Director, Critical Operations

Company

STACK INFRASTRUCTURE (STACK) provides digital infrastructure to scale the world’s most innovative companies. We are an award‑winning industry leader in building, owning, and operating highly efficient, cost‑effective wholesale, colocation, and cloud data centers.

Position

Critical Operations Director – responsible for maintaining mechanical, electrical, fire life safety, base building, and other internal data center systems. Reports to the regional VP of Critical Operations. Oversees all data center operations site teams in the region and implements operational excellence programs for Safety, Team, Availability, Communication, and Knowledge.

Responsibilities

• Lead and implement a standardized culture of safe work across all STACK data centers.
• Serve as Data Center subject‑matter expert for electrical, mechanical, fire life safety, and other data center systems.
• Advise the regional VP on the status of site‑level preventive and corrective maintenance programs.
• Operate, monitor, maintain, and respond to abnormal conditions within the facility.
• Implement site‑level efficiency projects and maintain overall site design PUE.
• Execute the preventative and predictive maintenance program.
• Train and mentor staff; lead regular team meetings and individual 1:1 sessions.
• Manage vendor relationships, service contracts, procurement, and billing processes.
• Develop and maintain CAPEX and OPEX budgets; oversee project execution and management.
• Evaluate and critique technical procedures for maintenance events, emergency situations, and standard site evolutions.
• Ensure construction and commissioning activities do not impact existing critical operations.
• Lead development and maintenance of individual training plans in line with STACK’s program.
• Act as customer liaison for all site‑level inquiries.
• Lead incident reporting and root‑cause analysis for abnormal occurrences.
• Perform expert technical reviews of procedures, company standards, and policies.
• Manage internal and external audits; ensure adherence to compliance standards.
• Maintain systems to avoid unplanned, client‑impacting outages.
• Manage data floor and back‑of‑house mechanical loading capacity to optimize cooling efficiency.
• Navigate and utilize CMMS, EPMS, and BMS systems.
• Provide daily customer service and support.
• Available on‑call for emergency situations.
• Take on other duties as required by STACK.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent; Bachelor’s Degree preferred.
• Minimum 5‑7 years’ experience in a data center or related mission‑critical operations role.
• 3‑5 years’ experience administering and managing facility preventive maintenance programs.
• 3‑5 years’ experience in vendor and project management.
• Expertise in electrical and mechanical systems (UPS, transformers, PDUs, RPPS, chillers, CRAH, CRAC, STS, ATS, pre‑action systems).
• Exceptional leadership and people‑management skills.
• Experience managing multi‑million‑dollar budgets to maintain 100% availability while minimizing total cost of ownership.
• Strong knowledge of NFPA 70e, NFPA 72, NFPA 25, NFPA 101, and related building codes.
• Expertise in data‑center trending and analysis; proficiency with PC‑based site monitoring systems.
• Experience designing, constructing, and commissioning critical systems and buildings.
• Strong communication skills with customers and internal staff.
• Ability to coordinate, supervise, and communicate with contractors.
• Knowledge of customer contracts and SLA levels aligned with ASHRAE standards.
• Experience as a people manager.
• Must be eligible to work in the United States; must pass a comprehensive background and drug screening.
• Travel up to 30%.

Desired Traits

Strong communicator; persuasive and clear, blending analytics with experience in decision‑making. Calm under pressure, capable of juggling multiple priorities, balancing urgent requests with shifting timelines. Team builder who develops team members for long‑term growth. Naturally curious and driven toward continual improvement. Celebrates successes while reviewing campaigns for future learning.

Location & Benefits

Plano, TX
Benefits: Healthcare, Dental Care, Vision Insurance, Life Insurance, Paid Time Off, Paid Leave Programs, 401K, Flexible Spending Accounts, cell‑phone subsidy. Travel: Up to 30%.

Equal Opportunity Employer

STACK is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, national origin, mental or physical disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law.

Recruitment Policy

Note to external agencies: We are not accepting blind submissions or resumes/CVs from recruitment agencies. Any candidate sent to STACK Infrastructure, Inc. will not be accepted or considered as a submission without a signed agreement in place. Fees will not be paid if a candidate submitted by a recruiter without an agreement in place is hired; such resumes will be deemed the sole property of STACK Infrastructure, Inc.