Cushman & Wakefield

Director, Solutions Data Centers

Cushman & Wakefield • $144K — $170K *
Technical Services
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering, Facilities/Construction Management, or related technical discipline, or equivalent military/trade experience.
  • 10+ years in facilities management, critical facilities operations, or engineering services, including 5+ years in data center environments.
  • 5+ years in FM solutions development or senior operations role, overseeing staffing models and cost build-ups.
  • Experience in building and defending critical-facilities engineering staffing models.
  • Solid understanding of data center infrastructure, including electrical and mechanical systems.

Responsibilities

  • Lead solution architecture for integrated facilities management across data center portfolios.
  • Translate client requirements into defensible operating models.
  • Build and defend labor models, organizational charts, and pricing assumptions.
  • Collaborate across departments to create one integrated solution.
  • Author technical responses including staffing and transition plans.
  • Conduct workshops and present engineering approaches to clients.
  • Maintain a library of reusable data center solution components.

Benefits

  • Opportunity to work in a client-facing, pursuit-critical role.
  • Access to cutting-edge data center technologies and infrastructure.
  • Ability to influence staffing and operational models in the industry.
  • Involvement in global and multi-regional project portfolios.
  • Potential for professional development through partnerships with top engineering teams.
Full Job Description

Job Title

Director, Solutions Data Centers

 

Job Description Summary

This individual leads the design and articulation of integrated facilities management (IFM) solutions for hyperscale, colocation, enterprise, and AI/HPC data center portfolios. This is a client-facing, pursuit-critical role that converts complex critical-environment requirements into deliverable operating models, staffing plans, and commercial constructs.

The role carries a deliberate and heavy emphasis on engineering solutioning and engineering staffing — building the critical-facilities engineering organization that sits at the center of every data center mandate: staffing and shift-coverage models, licensure and qualification matrices, wage and total-rewards strategy, labor-market feasibility, and recruiting ramp plans.

 

 

Job Description

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS & RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Lead solution architecture for data center IFM pursuits — new business, expansions, renewals, and rebids — across single-site, regional, and global portfolios.
  • Interrogate client requirements (RFI/RFP/RFQ, SLAs, KPIs, MOPs/SOPs, uptime standards, Uptime Institute tier and criticality classifications) and translate them into a defensible operating model.
  • Build the labor model, organizational chart, span of control, and scope matrix that underpin the price — and defend every assumption in internal governance and client-facing sessions.
  • Partner with Sales, Operations, HR, Talent Acquisition, Procurement, Finance, EHS, Sustainability, Legal, and Technology to assemble one integrated solution rather than a collection of functional inputs.
  • Author and orchestrate the technical response: solution narrative, staffing plan, mobilization and transition plan, technology stack, governance model, risk register, and assumptions and exclusions schedule.
  • Lead solution workshops, site walks, due-diligence visits, and client orals; present and defend the engineering and FM approach to client engineering leadership and procurement.
  • Conduct win/loss reviews and feed outcomes back into standard solution assets, benchmark libraries, and pricing templates.
  • Maintain a reusable library of data center solution components — role profiles, coverage models, PM libraries, scope matrices, and benchmark staffing ratios.
  • Design the critical-facilities engineering operating model: on-site engineering teams, 24x7x365 shift coverage, on-call and escalation structures, remote operations center integration, and vendor-augmented models.
  • Solution the maintenance program across all critical systems — MV/LV electrical distribution, switchgear, UPS and battery plant, static transfer switches, PDUs, generators and fuel systems, chillers, CRAC/CRAH units, pumps, cooling towers, liquid cooling and direct-to-chip systems for AI/HPC densities, BMS/EPMS, fire detection and suppression, and building envelope.
  • Set the engineering technology approach: CMMS/EAM configuration, asset hierarchy and tagging standards, BMS/EPMS integration, remote monitoring, analytics, digital twin and reliability reporting.
  • Quantify the engineering solution — headcount, overtime, shift differentials, tools, test equipment, PPE, training, spares and critical-spares strategy, and subcontracted specialist services.
  • Build engineering staffing models by site and by portfolio: role mix (Chief Engineer, Critical Facilities Manager, Lead/Shift Engineer, Critical Facilities Engineer, Controls/BMS Technician, Electrical and Mechanical Technicians, Fire Life Safety specialists, EHS and Compliance roles), FTE counts, shift rotations, relief factors, vacation and absence coverage, and overtime assumptions.
  • Define qualification and licensure matrices by jurisdiction — electrical and mechanical licenses, stationary/operating engineer licenses and client-specific critical-environment certifications.
  • Partner with Talent Acquisition on the recruiting ramp plan — sourcing channels, pipeline build ahead of award, hiring sequencing against go-live, contingency and contractor bridge strategies.
  • Benchmark proposed engineering ratios (engineers per MW, per critical system, per square foot) against internal and industry data, and articulate the rationale for any deviation.

REQUIRED EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

Required

  • Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering, Facilities/Construction Management, or a related technical discipline; equivalent military or trade-progression experience will be considered.
  • 10+ years in facilities management, critical facilities operations, or engineering services, including 5+ years with direct data center or mission-critical environment accountability.
  • 5+ years in FM solutions development, bid management, or a senior operations role with direct ownership of staffing models and cost build-ups.
  • Demonstrated experience building critical-facilities engineering staffing models and defending them to sophisticated technical clients.
  • Working command of data center infrastructure: electrical distribution and redundancy topologies (N+1, 2N, 2N+1), UPS and generator systems, mechanical cooling including liquid cooling, BMS/EPMS, and fire life safety.
  • Fluency in FM commercial models, SLA/KPI regimes, and pricing mechanics; advanced Excel modeling capability.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication; able to author a technical solution narrative and present it to C-suite and engineering audiences alike.
  • Willingness to travel domestically (typically 25-30%).

Preferred

  • Experience supporting hyperscale, colocation, or AI/HPC clients and their standardized operating requirements.
  • Certifications such as PE, CEM, CFM, ATD/ATS (Uptime Institute), CDCP/CDCS, PMP, LEED AP, or NFPA 70E
  • Experience with union environments, prevailing wage.
  • Global or multi-region portfolio solutioning experience.
  • Prior experience with major CMMS/IWMS platforms and asset data standardization.

OTHER DUTIES

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive list of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Other duties, responsibilities and activities may change or be assigned at any time with or without notice.




About Cushman & Wakefield

Cushman & Wakefield plc is a global commercial real estate services firm. The company's corporate headquarters is located in Chicago, Illinois. Cushman & Wakefield is among the world's largest commercial real estate services firms, with revenues of US$9.4 billion in 2021. The company operates from approximately 400 offices in 60 countries, has around 50,000 employees and manages about 4,100 million sq ft of commercial space. It is one of the "Big Three" commercial real estate services companies, alongside CBRE and JLL.
Learn more about Cushman & Wakefield
Size
50,000 employees
Market Cap
$2.6 billion
Industry
Net Income
-$220.5 million
Founded
1917
5 Year Trend
+8.6%
Revenue
$7.8 billion
NASDAQ

Similar Jobs

More Jobs at Cushman & Wakefield

More Technical Services Jobs

Find similar Director, Solutions Data Centers jobs: