Data Center Lead

T-Rex Solutions is seeking an experienced On-Prem Data Center Lead with deep expertise in data center engineering, infrastructure operations, modernization, and hybrid infrastructure environments to support the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Information Technology (OIT). In this role, you will collaborate closely with senior OIT partners, architects, engineering teams, operations teams, business stakeholders, and functional consultants to support the design, optimization, and modernization of VA's data center and cloud infrastructure. This role will provide technical leadership across data center engineering and operations, ensuring VA's infrastructure is available, scalable, resilient, efficient, and aligned with enterprise modernization goals. This position is onsite, located in Austin, TX. 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. Requirements Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Information Resource Management, Engineering, or a related field. Equivalent professional experience may substitute for a degree. 10+ 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. Desired Skills 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. Benefits PTO available to use immediately upon joining (prorated based on start date) Paid parental leave Individual and family health, vision, and dental benefits Annual budget for training, professional development and tuition reimbursement 401(k) plan with company match fully vested after 60 days of employment Other benefits In compliance with pay transparency guidelines, the annual base salary range for this position is $100,000 - $160,000. Please note that the salary information is a general guideline only. T-Rex considers factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, as well as market and business considerations when extending an offer. T-Rex is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, sex (including pregnancy and sexual orientation), parental status, national origin, age, disability, family medical history or genetic information, political affiliation, military service, or other non-merit based factors. #J-18808-Ljbffr Phase2 Technology