Director / Senior Director, Critical Facility Operations

Cerebras; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equal opportunity employer

Inclusive work environment

Job summary

Cerebras, located in Sunnyvale, California, is seeking a Director / Sr. Director of Critical Facility Operations. This role is pivotal in managing environments for next-generation AI workloads ensuring operational readiness and zero downtime.

The ideal candidate will possess strong expertise in mission-critical facilities management and a proven track record in managing complex, vendor-heavy environments. A commitment to safety and operational excellence is essential, as is a passion for building and leading high-performing teams.

Qualifications

• 12–15+ years in mission-critical facilities or data center operations.
• Experience managing multi-site, vendor-heavy environments.
• Proven track record in improving uptime and performance.

Responsibilities

• Drive a no-downtime operating model across all facilities.
• Own uptime performance end-to-end including incident response.
• Build a zero-incident safety culture.

Skills

Mission-critical facilities management

Multi-site management

Strong electrical systems expertise

Strong mechanical systems expertise

Job description

Cerebras Systems builds the world's largest AI chip, 56 times larger than GPUs. Our novel wafer-scale architecture provides the AI compute power of dozens of GPUs on a single chip, with the programming simplicity of a single device. This approach allows Cerebras to deliver industry-leading training and inference speeds and empowers machine learning users to effortlessly run large-scale ML applications, without the hassle of managing hundreds of GPUs or TPUs.

Cerebras' current customers include top model labs, global enterprises, and cutting-edge AI-native startups. OpenAI recently announced a multi-year partnership with Cerebras, to deploy 750 megawatts of scale, transforming key workloads with ultra high-speed inference.

Thanks to the groundbreaking wafer-scale architecture, Cerebras Inference offers the fastest Generative AI inference solution in the world, over 10 times faster than GPU-based hyperscale cloud inference services. This order of magnitude increase in speed is transforming the user experience of AI applications, unlocking real-time iteration and increasing intelligence via additional agentic computation.

The Role

At Cerebras, we build systems that redefine the scale of compute. That ambition extends beyond silicon into the infrastructure that powers it.

We are looking for a Director / Sr. Director of Critical Facility Operations to lead the environments that enable next-generation AI workloads. This leader will own availability, operational integrity, and performance across a colocation-driven data center footprint—ensuring our infrastructure operates with precision, predictability, and zero room for error.

This is not a traditional facilities role. You will operate at the intersection of mission-critical engineering, vendor orchestration, and operational excellence, building systems and teams that can scale with the most demanding compute environments in the world.

Responsibilities

• Drive a no‑downtime operating model across all facilities
• Own uptime performance end-to-end including incident response and RCA
• Build a culture where failures are analyzed and not repeated

Vendor & Colocation

• Architect and run a high‑discipline vendor operating model
• Convert vendor relationships into measurable systems
• Lead deep operational reviews and enforce accountability

Contracts

• Align SLAs, incentives, and performance
• Eliminate ambiguity in ownership and response

Safety

• Build a zero‑incident safety culture
• Ensure rigor in high‑risk procedures

Maintenance

• Transform preventive maintenance into failure prevention
• Implement predictive strategies where possible

Operations

• Standardize SOPs, MOPs, and EOPs
• Build a high‑signal operating rhythm
• Benchmark against hyperscale operators

Leadership

• Build high‑performing, high‑agency teams
• Drive ownership, speed, and technical excellence

Scaling

• Ensure operational readiness for new builds
• Influence design and site strategy

Skills & Qualifications

• 12–15+ years in mission‑critical facilities or data center operations
• Experience managing multi‑site, vendor‑heavy environments
• Strong expertise in electrical and mechanical systems
• Proven track record in improving uptime and performance

Success Metrics

• Availability and SLA performance
• Incident reduction and MTTR improvement
• Vendor performance and accountability
• Safety metrics
• Maintenance quality and execution

Cerebras Systems is committed to creating an equal and diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate different backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We believe inclusive teams build better products and companies. We try every day to build a work environment that empowers people to do their best work through continuous learning, growth and support of those around them.