Critical Operations Engineer II (Day) (VA1)

About the role

The Critical Operations Engineer II (COE II) plays a crucial role in ensuring the reliability and uptime of critical data center systems. This position involves operating, maintaining, and troubleshooting electrical, mechanical, cooling, and fire/life safety systems. The COE II also supports customer infrastructure projects and collaborates with various stakeholders to enhance operational excellence.

Responsibilities

• Operate, monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot mission-critical electrical, mechanical, and life safety systems to ensure uptime and reliability.
• Perform facility inspections, respond to abnormal conditions, and document findings.
• Track, trend, and analyze system performance; utilize CMMS to manage work orders and maintenance.
• Support electrical distribution from utility and generator switchgear through UPS and customer load.
• Maintain and coordinate work on generators, switchgear, UPS, STS, ATS, PDUs, transformers, and power circuits.
• Operate and maintain chilled water, HVAC, CRAC/CRAH, humidification, and central plant systems.
• Support cooling optimization, pumps, VFDs, cooling towers, heat exchangers, and water treatment.
• Monitor wet sprinkler and double-interlock pre-action systems and associated detection devices.
• Support customer infrastructure projects including cage builds, rack and stack, overhead installs, power, and cabling.
• Collaborate with senior technicians, contractors, and vendors on maintenance, upgrades, and expansions.
• Manage trouble tickets, incidents, and customer requests.
• Provide technical guidance and operational leadership to less experienced team members during routine operations, maintenance activities, and incident response.
• Contribute to procedures, documentation, and continuous improvement while promoting Operational Excellence.

Requirements

• Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills with the ability to apply technical knowledge effectively.
• Self-motivated, dependable, and accountable with a strong work ethic.
• Team-oriented mindset with the ability to collaborate across operations, engineering, and customer teams.
• Commitment to safety, quality, and operational excellence.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills.
• Advanced understanding of the interaction between electrical, mechanical, UPS, generator, and BAS/BMS systems and the ability to assess operational impacts across interconnected systems.
• Working knowledge of NEC, NFPA 70E, NFPA 72, NFPA 25, OSHA, and fire life safety requirements.
• Comfortable using hand tools, electrical test equipment, and standard computer applications.

Preferred Experience

• Electrical distribution systems including generators, switchgear, UPS, STS, ATS, PDUs, and transformers.
• Mechanical systems including chilled water, HVAC, CRAC/CRAH, humidification, pumps, VFDs, cooling towers, and heat exchangers.
• Fire protection systems including wet sprinkler and double-interlock pre-action systems.
• BMS, PLC controls, and integrated monitoring systems.
• Fiber and copper cabling installation, termination, and testing.
• Proficiency with fiber optics, structured cabling, and telecommunications infrastructure.
• Working knowledge of basic security systems, including access control, CCTV, and facility monitoring systems.

Education/Experience

• High School Diploma or greater.
• 2-5 years of experience in the data center industry.
• Proven hands-on experience with large commercial or industrial electrical and mechanical systems.
• Strong fit for candidates with experience in the military with HVAC or Electrical training.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the job’s essential functions. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the job’s duties, the employee is required to stand; walk, sit, use hands to handle or feel objects, reach with hands and arms, climb stairs, balance, stoop or kneel, talk, and hear. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. The position also demands flexibility to work in a fast-paced, high-stress environment with changing priorities, including evenings, weekends, holidays, and on-call hours as needed.

Benefits

CoreSite offers a comprehensive range of benefits to its employees, including:

• First-day medical insurance through Cigna with generous premium cost coverage.
• Dental insurance through Delta Dental.
• Vision insurance through VSPT.
• Telemedicine through MDLive for Cigna.
• Healthcare and dependent care flexible spending account (FSA) plans.
• Health savings account (HSA) plans for employees participating in the High Deductible Health Plan.
• Life, AD&D, short-term disability, and long-term disability insurance fully paid by the company.
• Discretionary annual bonus and equity incentive plan.
• Employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) with a 15% discount.
• 16 days of paid time off (PTO), 11 paid company holidays, and additional floating holidays.
• Additional paid time off for school events, elder care, volunteering, bereavement, jury duty, voting, parental leave, and disability leave.
• Free parking or a company contribution toward a public transit pass.

Additional Perks

• Wellness Reimbursement Program: Yearly stipend of $500 for employees and $300 for dependents, up to $800 total for the family.
• Wellness Incentive Program: Participate in various wellbeing activities to earn up to $450 per year in cash incentives.
• Technology Stipend: $100 monthly stipend.
• Employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) with a 15% discount.
• Referral Bonus: Receive a $3,000 cash bonus if referred candidate is hired and meets eligibility requirements.
• Discounts: Discounts, cash back offers, and perks on thousands of brands.
• LinkedIn Learning Membership: Support your development when accessing LinkedIn’s online library of courses and videos.