Director of Data Center Operations

Giga Energy Inc.; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Subsidized health, dental, and vision

Equity options

401(k) with 4% employer match

Unlimited PTO

Parental leave

FSA/HSA

Commuter benefits

Opportunities to collaborate on-sites

Job summary

Giga Energy is seeking a Director of Operations to own the day-to-day reliability, staffing, maintenance, and performance of our data centers. You will standardize staffing, uptime protection, maintenance scheduling, and incident resolution across a growing portfolio.

You will manage cross-site operations teams and vendor relationships, report health metrics to executives, and own the portfolio's operating backbone as we scale. This remote role requires travel to facilities (~20–25%).

Qualifications

• 10+ years in facility or data center operations
• 5+ years managing operations across multiple sites
• Strong knowledge of MEP and electrical systems (generators, UPS, cooling, BMS/controls)
• Experience managing operations budgets and vendor contracts across multiple sites
• Experience presenting to executives on operational risk and performance
• Direct experience running operations at hyperscale or colocation data centers
• Experience partnering with commissioning teams on turnover
• Familiarity with facility operations platforms (CMMS)
• Experience scaling operations in high-growth startups

Responsibilities

• Own day-to-day operational performance across live data center facilities, including uptime, maintenance execution, and incident response
• Build and enforce the operating standard across all facilities: staffing models, maintenance schedules, escalation procedures, and performance benchmarks
• Manage facility operations teams and site leads across multiple locations
• Own vendor and service provider relationships tied to ongoing operations (maintenance contractors, equipment service providers, facility services) and SLAs
• Lead root cause analysis and resolution for operational incidents and update standards to prevent recurrence
• Own the operations budget across the portfolio and make staffing/resource trade-offs as facilities come online
• Report on operational health, risk, and performance to executive leadership across the portfolio
• Collaborate with commissioning and construction teams for clean handoffs from new facilities to steady-state operations
• Drive continuous improvement in operating procedures as the portfolio scales

Skills

Facility operations

Data center operations

Vendor management

Budget management

Executive communication

Cross-site leadership

Project management

Operations scaling

MEP knowledge

Risk assessment

Tools

CMMS

BMS/controls

Contract management software

Job description

Giga is building gigawatts of AI data centers to hasten a future of intelligence and abundance. We build data centers fast and at scale by combining the capabilities of an equipment supplier, engineering firm, general contractor, and real estate developer under one roof. Our team moves quickly and thinks practically. If you're ready to make an impact in an industry that matters, we're looking for people like you.

• The Pace: We're building at a speed most companies talk about but never actually operate at. If you've been bored somewhere else, you won't be here.
• The Impact: Every person at Giga touches the work that matters. No layers, no waiting for approval chains. You'll see your fingerprints on what we ship.
• The Team: A team of operators defining the future of AI infrastructure. We recruit A-players from the most innovative companies in the world, and they choose Giga because the work here means more.
• The Moment: AI doesn't run without power, and that's us. Giga is the picks and shovels behind the AI revolution. This industry is about to explode, and you'll be in the room where it's already happening.

What you’ll do

A data center only matters if it stays up. As Director of Operations, you own what happens after commissioning ends and the facility goes live — the day-to-day reliability, staffing, maintenance, and performance of Giga's data centers in operation. You'll build and run the operating standard across our portfolio: how facilities are staffed, how uptime is protected, how maintenance is scheduled, and how issues get resolved before they become incidents. You'll manage facility operations teams and vendor relationships across multiple sites, report on operational health to executive leadership, and be the person accountable when the question is "is it running the way it's supposed to." If you want to own the operating backbone of a fast-growing AI infrastructure company, this is your seat.

Where you’ll work

This role is remote, with roughly 20-25% travel to data center facilities to stay close to day-to-day operations in the field. While Giga is an in-office culture by default, this role is a deliberate exception given its portfolio-spanning nature — you'll need to be where the facilities are, not tied to a single hub.

Responsibilities

• Own day-to-day operational performance across Giga's live data center facilities, including uptime, maintenance execution, and incident response
• Build and enforce the operating standard applied across all facilities — staffing models, maintenance schedules, escalation procedures, and performance benchmarks
• Manage facility operations teams and site leads across multiple locations, ensuring consistent execution regardless of site
• Own vendor and service provider relationships tied to ongoing operations (maintenance contractors, equipment service providers, facility services), including contract performance and SLAs
• Lead root cause analysis and resolution for operational incidents, ensuring issues are closed out and standards updated to prevent recurrence
• Own the operations budget across the portfolio, making resourcing and staffing trade-off calls as facilities come online
• Report on operational health, risk, and performance to executive leadership across the full portfolio
• Partner with the commissioning and construction teams to ensure a clean handoff from newly commissioned facilities into steady-state operations
• Drive continuous improvement in operating procedures as the facility portfolio scales

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in facility or data center operations, with 5+ years managing operations teams across multiple sites
• Demonstrated experience owning uptime, maintenance, and staffing for mission-critical or large-scale industrial facilities
• Track record building or scaling an operations function, standard, or team across a growing portfolio
• Strong working knowledge of MEP and electrical systems relevant to facility operations (generators, UPS, switchgear, cooling infrastructure, BMS/controls)
• Experience managing operations budgets and vendor/service contracts across multiple simultaneous sites
• Strong track record presenting to and advising executive-level stakeholders on operational risk and performance
• Direct experience running operations at a hyperscale or colocation data center company
• Experience partnering with commissioning teams on facility turnover and handoff
• Familiarity with CMMS or facility operations management platforms
• Experience scaling an operations function inside a high-growth or startup environment

How We Work

We value people who take ownership, raise risks early, communicate directly, and follow through. Incomplete information is part of the job. Make the best decision you can, document it, and adjust as the facts change. Move quickly on reversible decisions and take more care when security, safety, financial, employee, or customer risk is involved.

• Subsidized health, dental, and vision insurance
• Equity (options) in a rapidly growing startup
• 401(k) with 4% employer match
• Unlimited PTO
• Parental leave
• Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) or Health Savings Account (HSA)
• Commuter benefits, where applicable
• Opportunities to collaborate in person at periodic team and company on-sites

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement

Giga Energy is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws.Giga Energy complies with all applicable labor laws, including the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and other relevant state and federal regulations. We provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and encourage applicants who require accommodations during the hiring process to contact us.