Data Center Infrastructure Engineer

DATA4'S MISSION

DATA4 creates Smart & Scalable digital facilities for our customers. Our network of highly connected, resilient and sustainable data center campuses underpins our customers’ digital growth in Europe.

DATA4 Group finances, designs, constructs and operates its own data centers. Delivered through our data center campus model, we provide our customers with secure, scalable and high-performance data hosting solutions.

DATA4 VALUES

At DATA4 we are driven by our values. These are the core of everything we do – from the proactivity we show in delivering great outcomes for our clients, to the responsibility we show as a key contributor to the digital economy. Our three values are:

1. To be entrepreneurial – we are teams of doers who make things happen - with autonomy, energy and a sense of responsibility
2. To always take responsibility – for our impact on the people we work with, the society we are part of, and the environment in which we operate
3. To constantly be adaptable – our business is designed to adapt, answering not only today’s challenges, but also anticipating what’s coming next.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Data Center Infrastructure Engineer (DCIE) is a key resource for technical management of operating data centers. The DCIE is responsible for streamlining data center operations and maintenance as well as for removing risks in data center critical environment. They lead both recurrent (e.g. seasonal readiness) and ad-hoc technical projects to mitigate or remediate risks of experiencing loss of resilience or redundancy in data centers.

The DCIE collects technical data from Data4 Data Center Operations Engineers and from customers to define technical roadmaps and projects. They oversee all aspects of critical environment projects, from inception to completion. This includes coordinating with cross-functional teams such as engineering, operations, and facilities management to ensure seamless project execution and minimal disruption to data center operations. They are directly accountable for ensuring that projects are completed on time and within budget.

They identify and mitigate risks associated with critical environment projects, such as equipment failures, power outages, or environmental threats. This involves implementing robust risk management strategies and contingency plans to minimize potential disruptions and ensure the safety and security of data center operations, e.g. summer/winter readiness plans, load failover audits, , etc... They ensure that critical environment projects meet industry standards and best practices as well as regulatory requirements. They implement quality assurance (QA) processes, support QA and industry standard audits, and ensure compliance with relevant regulations and certifications (e.g., Uptime Institute Tier Standards, ISO 27001).

The DCIE engages with external vendors, contractors, and stakeholders involved in critical environment projects. They monitor vendor performance and ensure adherence to project specifications and timelines. They stay connected to data center availability trends and proactively conduct technical audits in their data centers, based on the information gathered on technical and/or human-related failures. They foster a culture of continuous improvement and seek opportunities to reduce human errors, enhance processes, streamline operations, and leverage emerging technologies to optimize data center performance and efficiency.

The DCIE regularly and accurately communicates project status updates, milestones, and key metrics to external and internal stakeholders, e.g. customers, or Data4 local and global leadership. They also prepare comprehensive reports and presentations to provide insights into project performance and identify areas for improvement. They promote a culture of trust and collaboration between teams and are vocally self-critical. They help team members in their and in other managers’ teams remove hurdles, while creating a technical vision and common goal to .

RESPONSIBILITIES

JOB SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES

• Collect technical data from the field (data center operations engineers, vendors) and from customers
• Establish risk maps and constitute action/contingency plans
• Coordinate with cross-functional teams for project execution
• Lead technical discussions with customers’ critical environment representatives and coordinate technical support within Data4 and external technical subject matter experts
• Lead recurrent and ad hoc technical projects, and ensure projects are completed on time and within budget
• Communicate project status
• Ensure projects meet industry standards and regulatory requirements
• Implement and support quality assurance processes and audits
• Monitor vendor performance and adherence to project specifications
• Engage with contractors and stakeholders in critical environment projects
• Conduct technical audits based on failure data

REQUIREMENTS

Education and experience

• 5+ year experience in similar position or in mission-critical operation, with background in mission critical operations, incident management and resolution
  
• 2+ year experience in project management or management of complex processes, e.g. factory assembly lines
  
• Fluent English (B2/C1)

Preferred: 

• Bachelor's Degree in Electrical/Mechanical/Energy Engineering or equivalent experience

Technical skills (required and preferred)

Required

• Experience in data center operations and maintenance processes or critical environments industry.
• Knowledge of data center infrastructure such as power distribution, cooling systems.
• Experience in project management and risk management.
• Experience with and learning from errors.

• Agile with IT tools – knowledge of ticketing tools such as JIRA, Grafana, among other. 
  
• KPI and metrics management and analysis

Preferred

• Experience in people management 
• Certification from Project Management Institute or similar

Soft skills

• Effective communication – emails, phone and face to face
• Strong work ethics and trustworthiness, capability of building a trusting relationship with peers and senior leadership
• Strategic thinking and ability to build a multiple year vision
• Capability of conveying strategic ideas through written documents
• Rigorous at work
• Commitment and engagement  
  
• Motivated and energized in challenging situations.