Senior Director, Special Projects – Data Center Operations (Nashville, TN)

Position Summary

The Senior Director of Special Projects is responsible for leading the planning, governance, and execution of capital and operational projects across operational data centers after initial construction and commissioning are complete. This role serves as the strategic owner for all post-handover infrastructure projects, ensuring facilities continue to evolve to meet customer demand, operational requirements, technology advancements, and asset lifecycle needs.

The Senior Director partners closely with Data Center Operations, Engineering, Capacity Planning, Real Estate, Design & Construction, Supply Chain, Finance, Product, and Customer organizations to deliver projects safely, on schedule, within budget, and with minimal impact to production environments.

This leader develops standardized execution strategies, establishes project governance, and builds a high-performing organization capable of managing a diverse portfolio of infrastructure, mechanical, electrical, customer-driven, and facility enhancement projects across a global data center portfolio.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Develop and lead the global strategy for post-construction capital projects across operational data centers.
• Establish governance, prioritization frameworks, and execution standards for all special projects.
• Build and lead a geographically distributed organization of project managers and technical leaders.
• Drive continuous improvement through standardized processes, metrics, reporting, and lessons learned.
• Partner with executive leadership to align project priorities with business objectives and long-term infrastructure strategy.

Portfolio Management

Lead the execution of projects including:

• Customer-specific infrastructure requests
• Rack infill and capacity expansion
• Rack refresh and modernization programs
• Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) asset replacement and end-of-life programs
• Facility infrastructure upgrades
• Power and cooling enhancements
• Design modifications and engineering improvements
• Operational resiliency projects
• Capacity optimization initiatives
• Building infrastructure enhancements
• Commissioning and recommissioning efforts
• Final construction project closeouts and punch list completion
• Deferred scope execution
• Compliance-driven improvements
• Sustainability and energy efficiency initiatives
• Emergency infrastructure recovery projects
• Technology refresh initiatives

Project Delivery

• Ensure projects are delivered safely, efficiently, and with minimal operational disruption.
• Establish standardized project planning, budgeting, scheduling, risk management, and change control processes.
• Oversee contractor and vendor performance across multiple programs.
• Manage project financial performance, forecasts, and capital expenditures.
• Drive schedule adherence and executive-level reporting.

Operational Partnership

• Serve as the primary executive interface between Construction, Operations, Engineering, and customers for post-handover projects.
• Coordinate maintenance windows and project execution with operational teams.
• Balance customer commitments with operational risk and infrastructure availability.
• Resolve complex cross-functional issues that impact project delivery.

Asset Lifecycle Management

• Develop long-term infrastructure renewal strategies.
• Prioritize replacement of aging mechanical and electrical assets.
• Manage lifecycle planning