Senior Director, Operational Technology & Controls

Job Description

Job Description

Description:

Who We Are

Our purpose at CloudHQ is to provide flexible, efficient and resilient data center solutions to businesses of all sizes. Our growing organization was founded by the pioneer of data center REITs. CloudHQ has state-of-the-art data center sites located in two Northern Virginia locations, as well as London, Frankfurt, Paris, Milan, and Sao Paulo, and we anticipate exponential growth over the next several years both in the US and abroad.

What the Role Entails

The Senior Director of Operational Technology & Controls is CloudHQ's senior authority for building automation, controls, and operational technology across the global data center portfolio. The role owns the reference architecture and governance for Building Management Systems (BMS), Electrical Power Monitoring Systems (EPMS), Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM), and the OT networks and cybersecurity infrastructure beneath them — and will stand up a centralized Facilities Operations Center delivering 24x7 multi-site alarm monitoring, event correlation, and analytics.

This is a player-coach role for a leader who has operated on both sides of the IT/OT divide: someone who has delivered controls systems in live mission-critical environments, held program-level budget and vendor accountability, carried an enterprise through ISO 27001 and SOC audit cycles, and recruited and developed the technical teams that sustain all of it. The role also partners directly with CloudHQ's internal AI and analytics team to make facility telemetry the foundation of our next generation of AI-enabled operations: predictive maintenance, automated fault diagnostics, and energy optimization.

What You Will Get to Do

Centralized Monitoring & Operations

• Architect, stand up, and lead a centralized Facilities Operations Center monitoring BMS and EPMS across all campuses, including alarm triage standards, escalation management, event correlation, and coordination with site operations teams.

• Establish portfolio-wide standards for alarm management, trend analysis, and fault detection and diagnostics (FDD), driving the operating model from reactive to predictive.

• Define and report operational metrics to executive leadership: alarm volumes and response times, nuisance-alarm reduction, telemetry completeness, and efficiency indicators supporting PUE targets.

OT Architecture & Controls Integration

• Own the reference architecture for building automation and controls: BAS/BMS, EPMS, DCIM, SCADA concepts, and the supporting OT network infrastructure.

• Govern controls integration across BACnet/IP, Modbus RTU/TCP, SNMP, MQTT, and OPC-UA, ensuring every new deployment conforms to standard.

• Direct point-to-point verification and integration quality assurance for controls scope on new construction and retrofits.

OT Cybersecurity & Compliance

• Own the OT cybersecurity program: network segmentation, zero-trust approaches for legacy building equipment, secure remote access, and next-generation firewall (NGFW) architecture for controls networks.

• Serve as the IT/OT/cybersecurity subject matter expert in ISO 27001 and SOC audit cycles — data calls, policy authorship, reviews, and approvals.

• Establish and enforce documented change management policy for OT systems, aligned to NIST guidance and data center operational best practice.

• Ensure SIEM and network monitoring visibility into OT environments in partnership with the IT organization.

Commissioning & New Facility Turnover

• Lead controls scope through commissioning and turnover of new data center facilities, working with the general contractor, commissioning agents, and controls vendors.

• Guarantee telemetry completeness at Day 1 of operations: every point mapped, named to standard, alarmed appropriately, and flowing to the central platform.

Telemetry, Analytics & AI Enablement

• Partner with CloudHQ's internal AI team to expose clean, structured, real-time facility telemetry for advanced analytics, automated root-cause diagnostics, and energy optimization.

• Evaluate cloud-connected smart building and analytics platforms; drive integration with maintenance management (CMMS) platforms for automated work-order generation.

Leadership, Vendors & Budget

• Recruit, develop, and lead the OT/controls team; define roles, training paths, and certification targets.

• Govern controls vendors and systems integrators — scope, contract performance, schedule, and quality — delivering within operational and security guidelines, on time and within budget.

• Own capital and operating budgets for OT systems, including lifecycle and refresh planning for controls infrastructure across the portfolio.

What You Bring to The Role

• 15+ years spanning controls, operational technology, and information technology in mission-critical environments — data centers strongly preferred; manufacturing and secured government facilities also highly relevant — including 7+ years in leadership roles.

• Demonstrated success building or scaling an OT, controls, or facilities-technology capability from the ground up: a department, a business line, or an operations center.

• Program-level ownership of budgets, vendors, and contractors across multi-site deployments in live, revenue-generating facilities.

• Deep working command of BAS/BMS, EPMS, DCIM, and SCADA architectures and of the protocols listed under Technical Knowledge.

• Hands-on leadership of OT cybersecurity: segmentation, firewall/NGFW programs, SIEM and network monitoring, and policy development within ISO 27001-certified and SOC-compliant environments.

• Experience supporting commissioning and turnover of new data center facilities.

Technical Knowledge

Candidates should also possess working command of:

Building Automation & Controls

• Building Automation Systems (BAS) and Building Management Systems (BMS)

• Electrical Power Monitoring Systems (EPMS)

• Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM)

• Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) concepts

• Facility controls and monitoring architectures

Building Protocols

• BACnet and BACnet/IP

• Modbus RTU/TCP

• SNMP and MQTT

• OPC-UA (preferred)

Data Center Infrastructure

• HVAC and mechanical cooling systems; chilled water systems; CRAH and CRAC infrastructure

• UPS, generator, and power distribution systems

• Environmental monitoring systems

Operational Technology & IT/OT Convergence

• Alarm management, event correlation, trend analysis, and fault detection and diagnostics (FDD)

• Controls integration, point-to-point verification, and building system commissioning support

• OT cybersecurity principles: segmentation, NGFW, zero trust for legacy equipment

• SIEM, network management systems (NMS), and endpoint management tooling

• Cloud-hosted infrastructure supporting OT and data center IT assets (e.g., Microsoft Azure)

• ISO 27001 information security management systems and documented change management

Our Ideal Candidate Will Also Possess

• Standing up or leading a centralized Operations Center, Command Center, NOC, or Facilities Monitoring Center.

• Monitoring BMS/EPMS systems across multiple sites or campuses.

• Alarm triage, escalation management, and event coordination at portfolio scale.

• Founding, building, or holding P&L responsibility for an OT or controls-systems services organization; systems-integrator experience is highly valued.

• Serving as audit-facing subject matter expert in ISO 27001 and SOC 1 Type 2 environments.

• Leading portfolio-wide cybersecurity infrastructure programs, including NGFW selection, budgeting, and implementation.

• Cloud-connected smart building technologies and analytics platforms; operations management and CMMS platforms (e.g., Chekhub, IBM Maximo) and their integration with monitoring systems.

• Supporting commissioning and turnover of new data center facilities within hyperscale development environments.

• ASHRAE, Uptime Institute, and data center operational best practices.

Certifications

One or more of the following is strongly preferred:

• CISSP, GICSP, or equivalent senior cybersecurity certification

• BACnet International Professional Certification (BPC); BACnet Operator (B-OP); BACnet Advanced Operator (B-AOP)

• Niagara 4 Technical Certification (Tridium)

• Johnson Controls Metasys Technical Certification

• Siemens Design Technical Certification

• Schneider Electric EcoStruxure Building Operation Certification

• Certified Energy Manager (CEM); Certified Automation Professional (CAP)

• Facility Management Professional (FMP); Systems Maintenance Administrator (SMA)

• CompTIA Network+ / Security+ or equivalent networking and cybersecurity certifications

• Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) platform certifications

• Relevant military technical training in building automation, controls systems, facilities monitoring, or operational technology

What We Offer

CloudHQ’s people and culture are the most enriching aspects that make us a great place to work. We are strengthened by industry experts who bring extensive knowledge, skill, and experience; leaders who bring vision, innovation and commitment to our people; and an expanding team of individuals who believe in that vision, and bring their best to support their customers and team.

Our employees enjoy competitive compensation and rewarding incentives, comprehensive benefits (medical, dental, vision, life insurance, disability), 401(k) with match, 12 paid holidays, generous PTO, development opportunities, and the ability to closely impact and contribute to the growth of an exceptional organization.

Equal Employment Opportunity

CloudHQ is an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or other legally protected status.