Data Center Site Operations Manager

Lightning AI; Fort Worth (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Lightning AI in Allen, Texas and Fort Worth is seeking a Data Center Site Operations Manager to lead operations at our Allen and Fort Worth facilities. You’ll oversee tenant fit-out, stand up our operational environment, and build a high-performance team responsible for day-to-day data center operations.

This hands-on leadership role requires rolling up your sleeves, guiding the team, ensuring deployment readiness, and sustaining operational excellence as we scale from 10MW to future growth.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of data center operations experience.
• 2+ years of direct people management experience.
• Strong understanding of data center infrastructure (racking, power, cooling).

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of data center technicians handling maintenance, break/fix, diagnostics, and routine inspections.
• Oversee tenant fit-out and deployment activities for data center facilities.
• Develop and implement uptime, preventive maintenance, and incident response procedures.
• Act as the primary on-site point of contact for operational issues and escalation.

Skills

Data center operations

People management

Vendor coordination

Job description

We Are

Lightning AI is the company behind PyTorch Lightning. Founded in 2019, we build an end-to-end platform for developing, training, and deploying AI systems—designed to take ideas from research to production with less friction.

Who We Are

Lightning AI is the company behind PyTorch Lightning. Founded in 2019, we build an end-to-end platform for developing, training, and deploying AI systems—designed to take ideas from research to production with less friction.

Through our merger with Voltage Park, a neocloud and AI Factory, Lightning AI combines developer-first software with cost-efficient, large-scale compute. Teams get the tools they need for experimentation, training, and production inference, with security, observability, and control built in.

We serve solo researchers, startups, and large enterprises. Lightning AI operates globally with offices in New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and London, and is backed by Coatue, Index Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, and Firstminute.

The Way We Work

The People Who Thrive Here Are Builders Who Move Fast, Communicate Openly, Take Ownership, And Continuously Improve Themselves, Their Teams, And Our Company. Here's What That Looks Like In Practice

• Move with Urgency: We move quickly, make thoughtful decisions, and keep momentum. We value action over perfection and learn by shipping.
• Take Ownership: We own outcomes, not just our individual work. We make decisions that move the company forward and follow through.
• Communicate Openly: We communicate directly, seek to understand, and create clarity for others. Honest conversations help us move faster together.
• Build Great Teams: We lead by example, empower others, and create healthy teams where people can do their best work.
• Raise the Bar: We're always improving ourselves. We learn from feedback, consistently challenge ourselves to grow, and focus on the work that matters most.
• Think Long-Term: We design for what's next. We create scalable systems, simplify complexity, and use AI and automation to amplify our impact.

What We're Looking For

We’re hiring a Data Center Site Operations Manager to lead operations at our Allen & Fort Worth facilities. You’ll oversee the tenant fit‑out of our space, stand up our operational environment, and build a high‑performance team responsible for day‑to‑day data center operations. This is a hands‑on leadership role, where you’ll both guide a team and roll up your sleeves to ensure a smooth deployment and sustained operational excellence. You will play a key role in bringing online a 10MW build, housing 4,000 GPUs at launch and expanding to 10,000 GPUs as the site grows.

We are not able to provide sponsorship for this position. This is an on‑site role in Allen, Texas & Fort Worth, Texas. Travel to our other data center sites across the US will be required.

Launch and Operate the Chicago Facility

• Oversee the setup of data center systems specific to our deployment within an existing colocation facility
• Coordinate equipment installation, including rack and roll delivery, cabling, network installation, and power-up procedures
• Manage vendor relationships, scheduling, and performance to ensure successful deployment
• Track and manage all inventory and incoming hardware

Onsite Operational Leadership

• Lead a team of data center technicians handling maintenance, break fix, diagnostics, and routine inspections
• Develop and implement procedures for uptime, preventive maintenance, and incident response
• Act as the primary on‑site point of contact for operational issues and escalation

Cross‑Functional and Team Collaboration

• Partner with NetOps, Engineering, and Supply Chain teams to support deployments and ongoing operations
• Participate in hiring, training, and mentoring on‑site technicians
• Travel to other Voltage Park data centers to learn processes and align operational standards

Qualifications

Required:

• 4+ years of experience in data center operations
• 2+ years of direct people management experience
• Strong understanding of data center infrastructure (racking