FM Engineering Ops Manager (Data Centers) - Abernathy, TX

CBRE Group, Inc.; Abernathy (TX); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

CBRE Group, Inc. is seeking an FM Engineering Operations Manager (Data Centers) to lead Maintenance and Tech Leads in delivering 24/7 technical support for critical facilities.

You will drive uptime, reliability, and operational excellence across electrical, mechanical, and cooling systems. Responsibilities include supervising leaders, scaling frontline technician training, managing schedules and budgets, and enforcing safety and compliance across operations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree preferred with 3–5 years of relevant engineering management experience.
• Experience managing, coaching, and developing lower-level supervisors or technical team leads in a 24/7 environment.
• Strong communication to translate complex technical info and set performance expectations.
• Knowledge of CMMS and DCIM for data center operations.

Responsibilities

• Provide formal supervision, performance evaluations, and leadership coaching to Maintenance and Tech Leads.
• Oversee recruitment, onboarding, and training alignment for frontline technicians.
• Manage daily schedules, escalation protocols, and cross‑training across shifts.
• Maintain strong relationships with clients, vendors, and external contractors.
• Plan and manage site engineering department OpEx and CapEx budgets.
• Develop site goals to optimize infrastructure efficiency and track PUE.
• Implement safety standards and operational playbooks down to the floor level.
• Maintain regulatory records and CMMS compliance.
• Collaborate with IT, project management, and HSE teams on cross-functional initiatives.

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

CMMS Maximo

DCIM tools

Microsoft Office

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.