How to become a Data Centre Site Manager
Site management
Runs a data centre’s facilities, IT hardware, network and logistics together, as GPU clouds and new AI sites do.
There’s a page for this role in , with its licences and local details.
What the role does
Runs a site’s facilities, IT hardware, network and logistics together, as GPU clouds and new AI sites do. Where a site splits the two chains, the Critical Facilities Manager and an IT head are its level-6 peers.
What a shift looks like
Office hours, with on-call for major incidents. People, budgets, customers and safety across every team on the site.
What employers call it
- Site Manager (cloud and AI compute)
- General Manager, Data Center (New Build) (cloud and AI compute)
- DC Site Manager (cloud and AI compute)
- Director, Site Operations (hyperscale)
Skills
The level the role needs in each, on FacilityVR’s five levels from Aware to Authority.
Site safety
- Assess risk and plan safe work Leads others
Leadership
- Coordinate an incident response Authority
- Lead a shift Authority
- Find root causes and learn from incidents Leads others
- Keep customers informed during an incident Leads others
Procedures and documents
- Work within change management Leads others
Monitoring and response
- Read trends and capacity Independent
Commissioning
- Accept capacity in phases Leads others
- Check operational readiness at handover Leads others
- Work in a site that is part live and part under construction Leads others
Provider assurance
- Set and keep a responsibility matrix Leads others
Liquid cooling
- Know who owns each part of the loop Leads others, desirable
Emergency response
- Recognise and report a suspected cyber incident Independent
Licences and credentials
Licences depend on the country you work in, and sometimes the state. The role’s page for Australia lists them there.
Ways in and ways on
From another data centre role
- From Critical Facilities Manager, typically 3 years
- From Data Centre Technician Manager, typically 3 years
Jobs open now
None right now. See every open job.
Questions about data centre careers? Ask about data centre careers
Sources and licences
Occupation codes: 1219 Business services and administration managers not elsewhere classified.
- Critical Facilities reference framework © Facility Labs. (CC BY 4.0)
- ISCO-08, International Labour Organization, as published in ESCO v1.2.1. This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission. (Commission Decision 2011/833/EU on the reuse of Commission documents)