Manager, Critical Facilities Chief Engineer - Data Center Operations

Apple; Prineville (OR); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Apple is seeking a Chief Engineer for its Data Center Critical Facilities Operations, leading a diverse team across electrical, mechanical, automation, and safety disciplines. This role supports OPEX/CAPEX projects, vendor management, and incident response, driving continuous improvement and cost-effective reliability.

The successful candidate will influence data center uptime, energy efficiency, and safety standards while coordinating with CFOM and senior leadership to maintain top-tier

Qualifications

• Associate degree or equivalent in Electrical or Mechanical Engineering Technology, Facilities Management, or related field.
• 5+ years in leadership or supervisory role within a data center or similar critical operations environment.
• Strong understanding of data center infrastructure, including power and cooling systems.
• Ability to provide on-call support, responding quickly and effectively to emergencies.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with CFOM and senior leaders to develop continuous improvement initiatives to reduce OPEX while improving service quality.
• Direct day-to-day team operations, allocate resources and manage workflows, and monitor performance against standards.
• Track and report data center KPIs, manage maintenance cost controls, and document incidents with root-cause analysis.
• Respond to facility emergencies and implement corrective actions in cooperation with CFOM.
• Ensure compliance with industry standards and oversee installation, repair, and maintenance of critical facility systems.
• Test and implement new technologies to improve efficiency and performance.
• Manage vendor relationships, SOPs, documentation, and SLA compliance.

Skills

Leadership

Data center knowledge

Emergency response

Vendor management

Education

Associate degree in Electrical/Mechanical Engineering Technology or related

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical/Electrical Engineering or related

Tools

CMMS

Job description

Summary

Do you want to help build some of the largest and most consequential enterprise and customer technology systems in the world? Join Apple's Information Systems and Technology (IS&T) organization. IS&T powers everything Apple does for customers and the people who build for them. It's Apple's central nervous system. Supporting 2.5 billion active Apple devices, processing billions of secure transactions, and keeping the technology that defines modern life running flawlessly, IS&T makes the impossible feel effortless.Do you love building solutions to handle global complexity and immense scale? Imagine what you could do here.Infrastructure Services is part of IS&T and the foundation of Apple's global network operations — managing data center equipment and systems to deliver compute, storage, and networking services for teams across Apple, including its internal developer community. From individual facilities to a worldwide network, Infrastructure Services ensures the technology underneath everything works without question. Imagine what you could do here. At Apple, new ideas quickly become extraordinary products, services, and customer experiences. Bring passion and dedication to your job, and you never know what you could accomplish.

Description

The Chief Engineer serves as a key liaison between the Data Center Critical Facilities Operations Manager and the Supervisors, ensuring critical facility maintenance, operations, and processes strictly adhere to compliance standards. This person manages and leads a highly skilled, diverse team with backgrounds in electrical, mechanical, automation, fire/life safety, and operational safety. his role will also support OPEX and CAPEX projects, vendor management, construction activities, and after-hours incident response. The Chief Engineer will also drive operational excellence by proposing innovative, cost‑saving solutions and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities

• Collaborate with Data Center Critical Facility Operations Managers (CFOM) and senior leaders across the data center portfolio to develop and pursue continuous improvement initiatives to reduce operational expenditure while improving service quality.
• Direct day-to-day team operations, allocate resources and manage workflows, implement training programs to meet technical requirements, and monitor performance against operational standards.
• Track and maintain data center KPIs, manage maintenance cost controls, and report performance metrics to stakeholders.
• Respond to facility emergencies and resolve issues rapidly. In cooperation with CFOM, conduct root cause analysis, document incidents, and implement corrective actions.
• Ensure compliance with industry standards, code requirements, safety regulations, and data center protocols and policies. Oversee the installation, repair, and maintenance of all critical facility systems.
• Test and implement new technologies and systems, and measure improvements in efficiency, sustainability, and operational performance.
• Execute risk assessments for facilities and hazards, optimize power consumption and cooling performance, and deploy mitigation controls.
• Manage vendor and contractor relationships, establish and maintain SOPs and documentation, monitor SLA compliance, and report facility performance and operational initiatives to CFOM and senior leadership.

Minimum Qualifications

• Associate degree or equivalent experience or vocational training in Electrical or Mechanical Engineering Technology, Facilities Management, or a related field.
• 5+ years in a leadership or supervisory role within a data center or similar critical operations environment.
• Strong understanding of data center infrastructure, including power systems, cooling systems, and backup power solutions.
• Ability to provide on‑call support, responding quickly and effectively to emergencies.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 7+ years of data center leadership experience or similar critical operations environment.
• Skilled in coordinating with critical facilities professionals to perform corrective actions, complete incident reporting, and conduct root cause analysis.
• Outstanding leadership and team development skills.
• Excellent negotiation and vendor management skills, with experience optimizing service agreements and contractual terms.
• Ability to interpret complex data and trends.
• Proficiency in the use of Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS).