Chief Data Center Engineer — Operations & Reliability

Amazon Inc.; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Job summary

Amazon is seeking a Chief Engineer for Data Center Engineering Operations in the Cape Town area. You will oversee electrical, mechanical, and fire/life safety systems, lead large-scale projects, and coordinate with on-site technicians and vendors to ensure high availability and cost efficiency.

You will train and mentor Engineering Operations Technicians, drive safety compliance, and collaborate across global teams to deliver resilient data center operations.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of vendor management experience.
• 4+ years of relevant work in a data center or other critical environment.
• 5+ years of data center engineering or operations experience.
• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the day-to-day operations and maintenance of mechanical and electrical equipment in data centers.
• Operate independently with limited direct management.
• Assist in the design and build out of new facilities.
• Act as an escalation point for all facilities-related issues within the data center region and work OT hours as needed to support site stability.
• Perform root cause analysis of equipment failures.
• Troubleshoot and report facility and data center events within internal SLA.
• Create and deploy new standard practices for Engineering Operations Technicians, Chief Engineers, and vendor support teams.
• Provide training and guidance to Engineering Operations Technicians and assist in recruiting efforts for the same.
• Ensure all safety procedures are adhered to by vendor and Amazon staff.
• Utilize internal Change Management Systems to manage building workflows.
• MV/LV Isolation to facilitate MV maintenance.
• Provide metric availability reporting on a weekly basis.
• Communicate complex technical information to a non-technical audience.

Skills

Vendor management

Data center operations

Project management

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical/Mechanical Engineering or related field

Tools

Change Management Systems

Job description

Amazon is seeking a Chief Engineer for Data Center Engineering Operations in the Cape Town area. You will oversee electrical, mechanical, and fire/life safety systems, lead large-scale projects, and coordinate with on-site technicians and vendors to ensure high availability and cost efficiency.

You will train and mentor Engineering Operations Technicians, drive safety compliance, and collaborate across global teams to deliver resilient data center operations.