Commissioning and Operational Readiness Manager

Level One Personnel • Beltsville, MD

9d • $120,000 - $140,000 • Onsite

About The Position

The Commissioning and Operational Readiness Manager shapes acceptance criteria from design through operational handover for power, cooling, and controls infrastructure serving high-density AI. The current program includes two facility retrofit projects supporting NVIDIA GB300 NVL72 and Vera Rubin deployments. The role leads independent commissioning resources and verifies integrated infrastructure performance before it reaches customers.

The manager defines commissioning plans, test stages, system boundaries, acceptance criteria, witness points, and readiness gates in collaboration with Engineering, Operations, and the customer. The role reviews designs and control sequences early, manages test resources, validates prerequisites and test procedures, oversees electrical and thermal testing, and maintains traceable results and deficiency closure. It coordinates live-system tests with authorized Operations personnel and verifies documentation, training, maintenance readiness, and agreed stabilization tests before recommending turnover.

The position is based at assigned Maryland facilities, requires substantive on-site presence and travel between sites, and may require planned off-hours participation during commissioning or live-system interventions. The role may withhold owner test or readiness concurrence when approved criteria are unmet and can escalate independently to the CEO. Final commercial handover is authorized by the VP only with required technical and operations concurrence and contract-defined approvals. Testing safety and operating authorization are not delegated by this title alone.

Requirements

• At least 8 years of experience in critical-facility commissioning, including leadership of electrical, mechanical, and integrated tests.
• Evidence of delivering a documented commissioning program through deficiency closure and turnover.
• Practical liquid-cooling testing expertise or demonstrated comparable hydraulic/thermal testing competence with specialist support.
• Relevant technical degree or equivalent engineering/testing experience.
• Strong control-sequence analysis and reporting skills.

Nice To Haves

• Critical-facility liquid-cooling and AI/HPC test experience.
• Commissioning certification.
• Experience with rack OEM/CDU test interfaces.
• Live-site retrofit commissioning experience.

Responsibilities

• Define the commissioning plan, test stages, system boundaries, acceptance matrix, witness points, and readiness gates with Engineering, Operations, and the customer.
• Review designs and control sequences early, and incorporate test access, instrumentation, and factory/site testing into delivery schedules.
• Manage owner-retained independent commissioning resources and ensure qualified electrical and mechanical coverage during overlapping site tests.
• Validate construction prerequisites, pre-functional checks, equipment startup, calibrated instruments, and approved safe test procedures.
• Plan electrical and thermal load simulations, ramps and steps, equipment-loss tests, cooling failover, utility loss and recovery, and communication-loss tests against approved requirements.
• Record raw test results and exceptions; classify deficiencies, require corrective work and retesting, and prevent incomplete tests from being reported as passed.
• Coordinate live-system tests with the authorized Operations lead and approved MOPs, boundaries, and rollback criteria.
• Verify training, SOPs/MOPs/EOPs, as-builts, spares, maintenance records, and agreed stabilization tests before recommending turnover.
• Publish an acceptance matrix, commissioning scope gaps, and resource plan within the first 30 days.
• Approve test methods, witness requirements, load simulation, and deficiency classifications by day 60.
• Maintain traceable readiness evidence and complete prerequisites for scheduled testing without unsupported acceptance claims by day 90.
• Withhold owner test/readiness concurrence when approved criteria are unmet and escalate independently to the CEO.

Benefits

• 100% health insurance coverage.
• Dental insurance.
• Vision insurance.
• 401(k) with no matching.
• Paid time off: 2 weeks with 0–3 years of service and 3 weeks with 3 or more years of service.
• Annual performance bonus target of 10–15% of base salary, subject to plan terms and individual and company performance; payments are not guaranteed.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Education Level: No Education Listed