This role covers the physical layer: hardware, cabling, and Layer 1/Layer 2 connectivity. The manager builds and runs the team that brings new data center sites online across the United States and keeps them running around the clock. The role works closely with network engineering and server provisioning teams but does not own them. Compensation may be adjusted depending on work location.
Responsibilities
Hire, develop and manage Data Center Engineers on-site at data centers across the US; Build and take part in a 24x7 on-call rotation with the team; Serve as the escalation point for on-site incidents and lead root-cause analysis after major incidents; Own build timelines from site readiness through hardware delivery, rack-and-stack, cabling, validation and handoff to production; Run greenfield builds as multi-workstream programs, coordinating third-party integrators, contractors and colocation providers; Be on-site during key build phases to oversee vendor work and verify quality; Be accountable for availability targets for production hardware, including break/fix, repairs, RMAs and spares strategy; Manage colocation providers and vendors day to day; Make sure every site is fully documented in DCIM from day one; Partner with tooling teams to bring DCIM online at new sites; Own on-site decommissioning end to end, including chain of custody and handoff for secure destruction; Partner with vendor management on ITAD vendors and ensure audit-ready compliance evidence; Make sure sites and team meet physical security, access control, chain-of-custody and compliance obligations; Support audits with accurate, timely evidence; Find and remove manual, repetitive work through tooling and automation; Evaluate and adopt AI-assisted workflows for incident triage, root-cause analysis, documentation and compliance evidence; Own weekly business reviews and monthly and quarterly reporting on availability, build progress, incidents and operational health
Requirements
6+ years in data center operations, including 3+ years directly managing on-site technical teams, at least part of it leading geographically distributed teams; A track record of operating multi-site data center fleets at hyperscale or large-cloud scale; Hands-on experience with IT hardware, including servers, network devices, optics and cabling; Enough hands-on depth to coach engineers on technical work and judge the quality of vendor and contractor work; Experience owning sites across the full lifecycle: greenfield builds through third-party vendors, steady-state operations, and decommissioning; Experience managing providers in Tier III+ colocation facilities and holding them accountable to commitments; Experience managing 24x7 on-call operations and incident escalation; Strong Layer 1 and Layer 2 fundamentals (structured cabling, fiber and optics, patching standards, switching basics, troubleshooting physical connectivity); Solid knowledge of data center power and cooling, rack design, high-density deployments and hardware lifecycle management; Strong understanding of DCIM and asset management systems, with accurate documentation from hardware arrival through decommissioning; Working knowledge of security and compliance frameworks common in enterprise-grade data centers; Strong program management skills across multiple vendors, sites and time-bound workstreams; A track record of reducing toil through tooling or process redesign; Excellent written and verbal communication, including business reviews and risk and availability reporting to leadership; Ability to travel regularly to data center sites
Nice to have
Experience standing up a new data center operations function or region from zero; Background at a hyperscaler, cloud provider, major CDN or similarly fast-scaling infrastructure company; Experience with ITAD vendor programs and secure destruction requirements; Experience with PagerDuty or similar on-call and incident tooling; Familiarity with DCIM and source-of-truth tooling such as NetBox or Nlyte, Jira-based operational workflows, and Confluence documentation practices; Experience with remote-hands programs and vendor scorecards; Background in hardware diagnostics, burn-in or automated build validation
Stany Zjednoczone · Austin
