Facility Lead Engineer-Sunnyvale, CA, US

Alibaba Cloud; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 145,000 - 234,000; Full time

Job summary

Alibaba Cloud’s Infrastructure Operations Team in Sunnyvale seeks an experienced Facilities Operations Lead to ensure safe, reliable, and compliant operation of critical physical support systems across large facilities.

You will drive capacity planning, energy efficiency, vendor management, incident analysis, and cross-functional collaboration with IT, Security, and business units.

The role requires 5+ years in facilities/ fire protection with a relevant degree; English fluency is essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Electrical/Mechanical/HVAC or Fire Safety engineering or related field.
• 5+ years in large-scale facility operation and maintenance; data center experience preferred.
• English fluency required for collaboration across teams.

Responsibilities

• Operate and maintain large-scale facilities in the designated region to ensure safety and reliability.
• Develop operation strategies, procedures, and emergency plans aligned with standards and regulations.
• Lead the facilities operations team, including training and daily supervision.
• Drive capacity planning, energy efficiency, and cost-reduction projects.
• Manage facility vendors and ensure SLA compliance.
• Lead root-cause analysis for facility incidents and implement corrective actions.
• Collaborate with IT, Security, and Business Units to support objectives.
• Ensure fire protection compliance, inspections, and coordination with local authorities.

Skills

Observability

Automation

Incident management

Team leadership

Project management

Vendor management

Fluent English

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, HVAC, Fire Protection Engineering, Safety Engineering, or related engineering

Job description

Alibaba Infrastructure Operations Team

We are the Alibaba Infrastructure Operations Team, a critical component of a leading global technology enterprise's infrastructure strategy. Our mission is to ensure the highly efficient, stable, and secure operation of infrastructure across the globe. We are dedicated to delivering "last mile customer value" from our operational facilities, providing a seamless, reliable, and highly efficient service experience.

The Controls team serves as the regional technical capability center for infrastructure automation and monitoring systems. We bridge global headquarters engineering with regional deployment operations, owning the technical standards, platform development, and integration architecture for Building Management Systems (BMS), Electrical Power Monitoring Systems (EPMS), and Environmental Monitoring Systems (EMS). Our mission is to ensure that all infrastructure's automation and monitoring meets Alibaba's global reliability standards through rigorous technical governance, code-level quality assurance, and systematic knowledge transfer to regional deployment teams.

We operate as a matrix organization combining both infra operations engineers and platform development engineers, enabling us to address complex technical challenges that span infrastructure systems, software platforms, and regional deployment contexts. We actively seek engineers who can bring proven practices in observability, automation, and incident management to the infra controls domain — accelerating the evolution of our monitoring and automation capabilities through cross-domain knowledge migration.

Job Responsibilities

• Responsible for the daily operation and maintenance management of large-scale operational facilities within the responsible region, ensuring the efficient, stable, safe, and compliant operation of their critical physical support systems (e.g., power, HVAC, fire suppression).
• Develop and implement facility operation strategies, procedures, and emergency plans, ensuring facility operations comply with internal standards and external regulations.
• Lead the facility operations team, including training and daily supervision, to enhance team professionalism and cohesion.
• Drive facility capacity planning, energy efficiency management, and optimization projects, promoting sustainable operation practices and reducing operational costs.
• Manage facility-related vendors and service providers, ensuring service quality and SLA compliance.
• Lead root cause analysis for facility incidents, and the development and implementation of corrective actions.
• Collaborate closely with internal cross-functional teams (e.g., IT, Security, Competency Center, Business Units) to ensure facility operations effectively support overall business objectives.
• Responsible for infrastructure fire protection compliance management, including fire protection system daily operation, fire inspection and drill planning, fire risk identification and governance, liaison with local fire protection regulatory departments, and ensuring zero fire protection compliance incidents.

Job Requirements

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, HVAC, Fire Protection Engineering, Safety Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
• Over 5 years of experience in large-scale facility operation and maintenance or fire protection management; experience in data centers preferred.
• Familiar with the operational principles, maintenance, and troubleshooting of critical physical support systems (power, HVAC, fire suppression) in infrastructure.
• Familiar with fire protection engineering knowledge systems (building fire prevention, fire protection facilities, evacuation, fire investigation) and local fire protection compliance regulations and risk governance requirements.
• Proven team leadership and project management skills, capable of effectively driving complex project implementation and managing vendor relationships.
• Familiar with relevant safety regulations, industry standards, and environmental compliance requirements.
• Strong communication and coordination skills, problem-solving abilities, and risk management awareness; fluent in English as a working language.
• (+) Relevant professional certifications (e.g., PMP, CFM, Registered Fire Protection Engineer), familiarity with energy efficiency management and green operation practices, or experience working in multinational corporations are preferred.

The pay range for this position at commencement of employment is expected to be between $145,000 and $234,000/year. However, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

If hired, employee will be in an “at-will position” and the Company reserves the right to modify base salary (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, Company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.