Director, Data Center Operations

POSITION DESCRIPTION: 

We are looking for a Director, Data Center Operations to join our Grid & Energy Services division to lead day-to-day operations of TransGrid Energy’s edge data center portfolio. The ideal candidate will have deep experience operating mission-critical infrastructure at scale – distributed edge data centers, colocation facilities, or large enterprise data center estates – and a track record of building 24/7 operations organizations that meet aggressive uptime and customer SLA commitments. This role works closely with Site Delivery & Construction, Deployment & Program Management, Asset Operations (grid services), and our joint venture partner Prime Group, and is accountable for the operational performance, customer satisfaction, and reliability of every live site.

This position is remote, with a strong preference for candidates based in the Atlanta, GA metro area.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead and grow the Data Center Operations organization, including a 24/7 Network Operations Center (NOC) team, regional field service technicians, and operations program managers. Build the organization from an initial set of hires to a functional operations team as the live site portfolio scales beyond 50 facilities. 
• Own day-to-day operational performance across the live edge data center portfolio: uptime, availability, environmental conditions, customer SLA delivery, and incident response. Operate to Uptime Institute Tier III equivalent or higher availability standards. 
• Stand up and operate a centralized Network Operations Center (NOC) covering all live sites 24/7. Define monitoring scope across power, cooling, BESS state-of-charge, environmental, security, and customer infrastructure interface. Own alarm management and escalation protocols. 
• Build the field service model – employee technicians for major hub regions, contracted partners for outlying sites. Define SLAs for response time, mean time to repair (MTTR), and preventive maintenance compliance.
• Establish operating standards across the portfolio: Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Methods of Procedure (MOPs), Emergency Operating Procedures (EOPs), change management, and root cause analysis discipline. Build the operations side of the deployment playbook in partnership with Site Delivery & Construction.
• Own customer operational interface: SLA management, customer-facing reporting, scheduled maintenance windows, incident communication, and remote hands services for NeoCloud and hyperscale customers.
• Coordinate with Asset Operations on grid services dispatch – battery charging schedules, demand response events, and ancillary service participation that intersect with site operations. Ensure customer commitments and grid revenue can coexist without conflict.
• Own a portfolio-level operations P&L including labor, vendor spend, parts and consumables, and incident-related costs. Drive operational efficiency metrics including cost per MW operated, MTBF, MTTR, and customer satisfaction scores.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• 12+ years of operations management experience in mission-critical infrastructure, including data centers, colocation facilities, telecommunications central offices, large enterprise IT operations, or critical industrial process facilities.
• Demonstrated experience leading a 24/7 operations organization (minimum 15 direct/indirect reports) across multiple sites or a distributed portfolio. Track record of operating to Uptime Institute Tier III equivalent or higher availability standards and meeting customer SLA commitments.
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Facilities Management, or equivalent experience.
• Strong working knowledge of data center critical infrastructure including UPS systems, switchgear, generators, mechanical cooling, BMS / DCIM platforms, and structured cabling. Familiarity with SLA management, ITIL incident management, and root cause analysis methodology.
• Willingness to travel 30–40% across the East Coast initially, expanding nationally as the operational footprint grows. Comfortable working in active facility environments and able to respond to major incidents outside business hours. 

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Direct experience operating edge or distributed data center portfolios – multi-site, lights-out or near-lights-out facility models.
• Direct experience with battery energy storage (BESS) operations or dual-purpose facility operations (customer load combined with grid services participation).
• Experience standing up or scaling a data center operations function at a startup, joint venture, or formation-stage business unit.
• Uptime Institute ATD or AOS certification, ITIL Foundation or Practitioner, or equivalent professional credentials.
• Familiarity with NeoCloud customers, hyperscale operations standards, or HPC / AI workload requirements (high-density power, advanced cooling, low-latency requirements).

Hanwha Q CELLS America Inc. (“HQCA”) is a Qcells company, one of the world’s largest manufacturers and providers of solar photovoltaic (PV) products and solutions.  Headquartered in Irvine, California, HQCA has been rapidly expanding its business in North America through the expansion of products and solutions, including distributed energy solutions, direct-to-homeowner solar sales and financing, and EPC services.  We provide an opportunity to be part of an exciting and growing world-class global business in an interesting and expanding industry of the future.