Job Summary
We are seeking a senior Data Center Specialist with 10+ years of experience in data-center, mission-critical, or critical-facility planning, design, operations, assessment, or consulting. The role focuses on evaluating existing data-center infrastructure, assessing current capacity and future growth requirements, and developing strategic recommendations for facility upgrades, expansion, or new construction. The ideal candidate will combine deep technical data-center expertise with strong requirements-gathering, business analysis, and consulting skills to work effectively with IT, Facilities, engineering, executive, and business stakeholders.
Key Responsibilities
• Assess the existing data-center environment, infrastructure capacity, constraints, and future growth requirements.
• Evaluate electrical, mechanical, cooling, power distribution, redundancy, physical space, networking, and compute density requirements.
• Engage with technical teams, Facilities, engineering groups, and other stakeholders to understand existing capabilities and infrastructure limitations.
• Gather, analyze, and document requirements related to power, cooling, compute density, physical space, networking, and anticipated growth.
• Develop or evaluate capacity models and identify infrastructure constraints.
• Develop data-center strategic plans, capital plans, feasibility studies, and investment or business cases.
• Evaluate options for renovating or expanding existing facilities, constructing a new data center, or pursuing alternative strategies.
• Translate technical data-center requirements into clear, actionable documentation for Facilities, engineering, and capital-project stakeholders.
• Independently evaluate available information and identify gaps requiring further engineering investigation.
• Collaborate with executive, IT, Facilities, engineering, business, and capital-project stakeholders throughout the assessment and planning process.
• Present findings, recommendations, and requirements clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Required Qualifications
• 10+ years of progressively responsible experience in data-center, mission-critical, or critical-facility planning, design, operations, assessment, or consulting.
• Demonstrated experience evaluating existing data-center facilities, including electrical, mechanical, cooling, power distribution, redundancy, and capacity.
• Demonstrated experience developing data-center strategic plans, capital plans, feasibility studies, or investment/business cases.
• Strong understanding of data-center electrical and mechanical infrastructure.
• Experience developing or evaluating capacity models and identifying infrastructure constraints.
• Strong requirements-gathering and documentation skills.
• Ability to bridge technical data-center concepts with business, Facilities, and engineering stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to independently evaluate information and identify gaps requiring further engineering investigation.
• Strong verbal and written communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to work with executive, IT, Facilities, engineering, and capital-project stakeholders.
• Consultative mindset with the ability to translate technical findings into actionable recommendations.
Preferred Qualifications
• Experience developing data-center strategies and future-state plans beyond day-to-day operations.
• Experience assessing whether to renovate or expand an existing facility versus pursuing a new data-center build.
• Experience with data-center renovations, refreshes, upgrades, construction, or build-outs.
• Professional Engineer (PE) license, preferably in electrical or mechanical engineering.
• RCDD or other relevant BICSI credential.
• Experience with higher education, healthcare, government, or other complex institutional data centers.
• Experience with Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM), capacity management, and data-center infrastructure documentation.
Certifications
• BICSI Data Center Design Consultant (DCDC).
• Uptime Institute Accredited Tier Designer (ATD).
• Uptime Institute Accredited Tier Specialist (ATS).
