Data Center Manager - Kansas City

DigitalOcean • Kansas City, KS

1d • Onsite

About The Position

DigitalOcean is hiring a hands-on technical leader to own end-to-end operations of its MKC data center near the Kansas City, Missouri region. This onsite role leads a team of technicians and engineers and supports regional data center initiatives, partnering with architects, infrastructure product teams, facilities, capacity planning, supply chain, and asset management to bring infrastructure online and meet customer needs for reliability, performance, and scale.

The manager oversees site operations and the deployment, maintenance, and optimization of compute, storage, and networking infrastructure, including GPU-based systems. The role also manages the physical environment, including power delivery, airflow, and cooling, and works with facilities and capacity planning teams on rack density, energy efficiency, and high-density workloads. The manager collaborates with local and global teams, providers, vendors, and suppliers to coordinate operations, inventory, logistics, infrastructure planning, and incident response.

The role may involve 12-hour shifts during non-standard business hours, including evenings, nights, weekends, and holidays. It requires availability for on-call escalations outside business hours, the ability to lift up to 50 pounds and remain on one's feet during extended work sessions, and travel that is typically up to 10% domestically, including occasional overnight stays at other sites.

Requirements

• 6–10 years of progressive experience in data center operations, including at least 3 years of team leadership or site management in a high-scale environment.
• Deep technical knowledge of data center systems, including compute, storage, networking, airflow, and cooling, and the ability to coach others in these areas.
• Strong understanding of facility infrastructure, including electrical systems, power distribution, UPS, and cooling design principles.
• Hands-on experience with data center health monitoring, rack design, structured cabling, and server manageability tools.
• Experience with work-tracking tools such as Jira and applying Kanban or similar agile workflows to visualize work, identify bottlenecks, and optimize flow.
• Systems-oriented mindset focused on team health and improving throughput, predictability, and accountability over time.
• Leadership skills to drive performance, set goals, and foster ownership and continuous improvement.
• Strong problem-solving and communication skills, with the ability to work cross-functionally.
• Global mindset and experience working with geographically distributed teams; comfort aligning across time zones and infrastructure standards.
• Ability to be on-call for escalations outside business hours.
• Ability to lift up to 50 pounds and be on one's feet during extended work sessions.
• Ability to travel typically up to 10% domestically, including occasional overnight stays at other sites.
• May work 12-hour shifts, including evenings, nights, weekends, and holidays.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with GPU deployments.
• Familiarity with liquid-cooling infrastructure or high-density rack solutions.

Responsibilities

• Manage onsite operations of the MKC data center, overseeing technicians and engineers to ensure uptime, efficiency, and safety.
• Lead, mentor, and manage team staffing, scheduling, performance, and career development.
• Oversee deployment, maintenance, and optimization of compute, storage, and networking infrastructure, including GPU-based systems.
• Manage the physical infrastructure environment, including power delivery, airflow, cooling, and applicable liquid-cooling systems.
• Work with facilities and capacity planning teams to optimize rack density and energy efficiency, and partner with vendors, OEMs, and suppliers on component delivery, RMAs, and hardware escalations.
• Work with facilities and infrastructure engineering teams to understand mechanical and electrical designs, contribute to floor planning, and align facility capabilities with compute growth.
• Partner with data center architects, cloud product owners, and other internal teams to align infrastructure buildouts with customer and platform requirements.
• Collaborate with regional data center managers and infrastructure leads globally to share best practices, raise awareness of risks, align infrastructure plans, and promote cross-site consistency and innovation.
• Work with Supply Chain and Asset Management to maintain inventory accuracy, streamline inbound and outbound logistics, and ensure component readiness.
• Align with Capacity Management to forecast and fulfill infrastructure demand for customer growth and product launches.
• Manage day-to-day task flow through Jira using Kanban methodology.
• Work with data center providers to maintain operational excellence.
• Collaborate with external vendors and manage RMAs, shipping and receiving, and inventory control.
• Serve as the local escalation point and incident lead for operational or technical challenges.

Benefits

• Annual bonus plan eligibility for non-sales roles, subject to plan terms and local eligibility; bonus amounts depend on company and individual performance.
• May be eligible for a new-hire equity grant, subject to plan terms and local eligibility.
• Eligible employees may receive equity compensation, which may include a new-hire equity grant and, in participating countries, access to an Employee Stock Purchase Program, subject to plan terms and approval.
• Reimbursement for relevant conferences, training, and education, subject to company policy.
• Benefits may include flexible time off, local team meetups, and mental health and well-being support; specific benefits and eligibility vary by location.

What This Job Offers

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