FM Engineering Ops Manager - Abernathy, TX

CBRE; Abernathy (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

CBRE is seeking an FM Engineering Operations Manager (Data Centers) in Abernathy, TX to lead Maintenance and Tech Leads, ensuring uptime across critical electrical, mechanical, and cooling systems while driving preventive maintenance and rapid repairs.

You will shape budgets, implement safety standards, and coordinate with IT, project management, and HSE teams, leveraging CMMS (Maximo) and DCIM tools to optimize efficiency and power usage effectiveness.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree (preferred) with 3–5 years of engineering management experience in data centers or mission-critical environments.
• Experience supervising and coaching lower-level supervisors or leads in 24/7 operations.
• Ability to communicate complex technical information and set clear performance expectations.

Responsibilities

• Lead Maintenance and Tech Leads to ensure 24/7 uptime and rapid repairs of critical electrical, mechanical, and cooling systems.
• Oversee recruitment, onboarding, and training alignment for frontline technicians.
• Manage daily schedules, escalation protocols, and cross-training across shifts.
• Maintain strong vendor and stakeholder relationships with clients and contractors.
• Own site engineering budget (OpEx/CapEx) and coordinate financial planning.
• Set site goals and initiatives to improve infrastructure efficiency and PUE tracking.
• Ensure policy deployment, safety standards, and SOP/EOP adherence.
• Ensure change-management discipline and proper work authorization processes.
• Maintain regulatory records and CMMS/dcim data integrity.

Skills

Leadership

24/7 operations

Budgeting / P&L

CMMS (Maximo)

DCIM tools

Vendor relations

Cross-functional collaboration

Change management

Data center operations

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Maximo

DCIM

Job description

About The Role

As the FM Engineering Operations Manager (Data Centers), you will manage the site's Maintenance and Tech Leads who oversee the hands‑on technicians providing 24/7 technical support. This role sits within the Engineering and Technical Services function and focuses on scaling leadership to ensure maximum uptime, system reliability, and operational excellence. You will provide strategic and operational direction to your leads, ensuring rigorous execution of preventive maintenance and rapid repairs across critical electrical, mechanical, and cooling systems.

What You’ll Do

• Manage Leadership Staff: Provide formal supervision, performance evaluations, and leadership coaching directly to Maintenance and Tech Leads.
• Oversee Cascading Team Growth: Guide your leads on the recruitment, onboarding, and technical training alignment of their frontline technicians to maintain industry‑leading uptime standards.
• Coordinate Higher‑Level Operations: Work through Maintenance and Tech Leads to manage daily schedules, establish escalation protocols, and enforce cross‑training matrices across shifts.
• Drive Vendor & Stakeholder Relations: Maintain collaborative, high‑trust relationships with clients, vendor partners, and external technical contractors.
• Own the Budget (P&L): Manage the profits, losses, operational expenditures (OpEx), and capital expenditure (CapEx) planning for the site engineering department.
• Set Strategic Operational Goals: Develop site‑specific goals and initiatives to optimize infrastructure efficiency, including Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) tracking.
• Deploy Organizational Policies: Guide your leads in successfully implementing company initiatives, corporate safety standards, and operational playbooks down to the floor level.
• Optimize Facilities Procedures: Continually evaluate data center processes, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and emergency operating procedures (EOPs) to solve operational gaps.
• Enforce Operational Consistency: Ensure your leads maintain rigorous change‑management compliance and strict critical environment work authorizations (e.g., Method Statements).
• Maintain Regulatory Records: Track and audit regulatory paperwork, emissions data, generator logs, and computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) compliance.
• Model CBRE Core Values: Lead by example and model behaviors consistent with CBRE RISE values, aligning leadership teams to support facility objectives.
• Cross‑Functional Collaboration: Apply deep knowledge of critical environments to seamlessly integrate engineering operations with IT, project management, and HSE teams.
• Escalate & Resolve Complex Issues: Partner with your Tech Leads to diagnose, troubleshoot, and resolve highly complex technical issues within critical systems (UPS units, chillers, generators, and switchgear).

What You’ll Need

• Education & Experience: Bachelor’s Degree preferred with 3–5 years of relevant engineering management experience within data centers or mission‑critical environments. (A combination of experience and education will be considered).
• Manager‑of‑Managers Leadership: Proven experience managing, coaching, and developing lower‑level supervisors or technical team leads within a 24/7 operational environment.
• High‑Stakes Communication: Ability to clearly guide the exchange of complex technical information, deliver critical incident updates, and convey strict performance expectations to your leadership staff.
• Mission‑Critical Leadership: Strong leadership skills to motivate team leads, drive accountability, and ensure the efficiency and absolute reliability of the engineering department.
• Technical & Software Proficiency: In‑depth knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite and deep familiarity with data center management systems like CMMS (e.g., Maximo) and DCIM tools.
• Analytical Problem‑Solving: Advanced organizational skills combined with an inquisitive, root‑cause‑analysis mindset.
• Financial & Advanced Math Skills: Advanced math and financial literacy to calculate equipment efficiencies, load capacities, percentages, and complex department budget metrics.

Disclaimers

Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States without the need for visa sponsorship now or in the future.

We value human interaction to understand each candidate's unique experience, skills and aspirations. We do not use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to make hiring decisions, and we ask that candidates disclose any use of AI in the application and interview process.

Equal Employment Opportunity: CBRE is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity. We have a long‑standing commitment to providing equal employment opportunity to all qualified applicants regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, veteran status, political belief, or any other basis protected by applicable law.

Candidate Accommodations: CBRE values the differences of all current and prospective employees and recognizes how every employee contributes to our company’s success. CBRE provides reasonable accommodations in job application procedures for individuals with disabilities. If you require assistance due to a disability in the application or recruitment process, please submit a request via email at [e-mail] or via telephone at [phone] (U.S.) and [phone] (Canada).