Data Center Operations Lead

Vizplum - Rockville, MD

Full-time - Senior

Rockville, MD

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

About the position

The Data Center Operations Lead is responsible for overseeing the operations of data center facilities, ensuring high availability and reliability of systems. This role involves leading a team of data center operation engineers, managing infrastructure technology, and ensuring compliance with security policies and regulatory requirements. The position requires strong leadership skills, technical expertise in data center operations, and the ability to drive continuous improvement and innovation.

Responsibilities

• Lead the data center operations team, providing guidance, training, and support to ensure high performance and operational excellence.
• Act as the primary point of contact for all data center-related issues and escalations.
• Oversee the daily operations of data center facilities, ensuring high availability and reliability of all systems.
• Manage data center infrastructure technology stack end to end including VMWare, VxRail, Citrix, Logic Monitor, Moog Soft, AD, Azure AD SSO, Azure Security Policy, PKI, Windows & Linux Servers, Vulnerability management, Beyond Trust Password Safe, and AD-Bridge.
• Ensure adherence to operational standards and best practices.
• Drive major incidents and potential incidents end to end with periodic updates to client stakeholders for approvals/recommendations.
• Lead, mentor, and manage a team of data center operation engineers.
• Provide guidance and support for professional development and performance improvement.
• Coordinate and manage the team's daily activities, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and priorities.
• Lead the response to data center incidents, ensuring timely resolution and minimal impact on business operations.
• Perform root cause analysis and implement preventive measures to avoid recurrence of issues.
• Develop and maintain incident management processes and procedures.
• Plan and oversee scheduled maintenance and upgrades of data center infrastructure.
• Ensure that all hardware and software components are up-to-date and functioning optimally.
• Coordinate with vendors and service providers for maintenance and support activities.
• Monitor and analyze data center resource usage, ensuring efficient utilization and avoiding over-provisioning.
• Conduct capacity planning to support future growth and demand.
• Implement optimization strategies to enhance performance and reduce operational costs.
• Ensure data center infrastructure adheres to security policies, standards, and best practices.
• Implement and maintain security controls to protect data and systems.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and industry standards (e.g., ISO 27001, HIPAA).
• Develop and implement disaster recovery and business continuity plans for data center operations.
• Ensure regular testing and validation of disaster recovery procedures.
• Ensure data center infrastructure is resilient and can recover quickly from failures or disruptions.
• Work closely with other IT teams, business units, and stakeholders to understand requirements and deliver solutions that meet their needs.
• Collaborate with vendors and service providers to evaluate and integrate new technologies and services.
• Communicate effectively with stakeholders, providing regular updates on data center operations and performance.
• Maintain comprehensive documentation of data center infrastructure, configurations, processes, and procedures.
• Generate regular reports on data center performance, incidents, and operational metrics.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
• Minimum 10 years of experience in data center operations, with at least 5 years in a leadership or senior technical role.
• Extensive experience in data center operations, with a proven track record of managing large-scale data center environments.
• Strong leadership and team management skills, with the ability to motivate and develop a high-performing operations team.
• In-depth knowledge of data center infrastructure, including servers, storage, networking, power, and cooling systems.
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills, with the ability to diagnose and resolve complex technical issues.
• Experience with incident and problem management, change management, and capacity planning.
• Strong understanding of compliance, security, and regulatory requirements related to data center operations.
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to interact with stakeholders at all levels.
• Experience in vendor management and contract negotiations.
• A proactive approach to continuous improvement and innovation in data center operations.