winning industry leader in building, owning, and operating highly efficient, cost-effective wholesale, colocation, and cloud data centers. Each of our national facilities meets or exceeds the highest industry standards in all operational categories of availability, security, connectivity, and physical resilience.STACK offers the scale and geographic reach that rapidly growing hyperscale and enterprise companies need. The world runs on data. Data runs on STACK.THE POSITION:STACK is looking for a Critical Operations Manager (COM) to support a local data center campus. As a leader in STACK’s Critical Operations team, the COM must possess an expert level of knowledge and will be responsible for assisting the Senior Director, Critical Operations in maintaining the mechanical, electrical, fire life safety, base building, and other various internal data center systems. The COM is responsible for all operational aspects and uptime of the data center.The COM will also be focused on the implementation of programs related to Safety, Team, Availability, Communication, and Knowledge. All data center operations staff will report to the Critical Operations Manager. The COM is responsible for the implementation of the Data Center Operations Program at their site and is responsible for employee training and ensuring all staff is adequately qualified to perform their duties. Holding regular team meetings and individual 1:1 sessions is required.The COM will develop and maintain CAPEX and OPEX budgets at the site level. They will also be responsible for project execution and management including developing scopes, obtaining proposals, creating purchase requisitions, and ensuring invoices are routed properly. The COM is a people leader and will be responsible for the performance and conduct of all critical operations employees. Responsibilities include but are not limited to:Lead and implement a standardized culture of always working safely across all STACK data centers.Serve as datacenter subject matter expert for electrical, mechanical, fire life safety, and other data center systems.Advise the Senior Director, Critical Operations on the status of site-level preventative and corrective maintenance programs.Operate, monitor, maintain, and respond to abnormal conditions within the facility.Implement site-level efficiency projects and maintain overall site design PUE.Ensure STACK preventative and predictive maintenance program is executed.Train and mentor junior staff.Manage vendor relationships and service contracts, including procurement and billing processes.Develop and manage site budgeting and forecasting for both CapEx and OpEx.Create highly detailed technical procedures for maintenance events, emergency situations, and standard site evolutions.Ensure construction and commissioning activities do not impact existing critical operations.Develop and maintain individual training plans for each employee aligned with STACK’s training and development program.Act as a customer liaison for all site-level inquiries.Lead incident reporting and root cause analysis processes for abnormal occurrences within the data center.Perform expert technical review of procedures, company standards, and policies.Manage site audits, both internal and external, ensuring adherence to compliance standards.Manage systems to avoid unplanned, customer-impacting outages.Manage the data floor and back of house mechanical loading capacity to ensure cooling system efficiency.Navigate and utilize CMS, EPMS, and BMS systems.Provide day-to-day exceptional customer service and support.Be available on-call as required to respond to emergency situations at the data center.Perform other duties as required by STACK. Job duties, roles, and responsibilities are subject to change over time.The site staff includes Assistant Critical Operations Manager and Critical Operations Technicians. The expected span of control for this position will range from 4 to 12 direct reports.THE DETAILS:Location: New Albany, OHTravel: Typically, this role would require approximately 20% travel to attend events and visit STACK locations as necessaryBenefits: Healthcare, Dental Care, Vision Insurance, Life Insurance, Paid Time Off, Paid Leave ProgramsMust pass comprehensive background screeningMust be eligible to work in the United StatesWork hours may vary based upon business needsJob duties, roles, and responsibilities are subject to change over timeMUST-HAVE QUALIFICATIONS:High school diploma or equivalent.Minimum of 5-7 years’ experience in a data center or other related mission-critical operations role.3-5 years' experience in administering and managing facility preventative maintenance programs.3-5 years' experience in vendor and project management.Knowledge of data center (hyperscale, enterprise, and colocation) and telecommunications industries.Experience working with various Microsoft Office applications and other database housing software.Ability to handle a multitude of tasks and work well in stressful situations.Expert understanding of electrical and mechanical systems used in a data center environment, including UPS, Transformers, PDU’s, RPP’s, Chillers, CRAH, CRAC, STS, ATS, and Pre-action systems.Expert knowledge of NFPA70e, NFPA72, NFPA25, and compliance issues as well as building codes related to fire life safety.Expert knowledge and experience in data center trending and analysis, with the ability to rapidly learn and use PC-based site monitoring systems.Proficient in data center commissioning standards.Ability to occasionally stand, walk, sit, use hands to handle, reach or feel objects, climb stairs, balance, stoop or kneel, talk, see at close range, and hear for extended periods.Must be able to lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.Willingness to work outside normal business hours, including weekends, late nights, holidays, and on-call support.Comfortable working in a high stress, fast paced environment with shifting priorities.THIS MIGHT BE RIGHT FOR YOU IF:You are a strong communicator, you are persuasive and clear, blending analytics with experience in decision-making.You do not get flustered easily. You can juggle multiple priorities while balancing urgent requests with shifting timelines and deliverables.You are a team builder. You take the time to understand and develop the strengths of your resources while formulating long-term plans for the growth and success of the team.You are naturally curious and driven toward continual improvement. While you celebrate your successes, you take time to review and analyze campaigns for future learning.WHY STACK?We offer a competitive compensation package with strong benefits, including medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401K program, flexible spending accounts – even a cell phone subsidy.We foster a culture of appreciation, including peer-to-peer recognition and rewards programs.Fun is part of our DNA, with events, game nights, happy hours, and barbecues.We’re growing – this is a great time to join and make an impact!STACK is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, national origin, mental or physical disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local lawNote to external agencies: We are not accepting any blind submissions or resumes/cvs from recruitment agencies. Any candidates sent to STACK Infrastructure, Inc. will not be accepted or considered as a submission without a signed agreement in place. Fees will not be paid in the event a candidate submitted by a recruiter without an agreement in place is hired; such resumes will be deemed the sole property of STACK Infrastructure, Inc.