Senior Director, Operations Engineering Strategic Initiatives, NA

Vantage Data Centers•Denver, CO

8d•Hybrid

About The Position

Vantage powers, cools, protects and connects the technology of the world’s well-known hyperscalers, cloud providers and large enterprises. Developing and operating across North America, EMEA and Asia Pacific, Vantage has evolved data center design in innovative ways to deliver dramatic gains in reliability, efficiency and sustainability in flexible environments that can scale as quickly as the market demands. Enterprise Operational Excellence Department Enterprise Operational Excellence, North America, protects and improves data center availability by connecting mission-critical operating experience, engineering expertise, telemetry, technical risk, and fleet learning. The organization partners across the data center lifecycle to strengthen reliability, operational readiness, assurance, and sustainable improvement across the North American portfolio. It brings together Reliability Engineering, Automation Systems, and developing operational-assurance capabilities to turn operational evidence into scalable improvements in standards, systems, controls, readiness, and decision-making. This position can be based in a hybrid capacity at any of Vantage’s U.S. locations (3 days in the office, 2 days flexible). Vantage is seeking a Senior Director, Operations Engineering Strategic Initiatives, North America, to serve as a senior individual-contributor authority on the strategic choices that shape Enterprise Operational Excellence (EOE) across the North American portfolio. Reporting to the Senior Vice President, Enterprise Operational Excellence, North America, the Senior Director connects mission-critical operations, engineering, telemetry, financial planning, workforce capability, and partner strategy to address consequential questions of reliability, readiness, technical risk, scalability, and long-term portfolio performance. The role establishes the decision frameworks and standards used to evaluate competing priorities, capability needs, operating-model choices, and material investments. It brings an integrated view of fleet evidence and enterprise priorities to issues that cut across disciplines or sites, clarifies where a North America response is warranted, and presents senior leaders with defensible choices and their operational and business consequences. The Senior Director also tests whether approved initiatives deliver their intended value and recommends changes when evidence or operating conditions call for a different course. This position has no direct reports. It operates with substantial independence and leads through recognized expertise, sound judgment, and influence across organizational boundaries. Functional, technical, operational, and program leaders retain accountability for their teams, decisions, and delivery. The Senior Director does not have independent approval authority for investments or changes reserved to the SVP or other governing leaders.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations, Business, Finance, Information Systems, Program Management, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
Twelve or more years of progressive experience across mission-critical operations, data center engineering, operational strategy, business operations, enterprise transformation, strategic planning, or an adjacent discipline.
Substantial operational, engineering, or program leadership experience in mission-critical data centers or a comparable high-availability, critical-infrastructure environment.
Broad understanding of critical environments, including electrical and mechanical infrastructure, controls and monitoring, operational risk, maintenance and lifecycle practices, incident learning, reliability, and operational readiness.
Demonstrated experience shaping consequential, cross-functional portfolio decisions where operating, engineering, financial, customer, and growth considerations must be reconciled.
Experience establishing strategic planning, initiative-evaluation, decision-support, or value-realization approaches adopted across a complex organization.
Experience developing executive-level recommendations on investments, capabilities, operating models, risk, and partner strategy with clear alternatives and implementation implications.
Ability to use telemetry, operational evidence, performance indicators, and analytical insight to test assumptions and inform strategic decisions.
Strong business and financial judgment, including experience evaluating material tradeoffs and connecting operational choices to enterprise value.
Experience shaping strategic vendor and partner approaches, including capability requirements, service models, performance expectations, commercial considerations, and long-term value.
Proven ability to influence executive and cross-functional decisions without direct authority, exercise independent judgment under ambiguity, and challenge established thinking constructively.
Exceptional written communication, executive presentation, facilitation, and structured problem-solving capabilities.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree in Engineering, Business Administration, Operations, Finance, Information Systems, or a related discipline.
Experience in hyperscale, wholesale colocation, cloud infrastructure, utilities, advanced manufacturing, or another capital-intensive operating environment.
Experience supporting a geographically distributed, multi-site data center or critical-infrastructure portfolio.
Working knowledge of BMS, EPMS, SCADA, DCIM, CMMS, ServiceNow, Power BI, or comparable operational and data platforms.
Experience shaping observability, predictive analytics, operational automation, digital commissioning, or AI-enabled decision-support strategies.
PMP, PgMP, Lean, Six Sigma, ITIL, reliability, data center, or comparable professional certification.

Responsibilities

Set the strategic decision approach for EOE
Establish the strategic planning and decision-support approaches used to translate EOE priorities into portfolio choices, capability requirements, investment recommendations, operating implications, and measurable outcomes.
Advise the SVP on the relative importance and sequencing of opportunities and risks across reliability, readiness, engineering capability, telemetry, technical risk, and partner strategy.
Maintain an integrated view of consequential initiatives and dependencies; identify where separate decisions conflict, create avoidable risk, or require a coordinated North America response.
Define consistent criteria for assessing strategic opportunities, including expected value, alternatives, resource needs, operational consequences, dependencies, risk exposure, and conditions for success.
Shape portfolio-level operational and engineering choices
Connect operating experience, engineering insight, incident learning, customer requirements, growth plans, financial considerations, workforce capability, and partner performance to identify systemic risks and high-value opportunities.
Independently frame scenarios, business cases, and recommendations on material capability investments, operating-model choices, engineering priorities, and strategic partner approaches.
Challenge assumptions and clarify tradeoffs when proposed actions optimize one site, discipline, or timeframe at the expense of broader portfolio reliability, readiness, or scalability.
Bring decisions with significant operational, financial, customer, workforce, partner, or enterprise implications to the appropriate senior-leadership forum with a clear recommendation and supporting rationale.
Establish standards for evidence and value realization
Define the operational questions leaders need answered and the evidence, leading indicators, risk signals, and performance measures needed to support strategic choices.
Set expectations for how EOE uses operational evidence in planning, investment evaluation, performance reviews, and assessment of realized value.
Partner with Data Strategy, Technology, Engineering, and Operations to improve the relevance and strategic use of telemetry, analytics, automation, and AI-enabled insight while respecting technical ownership and operational controls.
Evaluate whether major initiatives and investments achieved their intended operational and business outcomes; recommend adjustments to priorities, assumptions, capabilities, or controls where results fall short.
Translate strategic choices into durable operating outcomes
Clarify the capabilities, decision rights, organizational interfaces, standards, resources, and leadership actions required to implement approved strategic choices.
Identify structural, technical, operational, financial, or partner-related barriers that could prevent adoption or sustainment and recommend practical responses.
Provide strategic direction and context to accountable program, technical, and functional leaders without assuming their delivery, engineering, or operational responsibilities.
Create reusable decision tools and approaches that improve the quality and consistency of EOE choices as the North American portfolio grows.
Influence enterprise and partner decisions
Serve as a strategic advisor to the SVP and senior leaders on complex, multidimensional matters involving operations engineering, reliability, readiness, technical risk, investment, and long-term portfolio needs.
Represent North America operational requirements in enterprise, global, customer, vendor, and strategic-partner discussions; translate broader decisions into regional implications and recommended actions.
Build alignment across EOE, Mission Critical Operations, Operational Excellence, Engineering, Technology, Finance, Procurement, People & Culture, and other functions when decisions cross organizational boundaries.
Guide colleagues in structured problem-solving, business judgment, and executive decision-making through expertise and constructive challenge rather than formal people-management authority.
Demonstrate and promote the Vantage Values of Trust, Accountability, Respect, and Agility.
Perform additional duties as assigned by management.