Facilities & Real Estate Director

At Cadence, we hire and develop leaders and innovators who want to make an impact on the world of technology.

Job Description:

Cadence seeks to hire a Facilities & Real Estate Director to lead facility operations for its portfolio in San Jose Headquarters.

This leader will ensure reliable, compliant, and optimized operation of the San Jose campus, in-house labs and Data Centers, mission-critical infrastructure and be responsible for providing strategic direction to the team . The role is responsible for operational excellence, bringing about efficiencies and reliability of the systems, robust team leadership, strategic vendor, and landlord management if the need arises.  

Key Responsibilities:

• Oversee all aspects of data centers, Labs and facility operations at San Jose owned Campus, including preventive maintenance, incident response, environmental monitoring, and lifecycle management and accordingly implement operational strategies aligned with Cadence security, health, safety, and environmental standards, in close coordination with local and federal regulations.
• Serve as Cadence’s primary point of contact with property landlords and third-party vendors, ensuring adherence to service level agreements (SLAs) and lease obligation as needed.
• Partner with the ESG lead and the committee to achieve Cadence environmental goals Proficiency in energy management and sustainable building practices.
• Ensure operational transparency and positive relationships by actively engaging with community stakeholders, local authorities, and regulators.
• Drive robust capacity planning, risk mitigation, performance monitoring, and budgeting for the portfolio.
• As and when needed partner with construction to ensure all aspects of commissioning for new sites, including acceptance testing, integrated systems testing, and the transition to daily operations.
• Establish, track, and report on key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure and optimize operational effectiveness, cost management, and sustainability goals.
• Oversee site audits, compliance reviews, and documentation in support of certifications and regulatory requirements as needed(e.g., SOC2, ISO, local authorities having jurisdiction).
• Act as incident commander and escalation point for major facility events, driving root cause analysis and continuous improvement.
• Foster a culture of safety, accountability, collaboration, and innovation across a distributed facilities team.
• Collaborate closely with Cadence’s R &D leaders, engineering, compliance to support site readiness, expansion, and capital planning.

Qualifications:

• Deep understanding of the sequence of operations for major mechanical and electrical systems, such as power distribution, cooling, life safety, and building automation, within mission-critical environments e.g., Data Centers and Labs
• Experience in recruiting, hiring, leading, and developing high-performing technical and operational teams.
• Significant hands-on experience in maintaining and commissioning activities for new or expanded data center facilities.
• Proficient in incident management, root cause analysis, and performance optimization for data center operations.
• Familiarity with industry standards such as Uptime Institute and ASHRAE, and with relevant environmental, health, and safety regulations in the United States and Canada.
• Exceptional judgment and strong interpersonal skills to be comfortable, effective, and persuasive in dealing with employees and senior leaders.
• Excellent communication and negotiation skills, including the ability to influence and partner with key stakeholders across the organization
• A keen eye for detail in the day-to-day management of workspaces while having a strategic mindset with long-term objectives.
• First-hand experience working with and directing various professionals, such as attorneys, architects, landlords, general contractors, sub-contractors, material suppliers, and operational service providers and consultants.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to research, develop, and justify proposed business cases for executive management review.
• Results-oriented and comfortable with a management by objectives style of management.
• Excellent decision-making, problem-solving, and problem resolution/negotiation skills.
• Reliable, analytical, consci