Director, Commissioning and Project Execution

Description:
Position Overview
The Director, Commissioning & Project Execution, is a senior technical and program leadership role responsible for overseeing and executing commissioning programs for critical power infrastructure within the data center market. The role serves as the customer's primary project and technical point of contact for commissioning and field service activities
This role blends hands-on field expertise with program management, technical governance, and team leadership to ensure safe, reliable, and high-quality delivery of commissioning and other onsite services across factory and field environments
The Director, Commissioning & Project Execution will lead a team of field service project managers with responsibility for team management and overseeing performance of the Field Service PM's assigned projects - schedule, cost, and financial results
The role also plays a key role in the standardization of processes, training, and continuous improvement services initiatives across the Forgent portfolio, which is critical to scaling the business.
The position is initially focused on the physical support of the Richmond data center market with travel to other large data center project locations over time
Program & Field Execution
- Manage and execute remote and onsite commissioning programs while remaining actively engaged in both manufacturing and deployment environments.
- Provide hands-on technical support during equipment commissioning, testing, electrical tie-ins, system energization, and troubleshooting activities.
- Support onsite commissioning activities as required to meet customer schedules, contractual commitments, and operational milestones.
- Serve as a technical resource to Project Managers, ensuring alignment between project execution, commissioning scope, and customer expectations.
- Provide on-call technical support to respond to critical issues and deliver timely guidance outside of normal business hours when required
Technical Leadership & Escalation
- Act as the primary technical escalation point for field service and commissioning teams.
- Support troubleshooting on complex electrical and controls systems, lead repairs, and guide resolution of critical power system issues.
- Perform root cause analysis of equipment or system failures and drive corrective and preventive actions.
- Partner with vendors and OEMs for equipment validation, installation support, and advanced troubleshooting.
Commissioning Standards & Documentation
- Develop, review, approve, and maintain commissioning procedures, work instructions, and test protocols for both factory and field activities.
- Prepare project commissioning test scripts for designated equipment and scopes of work.
- Assist with the development & refinement of factory testing standards and acceptance criteria.
- Attend factory testing of equipment scheduled for deployment and provide structured feedback to engineering and quality teams.
- Develop and maintain standardized commissioning templates for all electrical equipment within the Forgent portfolio.
- Ensure commissioning procedures and results support safe operations, regulatory compliance, and customer requirements.
Reporting & Tools
- Track commissioning activities across assigned projects and prepare comprehensive commissioning reports and closeout packages.
- Utilize commissioning and testing software platforms such as CxAlloy, PowerDB, or equivalent tools to support commissioning activities and documentation.
- Participate in regular commissioning (Cx) meetings for assigned projects and provide status updates, risk identification, and mitigation plans.
Cross-Functional Coordination
- Coordinate closely with product engineering, quality, manufacturing, operations, and field service teams to ensure seamless execution.
- Interface with general contractors, subcontractors, owner's representatives, and other onsite stakeholders during commissioning activities.
- Provide a structured feedback loop to engineering and manufacturing teams to drive continuous improvement in equipment quality, testing procedures, and field performance.
Coaching, Mentoring & Services Project Leadership
- Lead, train, and mentor a team of field service project managers fostering a culture of technical excellence, accountability, and safety.
- Accountable for performance management of field service project management team
· Develop and oversee training programs to enhance technical competency, safety awareness, and professional growth of field service project management teams.
- Identify training & certification opportunities for field service project managers.
- Identify needs for additional field service project managers and develop business cases to support hiring and resource expansion.
Services Project Oversight & Financial Management
- Provide overall oversight of assigned services projects, ensuring execution on schedule, within approved budgets, and aligned with contractual scope.
· Lead and support Field Service Project Managers in developing and maintaining detailed project plans, resource forecasts, and risk mitigation strategies.
· Establish and enforce project controls for schedule adherence, cost management, change control, and margin protection across all services engagements.
· Partner closely with Finance to ensure accurate percent-complete revenue recognition, including timely updates to project cost-to-complete, earned revenue, and forecasted margins.
· Support services project forecasting, backlog reporting, and financial review cycles, providing clear visibility to leadership on performance, risks, and corrective actions.
· Ensure consistent and timely project status, financial, and performance reporting to internal stakeholders and executive leadership.
Required Qualifications
- Minimum 12 years of mission critical infrastructure experience, including at least 6 years supporting data center environments.
- Minimum 5+ years of hands-on electrical testing and commissioning experience in critical power environments.
- Four-year ABET-accredited degree in Engineering or Engineering Technology (Electrical or Mechanical preferred).
- Demonstrated experience commissioning medium- and low-voltage power systems including switchgear, UPS systems, generators, and associated controls.
- Strong understanding of safety practices including lock-out/tag-out (LOTO), arc flash mitigation, and commissioning best practices.
- Ability to lead teams, mentor technical staff, and manage multiple commissioning efforts concurrently.
- Strong communication skills with the ability to interface effectively with customers, contractors, vendors, and internal teams.
Preferred Qualifications
- Professional Engineer (PE) licensure in Electrical or Mechanical Engineering.
- Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.
- Hyperscale, AI, or high-performance computing (HPC) data center construction, commissioning, and operations experience.
- Prior experience serving as a Commissioning Agent (CxA) or lead commissioning engineer.
- Familiarity with IEEE, NFPA, NETA, UL, and IEC standards.
- Experience with commissioning platforms such as CxAlloy, PowerDB, or equivalent tools.
Work Environment
- Regular onsite presence with periods of working remote
- Combination of office, factory, and active construction site environments.
- Initial travel requirements are limited with focus on the Richmond VA area, but will increase over time to support large projects in other areas
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