Area Lead, Data Center Operations, Third-Party Data Center

About the role

Note: By applying to this position you will have an opportunity to share your preferred working location from the following: Aurora, IL, USA; Michigan City, IN, USA.

Minimum qualifications

• Associate's degree, trade school certification, or other certified training in Industrial Engineering, Electrical or Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Management, Reliability Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
• 12 years of experience in electrical, mechanical/HVAC, or controls experience in an industrial/commercial environment.
• 3 years of experience in developing and managing managers.

Preferred qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Industrial, Electrical, or Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Management, Reliability Engineering, a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Experience with Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM) and applying predictive engineering principles across mission-critical facilities.
• Experience managing compliance programs and driving continuous improvement in facility, safety, and operational standards across third-party colocation environments.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze operational metrics, build data-driven resource requirement forecasts, and optimize multi-site facility budgets.
• Proven track record of communicating complex technical concepts, risk analyses, and directions effectively with cross-functional leaders and executives.

Skills

Develop creative approaches to reducing operational costs while improving overall data center efficiency. Ensure that environmental and safety standards are consistently met, identifying problems and making repairs quickly. Manage data center performance issues and outages to minimize the recovery time from failures.

Benefits

US: $205000 - $286000 (USD) + 25% bonus target + equity + benefits

Responsibilities

• Lead and empower a team of Technical Operations Managers across North and South America with full tactical accountability for Third-Party Data Center (3PDC) facility operations, ensuring compliance with Google design standards and project schedules.
• Provide direct oversight to 3PDC operations providers, auditing compliance and monitoring critical systems to minimize risk, ensure rapid excursion response, and maintain equipment to global standards.
• Conduct operational assessments, risk analysis, and site selection evaluations—applying deep technical domain knowledge to influence next-generation data center designs and optimize future infrastructure.
• Act as the primary operational partner for key stakeholders, driving alignment, transparent communication, and continuous improvement across facility and maintenance programs globally.
• Oversee technical leads in executing critical maintenance and repairs while driving regional strategies to minimize operational costs, maximize efficiency, and reduce environmental impact.