Sr. Manager, Data Center Engineering

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Data Center Engineering is the process of designing, building, and maintaining data centers, which are facilities used to house and manage critical IT infrastructure, applications, and data. Data center engineers ensure the data center infrastructure's stability, reliability, and security. They are crucial in supporting the availability and performance of applications and services. This involves the design, construction, operations, and maintenance of the physical infrastructure of a data center, including server, switching, and associated hardware. 

The Senior Manager of Data Center Operations will lead a team of engineers to maintain the operational health, reliability, and hardware lifecycle management across LinkedIn’s data center environment. This leader will own day‑to‑day operations, technician workflows, incident response, vendor execution, and standards that ensure our data centers deliver industry‑leading uptime and performance.

A successful candidate will  oversee teams responsible for hardware deployment, break/fix, server installation, cabling, staging, audits, preventive maintenance, and on‑site operational excellence. This leader will also drive KPI‑based improvements, operational consistency across sites, and scalable processes that support accelerating compute demand.

At LinkedIn, our approach to flexible work is centered on trust and optimized for culture, connection, clarity, and the evolving needs of our business. The work location of this role is hybrid, meaning it will be performed both from home and from a LinkedIn office on select days, as determined by the business needs of the team. 

This role will can be based in one of our data center locations: Santa Clara (CA), Hillsboro (OR), Richardson (TX), Manassas (VA).

Responsibilities:

• Own 24x7 operational reliability, infrastructure uptime, and incident management across assigned data center regions.
• Lead onsite operations teams overseeing hardware repair, deployment, installation, decommissioning, and preventive maintenance.
• Ensure all activities maintain compliance with safety protocols, operational standards, and risk mitigation procedures.
• Build and enforce operational runbooks, staffing plans, playbooks, and escalation paths to minimize MTTR and maximize SLA adherence.
• Manage the end-to-end project lifecycle, including planning, design, construction, commissioning, and handover.
• Develop, refine, and enforce standardized operating procedures across multiple data center locations.
• Use KPIs (availability, SLA adherence, backlog burn‑down, staffing coverage, MTTR, audit pass rates) to drive operational performance.
• Coordinate global compliance efforts for SOX, SOC2, ISO 27001, safety audits, and quality inspections.
• Lead cross‑functional collaboration with Engineering, Network, SRE, Security, and Program Management to ensure smooth execution of maintenance and install windows.
• Manage on‑site vendors and contingent workforce responsible for staffing, installs, cabling, and break/fix operations.
• Own performance management of vendor SLAs, quality, safety, and productivity metrics.
• Build strong relationships with OEMs, service providers, and cross‑functional internal stakeholders.
• Lead, mentor, and grow a high-performance team of data center technicians, supervisors, and operations leads.
• Create a culture of accountability, safety, operational rigor, and continuous improvement.
• Invest in training programs, career development pathways, and skill certification for the operations workforce.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including hardware, networking, security,  operations, and customer service, to ensure seamless operational functionality.
• Ensure compliance with industry standards, regulations, and best practices.
• Identify and mitigate project risks, resolving issues promptly to keep projects on track.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, and excellence within the team.
• Oversee the implementation of cutting-edge technologies and best practices in data center design and operations.
• Take part in data center strategy planning, cost analysis, and provider business reviews.
• Improve resiliency through preventive maintenance programs, early warning indicators, and cross‑team drills.

Basic Qualifications:

• 10+ years of experience in data center operations, hardware deployment, service management, or critical infrastructure operations.
• 4+ years managing teams in a colocation, enterprise, or hyperscale data center environment.
• Experience with server hardware, diagnostics, cabling, racking/stacking, airflow management, and physical infrastructure operations.
• Proven ability to lead technicians and vendors in a 24x7 environment with strict uptime requirements.
• Experience with compliance frameworks (SOX, SOC2, ISO 27001), safety protocols, and operational audits.
• B.S./B.A. in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
• Experience with data center infrastructure, including power, cooling, and connectivity systems. 
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
• Risk Management: Ability to identify potential risks and develop effective mitigation strategies.
• Vendor Management: Experience in selecting, negotiating, and managing contracts with vendors and contractors.
• Regulatory Compliance: Knowledge of relevant regulations and industry standards.
• Communication Skills: verbal and written communication skills for effective stakeholder engagement.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Engineering, Reliability Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related field AND 2+ years technical project management, program management, mission-critical electrical infrastructure.Experience managing operations across multiple data center regions.
• Familiarity with high‑density compute, liquid cooling environments, and modern deployment automation workflows.
• Demonstrated ability to drive KPI‑driven operational improvements and standardization across sites.
• Certification(s) such as CDCP/CDCS/CDCE, ITIL, BICSI, or equivalent operational credentials.
• Ability to manage, prioritize and successfully execute multiple concurrent mission-critical projects and communicate effectively to drive standards and consensus across multiple levels of the organization.
• Experience in Liquid cooling (DLC) deployment and operations. 

Suggested Skills:

• Data Center operations
• Vendor/contractor management
• Data Center maintenance excellence 
• Critical Infrastructure
• Project Management

You will Benefit from our Culture

We strongly believe in the well-being of our employees and their families. That is why we offer generous health and wellness programs and time away for employees of all levels. LinkedIn is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices.

The pay range for this role is $155,000 to $257,000. Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to skill set, depth of experience, certifications, and specific work location. This may be different in other locations due to differences in the cost of labor.

The total compensation package for this position may also include annual performance bonus, stock, benefits and/or other applicable incentive compensation plans. For more information, visit https://careers.linkedin.com/benefits.

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