On-Prem Data Center Lead (Hybrid)

Responsibilities

• Develop a deep understanding of VA data center operations, hybrid infrastructure, business needs, and ongoing modernization initiatives.
• Lead Data Center & Cloud Engineering initiatives, including infrastructure lifecycle modernization, design reviews, technical architecture, and performance optimization.
• Support development and refinement of data center and hybrid infrastructure roadmaps that align with broader VA organizational objectives.
• Develop and maintain engineering standards, technical guidance, design documentation, and architecture artifacts.
• Conduct infrastructure assessments and baseline evaluations to identify risks, inefficiencies, capacity constraints, and improvement opportunities.
• Oversee power, cooling, facility optimization, server infrastructure, storage infrastructure, network infrastructure, and lifecycle management activities.
• Support capacity planning, infrastructure performance monitoring, and resource utilization improvements across physical and cloud platforms.
• Identify and implement improvements related to cost efficiency, operational performance, disaster recovery readiness, availability, and resilience.
• Support computational fluid dynamics simulation, capacity modeling, and advanced infrastructure analytics where applicable.
• Manage and support day-to-day data center operations, including incident response, service delivery, maintenance, upgrades, and operational coordination.
• Ensure data center operations and infrastructure solutions comply with VA requirements, federal standards, security expectations, and audit readiness needs.
• Produce assessment and recommendation reports, configuration management artifacts, Facility Infrastructure Reporting support, and portfolio reporting materials.
• Support dashboards, KPI tracking, and decision-making materials that provide executive visibility into infrastructure health, capacity, modernization progress, and operational performance.
• Present technical recommendations, operational risks, and modernization strategies clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Document and report on value delivery across data center engineering and operations initiatives to demonstrate impact and support informed decision-making.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Information Resource Management, Engineering, or a related field. Equivalent professional experience may substitute for a degree.
• 12+ years of experience in data center engineering, infrastructure operations, or technical management within complex IT organizations.
• Deep expertise in hybrid infrastructure environments, including on-premises infrastructure and cloud platforms.
• Strong background in data center design, operations, modernization, lifecycle management, and performance optimization.
• Experience supporting server, storage, network, power, cooling, and facility optimization efforts.
• Experience conducting infrastructure assessments, baseline evaluations, capacity planning, and operational improvement initiatives.
• Experience supporting incident response, service delivery, maintenance, upgrades, disaster recovery readiness, and infrastructure reliability efforts.
• Experience producing technical documentation, assessment reports, configuration management artifacts, executive reporting, and decision-support materials.
• Strong understanding of federal or large enterprise infrastructure environments.
• Exceptional written, verbal, and visual communication skills, tailored to diverse audiences and stakeholder groups.

Preferred Skills And Experience

• Certifications in one or more of the following:
• Certified Data Center Management Professional (CDCMP)
• Data Center Design Consultant (DCDC)
• Data Center Manager (DCM)
• Data Center Expert (DCE)
• Data Center Authority (DCA)
• Experience leading or supporting initiatives within the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Information Technology (OIT), Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), and/or Veterans Health Administration (VHA).
• Experience with capacity modeling, computational fluid dynamics, performance analytics, or advanced infrastructure analysis.
• Familiarity with VA environments or similarly regulated federal systems.
• Experience with infrastructure KPI tracking, dashboards, Facility Infrastructure Reporting, and portfolio reporting.
• Experience in enterprise technology design, future-state architecture, infrastructure modernization, and continuous improvement.