Director, Operations, Data Centers & Critical Environments

Spencer Ogden; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Spencer Ogden seeks a Director, Operations SME – Data Centers & Critical Environments in Austin, TX to lead strategic and technical oversight of our data center portfolios.

You will partner with account leadership, clients, engineering and operations teams to establish and standardize best practices across electrical, mechanical, and critical systems, guiding site start‑ups, transitions, and steady‑state operations.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of data center operations experience.
• 8+ years in senior leadership or SME roles.
• Deep knowledge of electrical, cooling, BMS/EPMS and critical facility operations.
• Experience with data center startups, transitions, and operational readiness.
• Experience in enterprise, hyperscale, or multi-site data center environments.
• Strong executive communication and client engagement skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide senior technical leadership for client data center portfolios.
• Lead transition/start‑up activities to ensure operational readiness.
• Review MOPs, SOPs, EOPs for technical accuracy and industry alignment.
• Develop standardized operating models for multi-site portfolios.
• Balance reliability, risk, service quality, and cost.
• Mentor and develop operations leaders and technical professionals.
• Support audits, compliance reviews, and risk mitigation initiatives.

Skills

Data center operations

Senior leadership

Technical advisory

Electrical systems

HVAC & cooling

BMS/EPMS

Incident management

Project management

Executive communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Electrical/Mechanical)

Tools

DCIM

Job description

Director, Operations – Data Centers & Critical Environments

Location: Austin, Texas

Travel: 25–50%

Job Description Summary

We are seeking a strategic and technically accomplished Director, Operations SME – Data Centers & Critical Environments to serve as a senior subject matter expert and operational authority within our Data Center Practice.

This role provides strategic and technical leadership across complex, mission‑critical data center environments, combining expertise in critical infrastructure with account strategy, operational excellence, solution development, site start‑up, reliability, and continuous improvement.

The Director will partner with account leadership, clients, engineering and operations teams, and global SMEs to establish and standardize best practices across electrical, mechanical, and critical environment systems. The role will provide technical leadership throughout the data center lifecycle, from solution development and due diligence through transition, mobilization, site start‑up, steady‑state operations, expansion, and continuous improvement.

A key responsibility is serving as a senior point of contact for new site start‑ups and operational readiness, ensuring client expectations, contractual commitments, technical standards, and operational requirements are fully understood and delivered.

Key Responsibilities

Subject Matter Expertise & Technical Leadership

• Provide senior technical leadership in developing operating solutions for client data center portfolios.
• Partner with transition and mobilization leaders to ensure due diligence, operational readiness, and site start‑up activities are executed successfully.
• Serve as the primary SME for critical facility operations, including electrical distribution, medium/low voltage systems, UPS, generators, cooling systems, BMS, EPMS, and other critical infrastructure.
• Provide expertise in high‑density data centers, including advanced liquid cooling technologies, configurations, operations, and maintenance.
• Serve as an escalation authority for complex technical issues, high‑severity incidents, and critical operational events.
• Provide guidance on incident response, root cause analysis (RCA), corrective actions, and risk mitigation.
• Review MOPs, SOPs, EOPs, and operational documentation for technical accuracy and industry alignment.
• Lead technical assessments, audits, site readiness reviews, and operational performance evaluations.
• Establish technical training requirements, competency standards, and operational procedures for site teams.
• Support deployment and optimization of digital platforms used to manage maintenance, reliability, and operations.

Account & Operational Strategy

• Partner with Account Directors and client leadership to align operations with business objectives, SLAs, contractual requirements, and reliability targets.
• Provide strategic technical guidance throughout solution development, transitions, mobilizations, expansions, and operational transformation.
• Ensure effective handover from transition/start‑up teams to ongoing account operations.
• Develop standardized and scalable operating models across multi‑site, enterprise, and global data center portfolios.
• Identify operational gaps, risks, and performance opportunities and lead corrective action and improvement plans.
• Balance reliability, risk, service quality, client expectations, and cost.
• Act as a trusted technical advisor to account leadership and clients.

Performance Optimization & Reliability

• Champion best practices in uptime, redundancy, resiliency, maintainability, and critical infrastructure performance.
• Drive reliability‑centered maintenance (RCM), predictive maintenance, and condition‑based monitoring.
• Analyze operational data to identify trends, emerging risks, and improvement opportunities.
• Lead initiatives focused on energy efficiency, sustainability, asset performance, and cost optimization.
• Identify opportunities to leverage technology, automation, analytics, and digital platforms to improve reliability and operational performance.
• Ensure operations align with applicable standards and regulations, including OSHA, NFPA, ISO, Uptime Institute guidance, and other relevant standards.
• Support audits, compliance reviews, operational assessments, and risk management initiatives.
• Develop standardized operational controls, governance frameworks, and technical standards.
• Evaluate and mitigate risks associated with infrastructure changes, maintenance activities, failures, and operational decisions.
• Promote a culture of safety, compliance, operational discipline, and accountability.

Client Engagement & Executive Advisory

• Serve as a trusted technical advisor to clients, account leadership, and data center engineering and operations executives.
• Build strong client relationships and credibility as a strategic and technical partner.
• Participate in executive governance meetings, QBRs, technical reviews, and operational reviews.
• Translate complex technical issues into clear business implications, risks, recommendations, and decisions.
• Provide thought leadership on emerging technologies, reliability strategies, operating models, and data center innovation.

Team Development

• Mentor and develop operations leaders, engineers, facility managers, and technical professionals.
• Establish competency and technical development frameworks for critical operations roles.
• Support training, talent strategy, succession planning, and organizational development.
• Promote a culture of safety, accountability, operational excellence, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Influence cross‑functional teams to drive consistent execution and results.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, preferably Electrical or Mechanical, or equivalent experience.
• 12+ years of experience in data center operations, critical facilities, or mission‑critical environments.
• 8+ years of experience in senior leadership, technical advisory, or SME roles.
• Deep knowledge of:
• Medium/low voltage electrical systems, switchgear, UPS, and generators
• HVAC, chilled water, and mechanical cooling systems
• High‑density and liquid cooling technologies
• BMS and EPMS platforms
• Critical environment operations, redundancy, and resiliency
• Data center start‑ups, transitions, and operational readiness
• Experience supporting enterprise, hyperscale, colocation, or other mission‑critical data center environments.
• Strong experience with incident management, RCA, high‑severity events, and risk mitigation.
• Strong executive communication, client engagement, and influencing skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Certifications such as Uptime Institute ATS, CFM, PMP, LEED, CRL, or similar.
• Experience supporting global or multi‑region data center portfolios.
• Experience with DCIM, CMMS, BMS/EPMS, digital operations platforms, and data analytics.
• Experience with data center expansion, commissioning, construction turnover, transition, or mobilization.
• Experience developing standardized operating models across geographically dispersed portfolios.
• Critical Infrastructure Expertise
• Strategic Leadership
• Executive Communication
• Operational Excellence
• Reliability & Risk Management
• Complex Problem Solving
• Influence & Collaboration

Eligible employees may participate in a range of benefit programs, generally including health, vision, and dental insurance; flexible spending and health savings accounts; retirement savings plans; life and disability insurance; and paid and unpaid time away from work.

Compensation may vary based on factors including geographic location, experience, qualifications, date of hire, hours worked, job type, business line, and applicable collective bargaining agreements.

We are committed to providing equal employment opportunity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.