Manager Engineering Operations

Digital Realty; Sterling (VA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Digital Realty in Sterling, Virginia is seeking a Manager Engineering Operations to lead the technical operations in data center facilities. The ideal candidate will have over 5 years of experience in facility management in large-scale environments, including proficiency in managing mechanical and electrical systems. Responsibilities include overseeing facility operations, ensuring SLA compliance, and managing incidents. Strong leadership and communication skills are essential. Candidates should hold a bachelor's degree in electrical or mechanical engineering.

Qualifications

• 5 years related facility management experience in Data Center operations.
• Strong knowledge of PLC theory and functionality.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office applications.

Responsibilities

• Supervise facility and data center engineers.
• Ensure customer SLA compliance critical to data center operations.
• Manage technical and operational incidents.

Skills

Facility management

Electrical systems

Mechanical systems

Data center operations

Leadership

Budget management

Communication skills

Detail oriented

Education

Bachelor's degree in electrical or mechanical engineering

Tools

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Project

Adobe Acrobat

AutoCAD

Job description

Position Title: Manager Engineering Operations

Your role

The Manager Engineering Operations is the technical lead for all data center engineering operations at one or more facilities and is responsible for the direct supervision of facility and data center engineers. He/she reports directly to the Manager Data Center Operations and is responsible for review, approval, and implementation of SOPs, MOPs, and EOPs for the site and the proper implementation and training of these procedures. The responsibilities include oversight of general facility operations and coordination with site remote hands, security, and janitorial teams. The Manager Engineering Operations will have experience in data center mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems, including state‑of‑the‑art electrical distribution, static and rotary UPS, emergency standby generation, fire alarm/suppression, and monitoring systems. Additionally, the MEO will coordinate and complete all significant planned and emergency maintenance events, ensuring they are executed in a controlled and proven method to support critical loads. The MEO ultimately identifies, evaluates, and executes operational strategies with local site engineers to achieve the highest level of availability.

What you’ll do

• Complete understanding of facility layout and operation of MEP systems and the ability to illustrate site‑specific system one‑lines.
• Maintain equipment nomenclature standards and equipment locations.
• Review facility drawings and equipment specifications for standard and non‑standard assets.
• Develop equipment sequence of operations (SOO’s), standard operating procedures (SOP’s), and emergency operating procedures (EOP’s).
• Ensure customer SLA’s and engineering lease obligations critical to data center operations.
• Maintain all facility EOPS.
• Monitor BMS alarm functionality, escalation, acknowledgement, and extract data and trends.
• Manage DLR event management, escalation, and incident reporting procedures.
• Execute root cause analysis following an event and create a customer‑facing executive summary.
• Operate CMMS, including creation, edit, implementation, and closure of change management work orders.
• Create, edit, resolve, and close incident reports following a site incident.
• Schedule vendors and internal labor to support work efforts at the site per maintenance and operations standards.
• Adhere to Digital Realty’s Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety standards.
• Execute all aspects of data center engineering—operation, maintenance, and repair of all mission‑critical equipment and systems to achieve 100% uptime and 100% compliance with all customer SLAs.
• Supervise all MEP construction activity and installations, ensuring system design, installation, and testing meet operational standards.
• Witness equipment commissioning tests and validate sequences of operations and receipt of operational documentation.
• Develop and supervise local engineering team to ensure adherence to SOPs, SOOs, and maintenance standards, controlling labor costs and enforcing personnel efficiency.
• Participate in site‑specific change management processes, creating and reviewing all MOPs for risk‑level maintenance and repairs, including high‑risk and non‑standard procedures.
• Conduct walk‑throughs for high‑risk critical transfer and act as a resource for staff questions regarding facility issues.
• Effectively troubleshoot site mechanical and electrical systems.
• Manage technical and operational incidents, implementing emergency response, resource coordination, customer communication, root‑cause analysis, and post‑event remediation.
• Review operational rounds/inspections for normal operation, trends, and anomalies.
• Identify trends, analyze risks, articulate implications on data center operations, and track operational metrics for senior management oversight.
• Recommend improvements to complex equipment and system SOO’s, SOP’s, MOP’s, and EOP’s when possible.
• Understand the local customer’s business and data center operation.
• Identify process‑based improvements for operational and financial efficiencies, including developing and presenting business cases.
• Support the Real Estate Manager with expense management and assist with budgeting, forecasting, and reporting of capital expense requirements and justifications.
• Assist the Real Estate Management team in supervising general facility services—janitorial, landscaping, snow removal—to ensure compliance with contractual requirements.
• Support accreditation initiatives such as SSAE16, SOC2, ISO 27001 as required by Digital Realty.
• Maintain compliance with local health & safety (OSHA) standards and national electrical and building codes.
• Track site spare parts inventory, including parts not stored at the site but required for periodic maintenance.

What you’ll need

• 5 years related facility management experience in Data Center operations (or related electrical or mechanical engineering field) managing or leading data center operations teams in a large‑scale mission‑critical environment.
• Bachelor’s degree in electrical or mechanical engineering is preferred.
• Proven experience in construction, commissioning, acceptance, and operation of mission‑critical systems: electrical distribution, static and rotary UPS, HVAC, chillers, emergency standby generation, fire alarm/suppression, and monitoring systems.
• Strong understanding of infrastructure redundancy configurations and equipment risks (N+1, 2N, ATS/STs, failover scenarios).
• Proficiency in reading and understanding MEP drawings.
• Knowledge of structured cabling systems, networking and connectivity standards, and hardware installation requirements (preferred).
• Proficiency in colocation operations, including installation and deployment of cage, rack and cable infrastructure, power circuit installation, and power monitoring (preferred).
• Ability to evaluate third‑party vendor work for quality control, communicate and schedule vendors, and review and improve vendor scope and procedures to meet Digital Realty’s standards.
• Strong knowledge of PLC theory and functionality.
• Strong knowledge of energy efficiency principles and the ability to recommend energy‑efficiency improvements.
• Strong interpersonal, presentation and communication skills. Ability to respond effectively, verbally and in writing, to sensitive issues, complex inquiries, or complaints.
• Detail oriented with strong organizational skills.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook; familiarity with Microsoft Project, Adobe Acrobat, Visio, or AutoCAD.
• Basic understanding of emergency situations and escalation processes.
• Strong understanding of CMMS, DCIM, and power metering systems.
• Strong quantitative and qualitative reasoning skills with demonstrated ability to determine event root causes, performance shortfalls, and required corrective actions.
• Experience assisting with budget management and expense analysis.
• Ability to conduct meetings, presentations, and trainings in a clear and concise manner.
• Demonstrated management ability: supervision, coaching, prioritization, conflict resolution, and organization.
• Demonstrated strong leadership qualities.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Digital Realty is an equal opportunity employer, EOE/AA/M/F/Vets/Disabled. All applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability or protected veteran status, or other status protected by law or Company policy.

Digital Realty is a publicly traded company (NYSE: DLR) with investment grade ratings from all three major rating agencies. Please do not forward unsolicited resumes to any employee of Digital Realty and its subsidiaries. Digital Realty is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited referrals.