Sr. Director, Data Center Engineering

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. 

LinkedIns Data Center Engineering organization is responsible for the strategy design construction deployment operations and continuous evolution of the infrastructure that powers LinkedIns global platform. We are seeking a Senior Director of Data Center Engineering to lead a multidisciplinary organization responsible for data center operations construction and delivery infrastructure lifecycle management capacity growth and critical facilities engineering across a global portfolio.

This leader will provide strategic direction and operational leadership for LinkedIns data center infrastructure ensuring world-class reliability scalability efficiency and cost effectiveness. The role requires a blend of executive leadership technical expertise program execution and business acumen to support LinkedIns rapidly growing compute and AI infrastructure demands.

The ideal candidate has extensive experience leading hyperscale enterprise or colocation data center environments and is capable of driving outcomes across engineering operations finance real estate sourcing capacity planning and executive leadership teams. Responsibilities align closely with LinkedIns current Data Center Engineering portfolio including operations design and delivery provider management long-term capacity strategy and advanced cooling initiatives.

Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership

• Define and execute LinkedIns long-term data center engineering strategy capacity roadmap and infrastructure growth plans.

• Lead global data center operations engineering construction and delivery functions across multiple regions.

• Develop organizational priorities operating models staffing plans and investment strategies to support business growth.

• Serve as the executive point of contact for data center providers strategic partners and senior leadership stakeholders.

• Drive innovation across data center design operational excellence sustainability automation and AI infrastructure readiness.

Data Center Design & Construction

• Lead the planning design construction commissioning and operational handoff of new data center deployments expansions and retrofits.

• Establish and maintain engineering standards Basis of Design (BOD) documents commissioning requirements and operational readiness processes.

• Oversee design reviews of electrical mechanical controls and critical infrastructure systems.

• Partner with internal and external teams to ensure projects are delivered safely on schedule within budget and aligned with business objectives.

• Support site selection efforts technical due diligence and infrastructure evaluations for future growth opportunities.

Data Center Operations

• Own operational reliability availability and performance across LinkedIns global data center portfolio.

• Establish operational standards maintenance programs SOPs EOPs MOPs and incident management processes.

• Develop KPI-driven operational programs focused on uptime safety SLA compliance efficiency and continuous improvement.

• Lead crisis management and executive response during critical infrastructure incidents and service-impacting events.

• Ensure facilities operate at peak efficiency while maintaining LinkedIns resiliency and reliability standards.

Capacity Provider & Business Management

• Partner with Capacity Planning Hardware Engineering Networking and Infrastructure organizations to align infrastructure delivery with future demand.

• Lead relationships with colocation providers contractors equipment vendors consultants and service partners.

• Drive lease negotiations provider governance business reviews expansion planning and commercial decision-making.

• Develop annual operating and capital budgets and ensure disciplined execution against financial targets.

• Prepare business cases for major investments infrastructure upgrades and strategic initiatives.

People Leadership

• Lead and develop a high-performing team of managers engineers and technical leaders.

• Build a culture centered on safety accountability operational excellence inclusion and continuous learning.

• Establish succession plans talent development strategies and career growth opportunities across the organization.

• Foster strong cross-functional partnerships and alignment across engineering operations real estate sourcing finance security and legal teams.

Emerging Technologies

• Lead the evaluation and deployment of next-generation data center technologies including high-density compute environments and direct liquid cooling solutions.

• Drive innovation in monitoring automation telemetry sustainability and operational efficiency.

• Stay informed of industry trends and ensure LinkedIn remains at the forefront of data center engineering practices. 

Qualifications :

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in Engineering Computer Science Construction Management or a related technical field.

• 15 years of experience in data center engineering operations construction or critical infrastructure environments.

• 7 years of experience leading engineering operations or construction teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Masters degree in Engineering Business Administration or a related field.

• Experience managing large-scale data center infrastructure programs across multiple facilities or regions.

• Demonstrated expertise in mission-critical electrical and mechanical infrastructure systems.

• Experience managing multimillion-dollar capital and operating budgets.

• Experience leading vendor contractor and colocation provider relationships.

• Strong executive communication and stakeholder management skills.

• Experience in hyperscale or large enterprise data center environments.

• Experience with site selection colocation strategy lease negotiations and provider governance.

• Experience with liquid cooling AI infrastructure deployments and high-density compute environments.

• Strong understanding of commissioning integrated systems testing and operational readiness processes.

• Experience driving large-scale organizational transformation standardization and operational improvement programs.

• Professional certifications such as PE CDCE CDCS CDCP PMP ITIL Uptime Institute or equivalent.

Suggested Skills

• Data Center Engineering Design and Construction

• Data Center Operational Excellence

• Data Center Colocation Strategy

• Vendor & Contract Management

• Executive Leadership

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 alllevels.

LinkedIn is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices.

The pay range for this role is $211000 to $347000. 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 Information :

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No

Employment Type :

Full-time