VP, Data Center Operations

Flexential is seeking a proven, enterprise scale operations leader to serve as Vice President, Data Center Operations.

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, this executive will lead the performance, discipline, and daily execution of a national portfolio of 40+ mission critical multi-tenant and wholesale data centers and a team of 300+ people. The role carries broad accountability for regional operations, critical environment performance, physical security, environmental health and safety, and the leadership of teams responsible for operating highly reliable data center infrastructure in support of customer workloads.

This leader will own the operational heartbeat of the portfolio.

The Vice President will be responsible for ensuring that every facility is run with rigor, consistency, technical depth, and a relentless commitment to uptime, safety, and customer confidence. The scope is highly centered on mission critical execution and requires deep command of MEP systems, critical power and cooling infrastructure, maintenance discipline, operational readiness, and incident leadership.

The role is designed for a leader who is energized by scale, complexity, and the opportunity to build. This executive will inherit a meaningful operating footprint and will be expected to elevate performance, strengthen leadership capability, drive consistency across regions, and create an environment in which high standards are translated into repeatable, measurable results.

For the right candidate, this is an opportunity to make a visible enterprise impact and help define the future operating model of a rapidly evolving digital infrastructure platform.

Why This Role Matters

Flexential’s data center portfolio sits at the center of critical customer operations. As the business continues to scale, the company requires a senior operations executive who can bring strong field credibility, strategic thinking, disciplined execution, and the ability to lead through complexity.

The Vice President, Data Center Operations will play a central role in ensuring that facilities perform safely and consistently, that teams are equipped and aligned, and that the operating model can support continued growth with confidence.

This is not a staff or advisory role. It is an operating role in the truest sense. The leader in this position will be accountable for what happens in the field, how teams perform, how incidents are led, how risk is managed, and how the company turns institutional standards, insights, and operational expectations into world class execution.

Role Scope and Organizational Context

The Vice President, Data Center Operations owns the “run” component of the company’s operating model. The role is accountable for executing within the framework established by enterprise partners responsible for standards, training, operational enablement, controls, and intelligence.

This position is therefore best suited for a leader who understands how to partner closely across functions, consume and operationalize enterprise guidance effectively, and hold field teams accountable for disciplined adoption and execution.

The role is distinct from groups that create standards, training content, controls platforms, or operational intelligence. Instead, the Vice President ensures that these inputs are translated into performance at the site and regional level.

This clear separation of responsibilities is intentional and creates the conditions for sharper accountability, stronger execution, and better enterprise alignment.

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise Data Center Operations Leadership

• Lead all day-to-day operations across the company’s data center portfolio, with accountability for execution, reliability, workforce performance, and site level discipline.
• Provide leadership to regional operations leaders and site teams, establishing clear expectations, strong operating rhythms, and visible accountability for performance.
• Drive consistency across facilities while preserving appropriate agility to respond to local operational realities, customer needs, and evolving business priorities.
• Build a performance culture rooted in safety, ownership, responsiveness, preparation, and continuous improvement.
• Drive rigorous maintenance, data quality, and operational adoption of DCIM, BMS, building automation, and controls platforms to strengthen visibility, standardize execution, and improve portfolio performance.

Critical Facility, Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing Leadership

• Own the operational performance and lifecycle review of mission critical facility infrastructure, including electrical, mechanical, plumbing, cooling, life safety, critical power, generation, UPS, switchgear, and supporting systems required to sustain uptime and customer confidence.
• Ensure strong maintenance discipline, technical readiness, facility inspections, incident preparedness, and operational rigor across all sites.
• Lead with credibility in highly technical, MEP intensive environments where precision, sound judgment, and operational discipline are essential.

Safety, Security, and Risk Management

• Provide executive oversight for Environmental Health and Safety programs across the operations organization.
• Lead physical security operations and reinforce disciplined execution of site access, life safety, and risk management protocols.
• Promote a culture in which safety and risk awareness are foundational to every operating decision and every level of the organization.

Operational Execution of Enterprise Standards

• Translate enterprise standards, training, reporting, operational intelligence, and controls related insights into high-quality execution across the field organization.
• Ensure teams understand expectations, adopt the required operating practices, and meet the company’s standards for consistency and performance.
• Create strong follow through mechanisms, so operational policies and expectations are not only communicated, but fully implemented and sustained.

Cross Functional Leadership

• Partner closely with teams responsible for construction, commissioning, operational enablement, controls, analytics, and process improvement to ensure clean handoffs, strong readiness, and effective execution across the portfolio.
• Provide field informed feedback that strengthens how future capacity is delivered, how standards are matured, and how enterprise systems better support operations at scale.
• Act as a trusted enterprise leader who can balance collaboration with clarity of ownership and execution accountability.

Talent and Organizational Development

• Build, coach, and develop a high performing operations leadership team capable of leading at scale.
• Strengthen bench depth, succession planning, and leadership capability across regions and sites.
• Attract and retain strong talent by creating a demanding, mission driven, and highly respected operations culture.

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is an experienced mission critical operations executive who combines technical credibility with strong people leadership and enterprise level judgment.

This individual will bring a deep understanding of facility operations and MEP systems, along with a demonstrated ability to lead across geographies, improve consistency, strengthen culture, and raise the performance of complex operating teams.

The successful candidate will be equally comfortable in executive discussions and field environments. They will know how to lead during incidents, how to build trust with experienced operators, how to make difficult decisions with confidence, and how to create alignment across functions without losing sight of accountability.

They will be energized by the opportunity to shape an organization, elevate standards of performance, and leave a durable mark on the operating model.

Required Qualifications

• Ten or more years of progressive leadership experience in mission critical operations, industrial operations, or similarly complex environments where uptime, safety, and technical discipline are paramount.
• Significant experience leading multi site operations teams with accountability for performance across multiple geographies.
• Deep expertise in data center or similarly critical mechanical, electrical, and plumbing intensive environments.
• Demonstrated success improving operational consistency, workforce performance, reliability, and execution quality at scale.
• Experience leading through incidents, elevated operational risk, and periods of organizational growth or transformation.
• Strong command of safety, compliance, physical security, and risk management principles in operational settings.
• Excellent executive communication skills, strong judgment, and the ability to influence across functions and levels.

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience within colocation, enterprise, wholesale, multi-tenant data center, or other mission critical infrastructure environments.
• Experience partnering with controls, building automation, DCIM, or operational intelligence teams in support of portfolio performance.
• Experience supporting new market expansion, major facility commissioning, or large-scale infrastructure growth.
• A track record of building strong regional leadership teams and advancing operational leadership capability over time.

Measures of Success

Success in this role will be measured by sustained improvement in safety performance, uptime and reliability, maintenance quality, operational readiness, incident effectiveness, site level consistency, and the strength and engagement of the operations leadership team.

The Vice President will also be evaluated on their ability to build strong partnerships across the enterprise, translate standards into execution, and create a high confidence operating environment that can scale with the business.

Opportunity Statement

This role offers the opportunity to lead one of the most important functions in the company. It is a chance to operate at meaningful scale, influence enterprise performance, shape a critical leadership team, and build the systems, rigor, and culture required to support long term growth.

For a candidate who thrives in mission critical environments and wants the chance to lead from the front, this is an opportunity to make a lasting impact.

Compensation

Base Pay Range: Annualized salary range offered for this position is estimated to be $225,000 - $290,000. However, the actual pay range depends on each candidate’s experience, location, and qualifications.

Variable Pay: Discretionary annual bonus, based on personal and company performance.