Director, DC Operations, NC

About Nscale

Nscale is the vertically integrated AI cloud engineered for AI. We own and operate the full stack — energy, data centres, GPU superclusters, orchestration, and AI services — delivering high-performance infrastructure to AI-native companies, enterprises, and governments across Europe and the US. We are deploying GPU capacity at hyperscale, operating some of the densest, most advanced AI infrastructure in the world.

At Nscale, our Data Center Operations team plays a critical role in delivering safe, reliable, and high-performing infrastructure for our customers, where operational excellence is central to everything we do. We thrive on a culture of relentless innovation, ownership, and accountability, where every team member takes pride in their work and drives it with excellence and urgency. As an Nscaler, you'll build trust through openness and transparency, where everyone is inspired to do their best work. If you join our team, you'll be contributing to building the technology that powers the future.

About the Role

Nscale is seeking an experienced Director, DC Operations to lead the operational performance of our North Carolina campus. This is a senior leadership role with accountability for day-to-day operations, operational readiness, maintenance, incident response, risk management, team development, and continuous improvement across a highly complex, high-availability data center environment.

Nscale's AI infrastructure requires an operating model that goes beyond traditional data center facilities management. High-density compute, significant electrical loads, advanced cooling systems, rapid infrastructure deployment, and evolving AI technology create a dynamic environment where operational discipline, speed of execution, and sound technical judgment are critical.

You will lead the Operations function with clear accountability, strong operational standards, effective escalation paths, and consistent execution. You'll partner closely with Engineering, Construction, Commissioning, IT/AI Infrastructure, Security, EHS, Procurement, and other functions to ensure the campus is operationally ready, maintainable, scalable, and capable of supporting Nscale's rapidly growing AI infrastructure.

This is a site-based leadership role requiring a strong operational presence at the North Carolina campus. Relocation will be expected for candidates who are not within a reasonable commuting distance.

What You'll be Doing

• Operations Leadership
• - Provide overall operational leadership for the North Carolina campus and its critical infrastructure.
• - Build a culture centered on safety, operational discipline, accountability, reliability, and continuous improvement.
• - Establish the operating model, staffing, capabilities, and leadership structure required to support current operations and future growth.
• - Establish effective communication, escalation, and decision-making processes for routine operations and critical events.
• - Lead an operational excellence program with meaningful KPIs for safety, availability, maintenance, readiness, response, and training.

• Operational Readiness & Handover
• - Define Nscale's operational readiness requirements for new facilities, systems, capacity expansions, and major infrastructure deployments.
• - Partner with Engineering, Construction, and Commissioning to ensure infrastructure transitions into operations with the right procedures, documentation, training, maintenance strategies, spares, controls, and monitoring in place.
• - Establish clear readiness and acceptance criteria before infrastructure is placed into operational service.
• - Build a repeatable readiness model that scales with Nscale's growth and incorporates lessons learned into future deployments.

• Infrastructure & AI Operations
• - Provide operational oversight of critical electrical, mechanical, cooling, controls, monitoring, and facility infrastructure.
• - Ensure infrastructure operates within defined design parameters, operating envelopes, and safety requirements.
• - Develop operational strategies for high-density AI environments, including significant electrical loads and advanced cooling systems.
• - Partner with IT/AI Infrastructure and Engineering to understand the operational requirements of GPU and other high-density compute platforms.
• - Identify and manage risks associated with increasing power density, thermal loads, infrastructure complexity, and rapidly evolving technology.

• Maintenance & Asset Management
• - Establish a disciplined maintenance strategy for critical infrastructure, including preventive and predictive maintenance programs.
• - Establish effective CMMS, asset management, critical spares, and OEM service practices.
• - Monitor equipment condition, recurring failures, maintenance trends, and emerging risks, and continuously improve maintenance strategies.

• Incident Management & Operational Standards
• - Lead the operational response to significant incidents and critical infrastructure events.
• - Establish clear incident management, escalation, communication, and recovery processes.
• - Establish and maintain consistent standards for SOPs, MOPs, EOPs, emergency response, and management of change, ensuring they are current, practical, and routinely exercised.
• - Lead post-incident reviews and root cause analysis, ensuring corrective actions are owned, tracked, and closed.
• - Ensure BMS, EPMS, DCIM, monitoring, alarming, historian, and other operational systems provide the visibility required to safely operate the campus.

• Safety, Security & Compliance
• - Maintain safety as a fundamental operating principle across employees, contractors, and service providers.
• - Partner with EHS to establish safe operating practices for high-energy and mission-critical infrastructure, including energized work, switching, and hazardous energy controls.
• - Support physical security and cybersecurity requirements for critical infrastructure and operational technology.
• - Maintain compliance with applicable regulatory, environmental, safety, and operational requirements.

• Team & Cross-Functional Leadership
• - Build and develop a high-performing Operations organization capable of supporting a rapidly scaling AI infrastructure environment.
• - Establish staffing, competency, training, authorization, and succession requirements.
• - Recruit, develop, coach, and retain strong operational leaders and technical talent.
• - Represent Operations in project planning, design reviews, technology decisions, and infrastructure deployment, bringing operational requirements into new projects early.

About You

• - 10+ years of experience in mission-critical operations, data centers, power generation, utilities, industrial facilities, semiconductor manufacturing, or another highly complex operational environment.
• - Demonstrated experience leading critical infrastructure operations where safety, availability, and operational discipline are essential.
• - Experience leading technical teams and developing operational leaders.
• - Strong understanding of electrical and mechanical infrastructure and the interdependencies within a mission-critical facility.
• - Experience with operational procedures, maintenance programs, incident management, and emergency response.
• - Experience working in MOP-, SOP-, and EOP-driven environments.
• - Strong judgment and decision-making ability during high-pressure operational events.
• - Excellent communication and leadership skills.

Nice to Have

• - Experience operating hyperscale, AI, high-density compute, or large-scale data center infrastructure.
• - Experience with high-density electrical distribution and advanced cooling systems, including liquid cooling.
• - Experience with BMS, EPMS, DCIM, SCADA, controls, or other critical infrastructure monitoring systems.
• - Experience establishing operational readiness or handover programs for new facilities or major infrastructure deployments.
• - Experience with CMMS, critical spares, OEM service models, management o