Senior Director, Site Operations, NA

Vantage Data Centers powers, cools, protects and connects the technology of the world's well-known hyperscalers, cloud providers and large enterprises. Developing and operating across North America, EMEA and Asia Pacific, Vantage has evolved data center design in innovative ways to deliver dramatic gains in reliability, efficiency and sustainability in flexible environments that can scale as quickly as the market demands.

Site Operations Department

The Site Operations Department is responsible for the overall health of all mechanical and electrical systems, building maintenance, and performance of all data modules in our data centers. The team is staffed 24 x 7 onsite with Critical Facility Engineers (CFEs) on each shift. This team is the face of Vantage to our customers and the first line of defense regarding our campus's uptime and the performance of our customer installations. Using a Critical Maintenance Management System (CMMS) to plan and track work needed, the Site Operations department performs all preventative and corrective maintenance. Our culture expects and rewards team performance that engages directly with the customers and the facility infrastructure. This team does most of the actual work versus calling upon vendors. As a result, we provide superior, faster, and more cost-effective service.

Position Overview

This role will be based on site in Ashburn, VA.

The Senior Director, Site Operations leads the overall operations for a sub-region of data center campuses and will directly lead a team of managers/director-level positions. You will collaborate with Reliability Engineering, Security, Design Engineering, Construction and other internal and external resources to run the overall campus. This position will manage the workflow/work order management, training plans, event management, customer communications, hiring and performance management of the overall team and supporting vendors.

Our Critical Facilities Engineers are respected, well-trained, customer-focused and some of the best you will find in the industry. While you do not have to be the 'alpha' engineer to lead this team, you must have a mission critical mindset and possess an excellent overall understanding of typical data center electrical and mechanical infrastructure systems to direct the work that needs to occur when maintaining the overall environment.

Essential Job Functions

Strategic Leadership & Oversight

• Provide executive leadership and strategic direction for multiple data center sites or a regional portfolio.

• Define and drive operational strategy, ensuring consistency of standards, policies, and procedures across facilities.

• Partner with executive leadership to align site operations with enterprise goals, customer SLAs, and long-term business objectives.

• Anticipate growth needs and develop scalable operational strategies to support expansion, acquisitions, and future capacity.

Operational Excellence

• Oversee the performance, reliability, and resilience of all assigned facilities, ensuring best-in-class uptime and operational readiness.

• Standardize operational practices across sites, driving consistency in preventive maintenance, incident management, and reliability engineering.

• Provide executive oversight for critical events, ensuring that After Action Reports (AAR), root cause analyses, and lessons learned are applied across the portfolio.

Financial & Budget Management

• Develop and manage regional operating budgets and capital programs across multiple facilities.

• Oversee CAPEX and OPEX performance, ensuring alignment with corporate financial objectives.

• Optimize vendor strategy, service agreements, and procurement at scale to drive cost savings and efficiency.

Executive Team Management & Development

• Lead and mentor Site Directors and senior operations leaders across multiple facilities.

Risk, Compliance, & Safety Management

• Ensure all facilities comply with corporate governance standards, EH&S policies, and regulatory requirements (OSHA, NFPA, ISO, etc.).

• Establish and enforce regional risk management strategies, audit processes, and compliance frameworks.

• Act as escalation point for critical safety, compliance, or operational risks.

Stakeholder & Client Engagement

• Serve as senior liaison to enterprise customers, executive leadership, and key external partners.

• Support high-level client escalations, audits, and strategic business reviews.

• Represent data center operations in executive steering committees, board-level discussions, and investor tours and communications as needed.

KPI Reporting & Performance Management

• Help to refine and oversee regional KPI framework, ensuring consistent reporting across all facilities.

• Deliver consolidated performance reports (monthly, quarterly, annually) to corporate leadership, highlighting risk, reliability, safety, and financial metrics.

• Use KPI data-driven trends to inform strategic decision-making and investment prioritization.

• Ensure accountability by holding Site Directors and leadership teams to KPI-based performance goals.

Continuous Improvement & Innovation

• Drive enterprise-level initiatives around automation, sustainability, energy and operational efficiencies, and resiliency.

• Benchmark regional performance against industry leaders to ensure competitive advantage.

• Sponsor innovation programs that enhance safety, reduce cost, and improve customer experience.

• Foster a culture of continuous learning and operational excellence across the organization.

• Ensure succession planning, leadership development, and a high-performance culture across all levels of operations staff.

• Set workforce strategies, ensuring staffing models, shift coverage, and SME capabilities are standardized and future-ready.

Job Requirements

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Facilities Management, or Business Administration preferred.

• 12+ years of progressive experience in mission-critical facilities, with 7-10 years in multi-site or regional leadership roles.

• Demonstrated success leading large hyper-scale and enterprise-level data center portfolios or equivalent mission-critical environments.

Technical Skills

• Broad expertise in electrical, mechanical, and controls systems supporting mission-critical infrastructure.

• Proven track record of managing large capital projects and reliability programs.

• Familiarity with CMMS, BMS/EPMS, analytics platforms, and enterprise reporting tools.

Leadership & Business Skills

• Exceptional leadership, communication, and organizational influence.

• Exceptional written and oral presentation skills.

• Strong financial and business acumen, capable of managing multimillion-dollar regional budgets.

• Experience in customer-facing executive roles, including client escalations and enterprise-level negotiations.

Certifications (Preferred)

• PMP (Project Management Professional)

• CFM (Certified Facility Manager)

• MBA or Executive Leadership certification

• OSHA 30 / NFPA 70E Safety Training

Other Requirements

• Ability to manage in a 24x7x365 environment with travel across regional facilities as needed.

• Strong executive decision-making capability under pressure.

• Commitment to safety, compliance, operational excellence, and customer satisfaction.

• Travel is expected to be 5% or less but may increase as the business evolves

Physical Demands and Special Requirements

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally 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 25 pounds.

Additional Details

• This position is eligible for company benefits including but not limited to medical, dental, and vision coverage, life and AD&D, short and long-term disability coverage, paid time off, employee assistance, participation in a 401k program that includes company match, and many other additional voluntary benefits.

• Compensation for the role will depend on a number of factors, including your qualifications, skills, competencies, and experience and may fall outside of the range shown.

#LI-TS1

#LI-Onsite

We operate with No Ego and No Arrogance. We work to build each other up and support one another, appreciating each other's strengths and respecting each other's weaknesses. We find joy in our work and each other, actively seeking opportunities to inject fun into what we do. Our hard and efficient work is rewarded with an above market total compensation package. We offer a comprehensive suite of health and welfare, retirement, and paid leave benefits exceeding local expectations.

Throughout the year, the advantage of being part of the Vantage team is evident with an array of benefits, recognition, training and development, and the knowledge that your contribution adds value to the company and our community.

Don't meet all the requirements? Please still apply if you think you are the right person for the position. We are always keen to speak to people who connect with our mission and values.

Vantage Data Centers is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Vantage Data Centers does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firm agencies. Fees will not be paid in the event a candidate submitted by a recruiter without an agreement in place is hired; such resumes will be deemed the sole property of Vantage Data Centers.

We'll be accepting applications for at least one week from the date this role is posted. If you're interested, we encourage you to apply soon-we're excited to find the right person and will keep the role open until we do!