Director, Operations Engineering

About this position About Prime Data Centers Prime Data Centers develops, acquires, and operates data centers for some of the world's largest enterprises. A private firm owned by a group controlling $6 billion in assets, with a 15-year tenure in technology and real estate development, Prime provides customers with ownership options and dynamic leasing models, defining a true corporate partnership. About the Role The Director of Operations Engineering is responsible for the technical strategy, continuous improvement, and engineering support of Prime's operating data centers. This team is separate from Design and Construction; its focus is the facilities already in service and the people who run them. Reporting to the SVP of Critical Operations, the Director is the engineering partner to Critical Facility Managers (CFMs) and Chief Engineers (CEs) across the portfolio. The Director provides senior technical support and troubleshooting, owns the root cause analysis program, and drives measurable improvement in equipment reliability. The Director also brings rigor and visibility to the engineering requirements that govern how Prime's sites are operated, maintained, and changed, including studies, single-lines, settings, procedures, and change control. This is a platform role. It requires strong planning abilities, leadership through influence, and a proactive partnership approach, underpinned by a robust engineering background. The ideal candidate is a hands‑on engineering leader with real time on the operations side of mission‑critical facilities, with experience in electrical and mechanical systems and an understanding of large‑scale data centers or comparable environments. They should be equally comfortable working through a UPS failure on a bridge call at 2 a.m. and building the program that keeps it from happening again. They earn credibility with site teams by showing up and solving problems, and they turn what they learn into standards, data, and feedback for the teams designing and building Prime's next facilities. This role supports a 24x7x365 operating environment and includes participation in an escalation on‑call rotation for critical events. What You’ll Do Build and lead a team of operations/reliability engineers (electrical, mechanical, and controls) dedicated to supporting operating sites. Serve as the senior technical escalation path for CFMs and CEs on complex electrical, mechanical, controls, and fire/life safety issues. Establish a clear intake, triage, and response model for site engineering requests, with defined response expectations and tracking. Provide on‑site and remote troubleshooting support during critical events and recoveries, with the goal of achieving uptime and customer SLA commitments. Root Cause Analysis Program Own Prime's RCA program: methodology, severity thresholds that trigger an RCA, report standards, training, corrective action tracking, and closure verification. Provide technical support to CFMs and CEs, who own and lead site RCAs. This support includes failure analysis, data review, and coordination with OEMs, service vendors, and forensic labs. Review RCAs for technical quality and consistency, and make sure corrective actions address true root causes. Share findings and lessons learned across all sites so a failure at one site becomes a fix everywhere. Equipment Reliability Develop and run a portfolio‑wide reliability program covering asset criticality ranking, failure trending, FMEA, and PM optimization (RCM‑based where appropriate). Use CMMS, BMS/EPMS, and incident data to find bad actors, recurring failures, and fleet‑wide equipment issues, and drive resolution with OEMs. Define critical spares strategy and condition‑based maintenance practices such as IR thermography, oil and vibration analysis, and battery monitoring. Drive innovation in facilities programs and systems to improve quality and reliability and to reduce operating costs, with an environmentally conscious approach. Report reliability KPIs to Critical Operations leadership. Engineering Requirements, Visibility & Rigor Establish and maintain the engineering baseline for each operating site: current single‑lines, short‑circuit/coordination/arc flash studies, protective relay and breaker settings, sequences of operation, and as‑built documentation. Implement and govern the engineering side of the formal change management process for operating sites so modifications receive appropriate technical review and documentation updates. Provide technical review of higher‑risk Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Methods of Procedure (MOPs), and Emergency Operating/Response Procedures (EOPs/ERPs), in coordination with Prime's procedure policy. Implement operating standards required for quality, safety, and ongoing operation, and assist site engineering and management with compliance with OSHA, national and local electrical and building codes, and applicable fire/life safety requirements. Define operational acceptance and turnover requirements so new facilities enter service with complete, accurate engineering documentation. Assist in site construction activity and installations, in coordination with Prime project teams and external construction resources, to ensure system design, installation, and testing adhere to operational standards. Support factory witness testing and on‑site commissioning from an operations and maintainability perspective: witness equipment testing, validate sequences of operation, and confirm receipt of complete operational documentation at turnover. Identify, track, and resolve issues surfaced during commissioning and turnover, working with the project team, and provide the findings to program management to drive continuous improvement. Participate in design reviews from an operations and maintainability perspective. Cross‑Functional Collaboration This role connects the two sides of Prime. On the operations side, the Director works directly with CFMs and Chief Engineers to understand site pain points, set support priorities, and build trust that the engineering team is there to help sites succeed. On the development side, the Director partners with Design, Construction, and Commissioning. That partnership turns operating experience into better design standards, equipment selections, and turnover packages, and it gives sites a voice early in the project lifecycle so new facilities are built to be operated and maintained. Hold regular touchpoints with CFMs and CEs to align on open issues, reliability concerns, and engineering needs. Feed RCA findings, reliability data, and operability lessons back into design standards and equipment specifications. Act as the bridge between site teams and Engineering/Design when operational issues trace back to design or construction decisions. Interface with OEMs, service vendors, Prime Engineering, Development, and peer operations organizations. Leadership Hire, develop, and mentor a high‑performing engineering team; define roles, career paths, and regional coverage; ensure proper training and growth of staff. Manage department staffing, expenditures, and budget in line with financial goals, along with outside engineering resources (study firms, OEM field engineering, forensic labs). Maintain positive relationships and clear communication with site staff and executive leadership. Qualifications Required Bachelor's degree in Electrical or Mechanical Engineering (or a related discipline), or HVAC/critical power certifications, or equivalent professional experience in lieu of a degree. 8+ years of professional experience managing teams, developing and implementing strategic initiatives, and overseeing departmental operations. 8+ years of direct engineering experience in a technical or critical environment (data center, hospital, pharmaceutical, semiconductor, nuclear, or industrial/commercial field engineering), including significant time supporting operating facilities rather than design/construction alone. Demonstrated experience leading formal RCAs and implementing corrective actions. Working knowledge of NFPA 70E, NFPA 70B, NEC, OSHA requirements, and relevant ASHRAE guidance. Ability to travel an estimated 10-30% and to respond to major incidents outside business hours. Knowledge, Skills & Abilities Fluent in, and with an excellent working knowledge of, data center critical and construction environments. Advanced understanding of mechanical and electrical equipment, systems, and design for data centers, including MV/LV distribution, transformers, switchgear, UPS, STS/ATS, PDUs, VFDs, generators, chillers (air- and water-cooled), pumps, cooling towers, heat exchangers, CRAHs, air economizers, and liquid cooling. Experience with emergency backup systems (generators, UPS, battery backup) and with BMS/EPMS and building controls. Working knowledge of fire alarm/suppression and other life safety systems, and of building subsystems such as security and access control. Ability to develop solutions and create technical, strategic, and tactical plans on complex projects, and to lead through influence across operations, development, and vendor organizations. Ability to find creative solutions that improve quality and reliability while continuously driving down operating costs. Familiarity with CMMS platforms, reliability analytics, and project/commissioning management software. Preferred Professional Engineer (PE) license. Reliability certifications such as CRE or CMRP. Experience standing up a new engineering or reliability function. What success looks like in the first year A staffed team with a working site support model that CFMs and CEs actively use. An RCA program with defined triggers, a standard format, training for site leaders, and tracked corrective actions. A verified engineering baseline (single-lines, studies, settings) for the highest-criticality operating sites, plus a prioritized roadmap and schedule to complete the remaining sites. Reliability KPIs reported to Critical Operations leadership and trending in the right direction. An established feedback loop with Design, Construction, and Commissioning, with operating lessons reflected in at least one revision to design standards and operational turnover requirements applied to at least one new facility. Competitive salary rangeand performance bonus program 401k fully vested upon enrollment, up to a 4% employer match 100% employee premiums paid by employer for medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability Paid Time Off + Sick time Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis. Prime is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All applicants are considered for employment without attention to race, color, age, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, ancestry, national origin, citizenship, protected veteran or military status, disability status, or any other classification protected by federal, state, or local laws and ordinances. #LI-Onsite Share this Job: #J-18808-Ljbffr Prime Data Centers