SVP, Global Data Center Operations

FourFound; Dallas (TX); On-site; USD 350,000 - 600,000; Full time

Job summary

FourFound is seeking a Senior Vice President of Global Data Center Operations to lead, scale, and optimize the physical operations of a rapidly expanding global data center portfolio across the United States, Middle East, Europe, and Asia.

You will own the end-to-end operational lifecycle of global data center environments, overseeing 24/7/365 facility operations, mechanical and electrical maintenance, and critical capacity management across space, power, and cooling.

Qualifications

• 15+ years in data center facility operations or related roles
• Experience leading geographically distributed data center portfolios
• Deep understanding of mission-critical mechanical/electrical infrastructure
• Experience scaling operations across multiple regions
• Strong financial planning for OpEx and CapEx
• Executive leadership with ability to influence C-suite
• Excellent communication across diverse stakeholders
• Proven ability to build high-performing global teams

Responsibilities

• Direct 24/7/365 data center operations across global sites
• Develop and govern SOPs, MOPs, EOPs for the portfolio
• Lead incident management, RCA, and preventative programs
• Own site capacity planning for space, power, and cooling
• Drive PUE/WUE and sustainability initiatives
• Recruit and mentor a global facilities leadership team
• Manage vendor and partner relationships for efficiency
• Define and execute global data center operations strategy
• Collaborate with Engineering and Infrastructure for deployment readiness
• Influence design decisions with an operational perspective
• Lead portfolio management across diverse facility types
• Drive OpEx optimization while maintaining reliability and safety

Skills

Leadership

Executive leadership

Data center operations

Strategic planning

Budget management

Cross-functional collaboration

Safety & compliance

Vendor management

Job description

We are focused on building and operating next-generation digital infrastructure to support the rapidly growing demands of AI, cloud computing, and high-performance workloads.

With an expanding international footprint, we are developing and operating mission-critical data center infrastructure across key global markets, supporting the scale, resilience, and performance requirements of modern digital businesses.

We operate with a strong culture of ownership, accountability, operational excellence, and continuous improvement. Our teams work across functions and geographies to deliver highly reliable, efficient, and scalable infrastructure.

You will play a critical role in shaping and operating the physical infrastructure that supports the future of AI and digital services.

About the Role

We are seeking a Senior Vice President of Global Data Center Operations to lead, scale, and optimize the physical operations of a rapidly expanding global data center portfolio across the United States, Middle East, Europe, and Asia.

As a key executive leader, you will be responsible for the health, performance, resilience, and continuous operation of the mission-critical facilities and grounds supporting high-density AI and digital infrastructure.

This role sits at the intersection of facility strategy, site management, operational excellence, and global scale.

You will own the end-to-end operational lifecycle of global data center physical environments, overseeing 24/7/365 facility operations, mechanical and electrical maintenance, and critical capacity management across space, power, and cooling.

Working closely with Engineering, Infrastructure Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, Commercial, and Data Center Infrastructure leadership, you will ensure facilities are fully prepared to support incoming technology deployments while maintaining the highest standards of reliability, safety, efficiency, and environmental sustainability.

This position requires a strategic leader with deep technical expertise in mission-critical mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) systems, a passion for operational excellence, and a proven ability to build and lead world-class global facilities organizations.

What You'll Be Doing

• Global Facility Operations: Direct and oversee the 24/7 physical operation of data center sites across the United States, Middle East, Europe, and Asia, ensuring exceptional uptime and continuous availability of critical power and cooling infrastructure.
• Operational Excellence: Develop, implement, standardize, and govern Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Methods of Procedure (MOPs), and Emergency Operating Procedures (EOPs) across the global portfolio.
• Incident & SLA Management: Serve as the senior escalation point for critical facility, environmental, power, cooling, and grounds-related incidents. Lead root cause analysis (RCA), corrective actions, and preventative programs to ensure stringent facility Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are consistently achieved.
• Site & Capacity Management: Own facility-level space, power, and cooling capacity planning. Oversee building operations, environmental controls, infrastructure utilization, and general site and grounds maintenance.
• Sustainability & Efficiency: Champion initiatives to improve Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) and Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE), identifying facility improvements that support environmental and sustainability objectives.
• Strategic Leadership & Team Building: Recruit, develop, mentor, and lead a high-performing global organization of data center facility managers, critical environment engineers, operations leaders, and site technicians. Foster a rigorous culture of safety, accountability, compliance, and continuous improvement.
• Vendor & Partner Management: Manage strategic relationships with colocation providers, utilities, MEP contractors, maintenance providers, and other facility partners, ensuring adherence to operational standards, service expectations, and cost-efficiency targets.
• Strategic Operations & Governance: Define and execute the overall global data center operations strategy, balancing consistent global standards with effective regional execution and local market requirements.
• Cross-Functional Partnership: Partner closely with Infrastructure Operations and Engineering teams to ensure seamless operational integration, infrastructure readiness, capacity alignment, and coordinated deployment workflows.
• Design Influence: Collaborate with Data Center Infrastructure and Engineering leadership to bring a strong operational perspective into design decisions, improving efficiency, reliability, resilience, serviceability, and maintainability.
• Portfolio Management: Lead the operational strategy across a diverse global portfolio, adapting operating models to accommodate mega campuses, colocation facilities, leased facilities, and smaller regional sites.
• OpEx Optimization: Drive a culture of continuous physical plant optimization, identifying opportunities to reduce operating costs without compromising redundancy, reliability, safety, or cooling capacity.

About You

• 15+ years of progressive leadership experience in data center facility operations, critical environments, infrastructure operations, or physical plant management, including at least 5 years at executive or senior leadership level.
• Proven experience managing and scaling the physical operations of a geographically distributed portfolio of data centers, including facilities, utilities, real estate, and site infrastructure.
• Deep technical understanding of mission-critical mechanical and electrical infrastructure, including UPS systems, HVAC, chillers, backup generators, switchgear, fire suppression systems, and high-density cooling technologies.
• Strong knowledge of both traditional air cooling and liquid cooling solutions required to support high-density AI, GPU, and HPC workloads.
• Demonstrated ability to build, inspire, and lead large, geographically dispersed facility operations and critical environment organizations.
• Strong financial and strategic planning capabilities, with experience managing significant OpEx and CapEx budgets covering facilities, utilities, maintenance, infrastructure, and real estate.
• Exceptional strategic thinking with the ability to translate business objectives into scalable and executable operational plans.
• Strong executive presence with a demonstrated ability to influence C-suite executives, senior stakeholders, customers, partners, and vendors.
• Proven success building, mentoring, developing, and scaling high-performing teams in complex, mission-critical environments.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical, operational, and commercial concepts to diverse audiences.
• Strong problem-solving, judgment, and decision-making capabilities in ambiguous, time-sensitive, and high-stakes situations.
• Collaborative mindset with the ability to work effectively across functions, cultures, regions, and geographies.
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, high-growth environment where priorities can evolve rapidly.

Nice to Have

• Experience delivering sustainability initiatives, green data center programs, energy-efficiency projects, or broader environmental responsibility strategies.
• Knowledge of real estate, construction, commissioning, or facilities management within large-scale data center development.
• Experience supporting hyperscale, AI, HPC, or GPU-intensive computing environments.
• Experience with Palantir Foundry or other data platforms used for operational analytics, infrastructure management, and data-driven decision-making.

What We Can Offer You

You will have the opportunity to help shape and scale a global digital infrastructure platform at a pivotal stage of growth.

• A highly competitive executive compensation package, including base salary and performance-related incentives.
• The opportunity to lead global data center operations across major markets in the United States, Middle East, Europe, and Asia.
• Significant influence over the strategy, operational model, and future development of a rapidly expanding international data center portfolio.
• The opportunity to work at the forefront of AI, cloud, hyperscale, and high-performance digital infrastructure.
• A high-impact leadership environment with direct engagement across executive, commercial, engineering, and investment stakeholders.
• A culture focused on ownership, accountability, innovation, execution, and operational excellence.

Compensation

Compensation will be competitive and commensurate with experience, expertise, seniority, and location, with the potential for additional performance-related incentives and benefits.