Datacenter Operations Manager

Overview

In alignment with Microsoft values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment where every employee can thrive and positively contribute to our culture. We are looking for a Datacenter Operations Manager (DCOM) to join our Cloud Operations & Innovation (CO+I) team.

Microsoft’s Cloud Operations & Innovation (CO+I) organization powers the infrastructure behind Microsoft's cloud services. As a Datacenter Operations Manager, you will play a key role in delivering and operating the critical infrastructure and foundational technologies that support services such as Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, Xbox, OneDrive, and Bing.

CO+I is committed to the personal and professional development of our people, offering opportunities for learning, career growth, development programs, inclusion initiatives, and professional certifications.

Environmental sustainability, operational excellence, safety, and optimization are central to how we design and operate our datacenters. As our cloud infrastructure continues to grow, you will have the opportunity to help deliver reliable services at global scale

Responsibilities

As a Datacenter Operations Manager, you will lead datacenter operations with a focus on people leadership, operational excellence, service delivery, safety, customer experience, and continuous improvement.

People Leadership

Lead through empowerment and accountability by modeling, coaching, and caring for your team.

Champion Microsoft culture and values and demonstrate our leadership principles.

Define clear team objectives and outcomes, enabling teams to adapt, learn, and deliver results.

Build an inclusive environment where different perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences are valued.

Understand the capabilities and aspirations of team members and support their ongoing growth and development.

Delegate effectively to create opportunities for others to develop and take on greater responsibility.

Datacenter Operations

Drive alignment across operational dependencies, supplier contracts, success measures, resource readiness, supportability, and manageability requirements.

Review Service Level Agreements (SLAs), Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), identifying opportunities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of IT and Critical Environment services.

Partner across teams to support global and regional initiatives, including environmental health and safety, risk management, and certifications.

Support datacenter budget management, planning, and forecasting while making appropriate operational trade-off decisions.

Partner with business stakeholders to execute requirements while maintaining datacenter availability, safety, security, and operational standards.

Follow established Environmental, Health & Safety procedures and promptly report safety or security concerns.

Identify opportunities to improve operational processes, service reliability, and efficiency.

Service Delivery

Maintain accountability for end-to-end service quality, compliance, and customer satisfaction against agreed service levels.

Build strong stakeholder relationships, clarify expectations, and maintain a customer-focused approach to service delivery.

Apply technical and operational expertise to support the achievement of service-level objectives while minimizing disruption to customers and the business.

Review operational metrics with teams to maintain awareness of performance, targets, and areas for improvement.

Share recurring issues, insights, and best practices with regional and global teams to help reduce recurrence and improve service delivery.

Manage resources effectively to support operational programs, initiatives, and changing business priorities.

Understand future business demand and workforce requirements to support appropriate staffing and capability planning.

Ensure teams complete required training and partner with Learning & Development teams to support evolving capability needs.

Participate in critical incident management and support root cause analysis and post-incident reviews.

Enable teams to collaborate effectively across regional and global organizations.

Datacenter Work Environment

Create an environment that enables teams to adapt quickly to changing priorities while maintaining operational effectiveness.

Seek out and incorporate diverse perspectives when evaluating opportunities and making decisions.

Establish and maintain a strong culture of safety, quality, inclusion, and customer focus.

Encourage collaboration across organizational boundaries to identify and resolve complex issues.

Understand workforce capabilities and delegate responsibilities appropriately to support effective delivery.

Identify opportunities for collaboration across teams and help establish clear cross-team commitments.

Support the development of future leaders by creating opportunities for ownership, learning, and growth.

Act as a trusted partner and advisor to colleagues and stakeholders with diverse perspectives and areas of expertise.

Recognize team achievements and encourage collaboration and shared accountability for results.

Ownership and Accountability

Demonstrate ownership and accountability for end-to-end service quality and customer experience.

Identify gaps or unresolved issues and take appropriate action to resolve, escalate, or connect them with the appropriate owner.

Help business leaders understand operational risks, dependencies, service considerations, and budget implications to support informed decision-making.

Promote a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement within the team.

Embody Microsoft culture and values.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

High School Diploma or equivalent and relevant experience in mission-critical service management or physical operations environments, such as IT services, manufacturing, warehousing, retail, military operations, datacenters, or other critical infrastructure environments.

Demonstrated experience leading and developing diverse technical teams.

Experience working within environments that require a strong focus on operational reliability, safety, security, service delivery, or customer impact.

Background Check Requirements

Ability to meet Microsoft, customer, and/or government security screening requirements is required for this role. These requirements include, but are not limited to, the following specialized security screening:

Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire or transfer and periodically thereafter in accordance with applicable Microsoft requirements.

Preferred Qualifications

Extensive experience managing large-scale or complex projects, programs, operations, or services within an enterprise environment.

Strong experience working with Critical Environment infrastructure, such as uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), generators, cooling, or air-handling systems.

Strong experience working with physical IT infrastructure, such as servers, storage, networking, capacity management, datacenter racks/enclosures, or structured cabling.

Demonstrated experience managing operational budgets and making financially informed decisions.

Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, Telecommunications, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Supply Chain Management, or a related field.

Demonstrated experience leading diverse technical workforces, including experience working across distributed, regional, global, or virtual teams.

Relevant professional certifications may include inventory control, CompTIA, Microsoft, networking, CCNA, ITIL, Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF), leadership development, PMP, CDCP, or comparable certifications.

Data Center Operations Management M4 - The typical base pay range for this role across United Kingdom is £ 62,600.00 - £ 109,700.00 per year. Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation.

Find additional benefits and pay information here:

https://careers.microsoft.com/v2/global/en/corporate-pay/united-kingdom-corporate-pay.html

This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.