Principal Design Manager, Data Centers

Iron Mountain Incorporated; Virginia; Hybrid; USD 163,000 - 218,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

Paid time off

Health & retirement plans

Career growth

Job summary

Iron Mountain Incorporated is seeking a Principal Design Manager to lead enterprise-level data center design programs across global sites. You will govern design approaches, shape playbooks, and advise senior leaders on technical strategy while mentoring practitioners.

This role requires extensive experience and the ability to travel up to 25%. The position sits within the Real Estate & Facilities category, offering competitive compensation, strong growth opportunities, comprehensive health and

Qualifications

• 15+ years of leadership in data center or mission-critical capital programs across multiple projects or markets.
• Ability to govern multi-site programs, develop scalable playbooks, and manage enterprise-level risk.
• U.S. Citizenship and willingness to travel up to 25%.

Responsibilities

• Provide Enterprise Design Leadership across a portfolio of major developments and multi-site programs.
• Govern frameworks and standards by translating market trends and data into scalable requirements.
• Advise executive leadership on design strategy, trade-offs, and long-term capability needs.
• Build organizational capability by partnering cross-functionally and mentoring communities of practice.

Skills

Leadership

Multi-site governance

Technical design

Travel up to 25%

Architecture/Engineering degree

Education

Bachelor's degree in Architecture/Mechanical or Electrical Engineering

Job description

At Iron Mountain we know that work, when done well, makes a positive impact for our customers, our employees, and our planet. That’s why we need smart, committed people to join us. Whether you’re looking to start your career or make a change, talk to us and see how you can elevate the power of your work at Iron Mountain. We provide expert, sustainable solutions in records and information management, digital transformation services, data centers, asset lifecycle management, and fine art storage, handling, and logistics. We proudly partner every day with our 225,000 customers around the world to preserve their invaluable artifacts, extract more from their inventory, and protect their data privacy in innovative and socially responsible ways. Are you curious about being part of our growth story while evolving your skills in a culture that will welcome your unique contributions? If so, let's start the conversation.

Principal Design Manager - Data Center Job Summary

Iron Mountain is seeking a Principal Design Manager to join our Data Center team. In this role, you will be responsible for providing enterprise-level design leadership for our most complex, high-risk, or strategically important data center programs. Functioning as a strategic builder, you will operate with broad autonomy across regional and global teams to govern design approaches across multiple sites, shape playbooks, and advise senior leaders on technical strategy and platform capability.

What You’ll Do (Responsibilities)

• Provide Enterprise Design Leadership: Lead a portfolio of major developments and multi-site customer programs, managing systemic design risks across global markets to protect investment decisions.
• Govern Frameworks & Standards: Shape global reference designs, delivery models, and assurance playbooks by translating market trends, operational data, and emerging technologies into scalable requirements.
• Advise Executive Leadership: Resolve precedent-setting, highly ambiguous technical issues while advising senior leaders on design strategy, commercial trade-offs, and long-term capability needs.
• Build Organizational Capability: Partner cross-functionally across Construction, Operations, Finance, and Security while mentoring senior practitioners and sponsoring communities of practice without direct line-management authority.

What You’ll Bring (Skills & Qualifications)

• Relevant Experience: Typically 15+ years of relevant experience, including leadership of major data center or mission-critical capital programs across multiple projects or markets.
• Domain & Governance Mastery: Deep technical expertise in critical-facility design paired with a proven ability to govern multi-site programs, develop scalable playbooks, and manage enterprise-level risk.
• Executive Presence: Exceptional negotiation, communication, and judgment to frame complex, high-impact technical decisions for executive and customer audiences.
• Core Requirements: A four-year college degree in Architecture, Mechanical/Electrical Engineering, or a related discipline, U.S. Citizenship, and the ability to travel up to 25%. Professional registration or an engineering license is strongly preferred.

What We Offer (Benefits)

• Compensation: Competitive compensation and total rewards packages aligned with your experience level.
• Work-Life Balance: Generous paid time off, holiday schedules, and flexible work options to support work-life balance.
• Health & Well-being: Comprehensive health, wellness, and retirement plans.
• Growth: Opportunities for continuous learning, technical leadership, and career growth within Iron Mountain.
• Reasonably expected salary range: $163,400.00 - $217,900.00

Category: Real Estate & Facilities

Iron Mountain is a global leader in storage and information management services trusted by more than 225,000 organizations in 60 countries. We safeguard billions of our customers’ assets, including critical business information, highly sensitive data, and invaluable cultural and historic artifacts. Take a look at our history here. Iron Mountain helps lower cost and risk, comply with regulations, recover from disaster, and enable digital and sustainable solutions, whether in information management, digital transformation, secure storage and destruction, data center operations, cloud services, or art storage and logistics. Please see our Values and Code of Ethics for a look at our principles and aspirations in elevating the power of our work together.

If you have a physical or mental disability that requires special accommodations, please let us know by sending an email to [e-mail]. See the Supplement to learn more about Equal Employment Opportunity.