Field Engineering Manager - Data Center

Computacenter (UK) Ltd; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 130,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Computacenter (UK) Ltd is seeking a Field Engineering Practice Manager to lead the Data Center technical leadership organization across North America. You will directly manage Project Engineers and Implementation Specialists, ensuring readiness, standards, quality, and capacity for Data Center deployments. Expect 15%–20% travel.

You will build scalable capability by developing senior leaders, aligning staffing to projects, and establishing repeatable execution standards across the field.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of field engineering or data center infrastructure delivery experience.
• 3+ years of direct people leadership and employee development experience.
• Experience leading senior technical roles and onsite leaders.
• Experience with workforce planning, standards, and partner delivery.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coach Project Engineers and Implementation Specialists in the Data Center practice.
• Set expectations for leadership, execution quality, utilization, communication, and development.
• Maintain visibility of skills, readiness, and location; plan development.
• Create training, mentoring, and succession plans to build leadership depth.
• Align qualified personnel to projects based on complexity and geography.
• Forecast capability gaps and recommend hiring or partner actions.
• Establish repeatable Data Center field execution standards and acceptance criteria.
• Monitor escalations, defects, and partner performance; drive corrective action.
• Support onboarding and performance reviews of delivery partners.
• Collaborate with multiple functions to validate practical leadership and workforce models.
• Monitor utilization, productivity, cost, and risk across the practice.

Skills

Field leadership

Data Center infrastructure

Technical authority

Project/resource planning

Cross-functional collaboration

Staff development

Readiness decision making

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Job description

About the role

We are seeking a Field Engineering Practice Manager to lead our Data Center technical leadership organization. This role directly manages Project Engineers (PE) and Implementation Specialists (IS) and is accountable for the people, capability, standards, capacity, quality, and readiness required to support Data Center infrastructure deployments across North America. The Practice Manager builds a scalable capability by developing senior technical leaders, establishing consistent execution standards, understanding future demand, and ensuring complex work is supported by the right technical authority and onsite leadership. Project Engineers retain technical authority for their assigned projects, while Implementation Specialists lead onsite execution.

15% - 20% travel as needed.

Annual compensation: $130K - $170K USD

What you’ll be doing

• Lead, coach, develop, and hold accountable the Project Engineers and Implementation Specialists assigned to the Data Center practice.
• Set clear expectations for technical leadership, execution quality, utilization, communication, behavior, and employee development.
• Maintain a current view of PE and IS skills, experience, certifications, readiness, location, availability, and development needs.
• Create training, mentoring, succession, and career-development plans that build leadership depth and reduce dependency on individual experts.
• Work with Resource Management and delivery leaders to align qualified PEs and ISs to projects based on complexity, technical risk, geography, and customer requirements.
• Forecast capability and capacity gaps and recommend hiring, contractor, cross-training, partner, or investment actions.
• Establish and maintain repeatable Data Center field execution standards, work methods, technical checkpoints, documentation requirements, and acceptance expectations.
• Monitor technical escalations, repeat defects, rework, partner performance, and customer feedback and drive practice-level corrective action.
• Support the technical evaluation, onboarding, enablement, and performance review of Data Center delivery partners. Partner with Project Management, Solutions, Sales, Estimating, Resource Management, Finance, Partner Management, and Field Engineering leadership.
• Support major opportunities and programs by validating that the proposed technical leadership and workforce model is practical and executable.
• Monitor utilization, productivity, cost, labor mix, workforce risk, and other practice performance indicators.

What you have

• Strong understanding of rack installation, land and level, rack build, rack-and-stack, integration, and cable-management systems.
• Knowledge of copper and fiber installation, routing, dressing, patching, termination, testing, labeling, documentation, and acceptance requirements.
• Experience with server, network, storage, power-distribution, or other infrastructure installation within approved scope.
• Understanding of site surveys, readiness reviews, commissioning, migration, cutover, technical closeout, and quality evidence.
• Experience working in high-density, active, construction, commissioning, colocation, mission-critical, or hyperscale Data Center environments.
• Strong safety and operational discipline related to access control, contamination control, raised floors, overhead work, material handling, and customer-specific site requirements.
• At least 8 years of field engineering, Data Center infrastructure delivery, technical services, or related experience.
• At least 3 years of direct people leadership, performance management, and employee development experience.
• Demonstrated experience leading or developing Project Engineers, technical authorities, onsite leaders, or comparable senior technical roles.
• Strong technical credibility in Data Center infrastructure deployment and partner-led field execution.
• Experience with workforce planning, utilization, technical standards, quality improvement, and contractor or partner delivery.
• Ability to make clear readiness decisions and challenge staffing or delivery models that create unacceptable execution risk.
• Strong communication, financial judgment, operational discipline, and cross-functional leadership skills.
• Legal authorization to work in the United States.

Bonus points

• Ten to twelve or more years of progressive Data Center field engineering or infrastructure-delivery experience.
• Experience supporting complex, high-volume, multi-site, colocation, mission-critical, or hyperscale programs.
• Experience developing technical proficiency frameworks, qualification criteria, standard work methods, training programs, or succession plans.
• Experience evaluating and developing national, regional, specialty, or union-capable delivery partners.
• Relevant BICSI, fiber, copper, manufacturer, OSHA, safety, project-delivery, or Data Center credentials.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent technical, trade, military, operational, and leadership experience.