Director of Data Center Operations

Giga Energy

$150K — $180K *
US-AnywhereRemote in United States
Information Technology
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 10+ years in facility or data center operations, including 5+ years managing multi-site operations teams
  • Proven track record owning uptime and maintenance for critical industrial facilities
  • Experience in building or scaling operations functions across growing portfolios
  • Strong knowledge of MEP and electrical systems applicable to facility operations
  • Experience managing budgets and vendor contracts for multiple sites
  • Demonstrated ability to present operational insights to executive leadership

Responsibilities

  • Oversee daily operations across Giga's live data centers, focusing on uptime and maintenance
  • Establish and enforce operating standards for all facilities, including staffing and performance benchmarks
  • Manage and support operations teams across diverse locations for consistent results
  • Maintain vendor relations, ensuring performance contracts and SLAs are met
  • Lead incident analysis to resolve operational challenges and update standards accordingly
  • Manage the operations budget, making trade-offs as facilities are launched
  • Report on operational health and risks to executive leadership
  • Collaborate with commissioning teams for smooth transitions from new builds to operational status
  • Drive continuous improvement in procedures as the facilities grow

Benefits

  • Subsidized health, dental, and vision insurance
  • Equity options in a rapidly growing startup
  • 401(k) with 4% employer match
  • Unlimited paid time off (PTO)
  • Parental leave
  • Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) or Health Savings Account (HSA)
  • Commuter benefits where applicable
  • Opportunities for in-person collaboration during team events
Full Job Description
What you'll do

A data center only matters if it stays up. As Director of Operations, you own what happens after commissioning ends and the facility goes live - the day-to-day reliability, staffing, maintenance, and performance of Giga's data centers in operation. You'll build and run the operating standard across our portfolio: how facilities are staffed, how uptime is protected, how maintenance is scheduled, and how issues get resolved before they become incidents. You'll manage facility operations teams and vendor relationships across multiple sites, report on operational health to executive leadership, and be the person accountable when the question is "is it running the way it's supposed to." If you want to own the operating backbone of a fast-growing AI infrastructure company, this is your seat.
Where you'll work

This role is remote, with roughly 20-25% travel to data center facilities to stay close to day-to-day operations in the field. While Giga is an in-office culture by default, this role is a deliberate exception given its portfolio-spanning nature - you'll need to be where the facilities are, not tied to a single hub.
Responsibilities
  • Own day-to-day operational performance across Giga's live data center facilities, including uptime, maintenance execution, and incident response
  • Build and enforce the operating standard applied across all facilities - staffing models, maintenance schedules, escalation procedures, and performance benchmarks
  • Manage facility operations teams and site leads across multiple locations, ensuring consistent execution regardless of site
  • Own vendor and service provider relationships tied to ongoing operations (maintenance contractors, equipment service providers, facility services), including contract performance and SLAs
  • Lead root cause analysis and resolution for operational incidents, ensuring issues are closed out and standards updated to prevent recurrence
  • Own the operations budget across the portfolio, making resourcing and staffing trade-off calls as facilities come online
  • Report on operational health, risk, and performance to executive leadership across the full portfolio
  • Partner with the commissioning and construction teams to ensure a clean handoff from newly commissioned facilities into steady-state operations
  • Drive continuous improvement in operating procedures as the facility portfolio scales
Requirements
  • 10+ years of experience in facility or data center operations, with 5+ years managing operations teams across multiple sites
  • Demonstrated experience owning uptime, maintenance, and staffing for mission-critical or large-scale industrial facilities
  • Track record building or scaling an operations function, standard, or team across a growing portfolio
  • Strong working knowledge of MEP and electrical systems relevant to facility operations (generators, UPS, switchgear, cooling infrastructure, BMS/controls)
  • Experience managing operations budgets and vendor/service contracts across multiple simultaneous sites
  • Strong track record presenting to and advising executive-level stakeholders on operational risk and performance
Bonus points
  • Direct experience running operations at a hyperscale or colocation data center company
  • Experience partnering with commissioning teams on facility turnover and handoff
  • Familiarity with CMMS or facility operations management platforms
  • Experience scaling an operations function inside a high-growth or startup environment

How We Work

We value people who take ownership, raise risks early, communicate directly, and follow through. Incomplete information is part of the job. Make the best decision you can, document it, and adjust as the facts change. Move quickly on reversible decisions and take more care when security, safety, financial, employee, or customer risk is involved.
Benefits
  • Subsidized health, dental, and vision insurance
  • Equity (options) in a rapidly growing startup
  • 401(k) with 4% employer match
  • Unlimited PTO
  • Parental leave
  • Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) or Health Savings Account (HSA)
  • Commuter benefits, where applicable
  • Opportunities to collaborate in person at periodic team and company on-sites

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