Director, Data Center Site Operations

SK hynix America•San Jose, CA

4h•Onsite

About The Position

This role will support the new SK AI initiative (SK Group level) established to identify and create new business opportunities in the rapidly evolving AI data center market. SK AI seeks to leverage the broad range of capabilities and products, and the collective scale of SK Group portfolio companies to address the top critical challenges in AI infrastructure. We are seeking a seasoned, Director of Data Center Operations to oversee the purpose-driven AI data center from greenfield/brownfield launch to functional operations. You will be responsible for the strategic vision, operational excellence, and physical and logical security and the safety of our special purpose AI data center. This individual will play mission-critical roles with the technical mastery (MEP, cooling and network).

Requirements

Authorized to work in the US.
Bachelor's degree in relevant fields such as computer science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and physics.
Minimum of 15+ years of data center operation and management experience, including a senior leadership.
Experience designing or managing cloud or on-premises IT clusters.

Nice To Haves

Technical exposure of emerging power sources, cooling technology and IT equipment such as renewable energy, high power density racks, high voltage power supply, 2-phase cooling technologies.
Working experience designing or managing CSP or Crypto mining data centers with handling OEMs and System Integrators.
In-depth knowledge of GPU-based systems, storage servers, SOTA liquid cooling technologies.
Proficiency in GPU-based cluster design and network topology
Understanding of Generative AI fundamentals.

Responsibilities

Operational Excellence: Build and lead the team of site managers, technicians and contractors. Establish Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and Maintenance Methodologies (MOPs)
Infrastructure & Resilience: Oversee the health of critical systems, including power (UPS, switchgear, and backup generators), cooling (HVAC, CRAC units, and liquid cooling deployments)
Compliance & Security: Ensure the site meet SOC2, ISO 27001, and local safety (OSHA) standards.
Internal Alignment and Stakeholder Interface: Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure strategy alignment and smooth execution. Deliver the reconfigurable infrastructure to the in-house engineering teams and external technical partners.