Director of Data Center Operations

The role

The Director of Data Center On-Site Operations leads the on-site operations strategy for existing and expanding global data centers. This leader drives operational excellence, builds scalable operating models, and prepares infrastructure for high-density AI/GPU environments.

What you will do

• Provide senior leadership for data center on-site operations globally.
• Lead the development and execution of a scalable operating model.
• Drive operational excellence and standardize best practices across locations.
• Lead site operations teams responsible for 24x7 support.
• Build repeatable operational processes for rapid organizational growth.
• Develop standardized site launch playbooks and readiness checklists.
• Define and manage key operational KPIs and SLAs.
• Oversee site-level execution for power, cooling, cabling, and hardware.
• Lead site-level vendor management and governance.
• Coach and develop data center operations managers and technical teams.

Required qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business Administration, Computer Science, Management Information Systems, or a related field; equivalent work experience may be considered.
• Minimum of 8 years of experience in data center operations, infrastructure operations, colocation operations, cloud infrastructure, or a related technical operations environment.
• Minimum of 5 to 7 years of senior leadership experience managing operational, technical, or site-support teams in a large enterprise, cloud, or colocation environment.
• Demonstrated experience managing operations across multiple data center locations or large-scale mission-critical facilities.
• Proven experience developing and implementing operational improvement roadmaps.
• Proven experience improving process maturity, operational consistency, team performance, vendor execution, and SLA performance.
• Experience building scalable processes to support rapid organizational growth, new site launches, and increased operational complexity.
• Experience managing vendor relationships, service providers, contractors, and third-party data center partners.
• Experience with budgeting, forecasting, operational planning, performance reporting, and executive communications.

Nice to have

• Experience supporting high-density compute environments, GPU infrastructure, liquid cooling, large-scale server deployments, and complex cabling environments
• Experience with GPU, AI infrastructure, high-density compute, liquid cooling, or large-scale hardware deployment environments
• Experience with modern infrastructure trends, including AI workloads, GPU clusters, software-defined networking, automation, and high-density data center designs

Benefits

• Annual bonus plan
• New hire equity grant
• Reimbursement for relevant conferences, training, and education
• Flexible time off
• Local team meetups
• Mental health and well being support
• Employee Stock Purchase Program

Before you apply

• You may apply to a maximum of 3 positions within any 180-day period.

About the company

DigitalOcean is a technology company that builds scalable cloud and AI. They value a growth mindset and a shark mindset of being bold, ambitious, and scrappy.