Vice President, Data Center Operations

Job Summary:

Provide leadership and direction for Rackspace’s data centers and migration team. Responsibility includes leading a large global organization, setting strategic direction, optimizing data center and network capacity, and optimizing cost structures while maximizing performance and reliability. This also includes managing expansions, migrations and consolidations, critical maintenances, defining operational processes and ensuring each facility and function is maintained in accordance with company standards and best practices. The Vice President, Data Center Operations is responsible for ensuring standards are the highest in the industry, following company change control policies, minimizing unexpected customer downtime, overseeing all critical incidents, problems and changes across Rackspace, and inspiring a constant drive for process improvement. Responsible for adhering to company security policies and procedures and any other relevant policies and standards as directed.

Critical Competencies:

• Effective and efficient use of space, power, cooling, and CAPEX.
• Excellent communication between the DC and other teams and high feeling of goodwill between the teams.
• Best-in class standards with excellent adherence to these standards across all teams.
• Incident rates below historical averages, RCA action closure, and change policy adherence.
• Accurate space planning reports and budget plans.
• Up-to-date and accurate tracking of incidents and uptime matched with robust root cause analysis.
• A highly engaged and motivated Operations team focused on operational discipline.
• Ongoing measurement of team performance with a view to meeting SLAs, delivering 99.999% uptime for data center and network systems, and evidence of continuous improvement.
• Effective timely, and accurate roll-out and review of policies and standards.

Key Responsibilities

• Ensure customer SLAs and uptime deliverables are surpassed.
• Leverage this information to drive the necessary actions.
• Partner closely with other business units to coordinate key activities and opportunities to streamline our performance and reduce the friction associated with working across separate departments.
• Create and maintain reliable and accurate data for performance monitoring and reporting including productivity, quality, and customer experience.
• Fanatical customer tour experience and solid and accurate audit documentation.
• Implement quality systems across the Operational teams to advance the teams to becoming World- Class.
• Lead cross functional activities designed to improve the performance of the operational teams.
• Host current and potential customers at the Castle or online by presenting to them an overview of our data centers during their tours or audits.
• Act as an escalation path and leader for any incidents or events involving the data center or network operations teams.
• Take an active role in the design and build-out of new data centers and network environments.
• Collaborate with the various teams to drive optimal efficiency through adherence to global processes, World-Class housekeeping, and continuous improvement.
• Closely track incident trends and partner with all teams across Rackspace as necessary to drive improvement.
• Data center incidents are managed effectively with strong communication and timely root cause resolution.
• Manage global data center and network capacity levels and lead activities to ensure our capacity is available in the right regions and yet optimized within each DC to minimize total CAPEX.
• Continuous improvement across teams driven through standardized methods and cross-team collaboration.

Knowledge

• In-depth experience managing critical services facilities.
• Good understanding of IT infrastructure and hardware.
• Strong, personal leadership and executive presence.
• In-depth experience and understanding of DC Operations.
• Good understanding of Mechanical and Electrical Principles.

Skills

• Strong organizational skills and the ability to set priorities in a high-pressure environment.
• Detail orientated with a genuine passion for service excellence.
• Ability to seek out areas for improvement as well as planning and enacting such changes.
• A strong commitment to exceptionally high standards in the work environment.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with all leaders, Rackers, suppliers and others encountered in the course of work.
• Ability to communicate effectively across all levels of the business.

Education

• High school diploma or equivalent required.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering required, advanced degree preferred

Experience

• At least 10 years experience in a similar role with responsibility for a data center or critical services facility.

For applicants working in California, Colorado, Washington or New York City, we are excited to share the base salary ranges for this position exclusive of fringe benefits or potential bonus. The successful candidate’s starting pay will be determined based on job-related skills, experience, qualifications, work location, and market conditions.

The anticipated starting pay range of California, Washington state, New York City and Colorado applicants for this role is $185,000– $290,400. These ranges for candidates may be modified in the future. Unless already included in the posted pay range and based on eligibility, the role may include variable compensation in the form of bonus, commissions, or other discretionary payments. These discretionary payments are based on company and/or individual performance and may change at any time. Actual compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licenses and certifications, and specific work location. Information on benefits offered is here.

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About Rackspace Technology

We are the multicloud solutions experts. We combine our expertise with the world’s leading technologies — across applications, data and security — to deliver end-to-end solutions. We have a proven record of advising customers based on their business challenges, designing solutions that scale, building and managing those solutions, and optimizing returns into the future. Named a best place to work, year after year according to Fortune, Forbes and Glassdoor, we attract and develop world-class talent. Join us on our mission to embrace technology, empower customers and deliver the future.

More on Rackspace Technology

Though we’re all different, Rackers thrive through our connection to a central goal: to be a valued member of a winning team on an inspiring mission. We bring our whole selves to work every day. And we embrace the notion that unique perspectives fuel innovation and enable us to best serve our customers and communities around the globe. We welcome you to apply today and want you to know that we are committed to offering equal employment opportunity without regard to age, color, disability, gender reassignment or identity or expression, genetic information, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity status, military or veteran status, nationality, ethnic or national origin, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or any legally protected characteristic. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.