VP Engineering

About Vantage Data Centers

Job Description

Position Overview

Reporting to the CTO EMEA, this role leads Mission Critical Engineering (MCE) as the function accountable for defining, leading, validating, and protecting engineering intent across all projects and product deployments. The role ensures that all engineering solutions are technically correct, regulatorily defensible, aligned with platform standards, and capable of delivering the required levels of reliability, scalability, and performance.

This role governs what is built and why, ensuring that engineering decisions are robust, consistent, and aligned to both global product direction and regional constraints. It operates in clear partnership with Design Quality, Commissioning and Management, which govern how the design is delivered, and with Delivery and Operations, which execute and operate the assets.

The Vice President is responsible for ensuring that engineering design remains a controlled, disciplined, and value-adding function - preventing performance erosion, unmanaged deviation, and inconsistency across the EMEA portfolio.

Role Purpose

The purpose of this role is to act as the technical guardian of engineering intent across EMEA by:

Defining and governing mission-critical engineering standards and technical direction

Owning the engineering philosophy, system topology, and performance envelope across all developments

Ensuring all project designs delivered through VDC Design Partners are technically sound, permit-compliant, and aligned with product platform standards

Leading engineering assurance through concept, design, and pre-construction phases

Establishing and enforcing formal design freeze and performance control mechanisms

Preventing degradation of engineering integrity through uncontrolled change or delivery pressures

Embedding engineering consistency, repeatability, and platform discipline across all markets

Supporting delivery and operations through structured technical authority at key intervention points

Leading Centre of Excellence Teams responsible for driving technical OFCI EMEA product updates and improving on BCO and TCO targets

Driving Value Engineering delivery, and operations through structured technical authority at key intervention points

Key Responsibilities

Engineering Strategy and Technical Leadership

Define and lead the mission-critical engineering strategy for EMEA, aligned with the CTO EMEA and global product direction

Establish engineering as a strategic control point for performance, reliability, scalability, and product consistency

Translate global product frameworks into executable regional engineering standards, reflecting local regulatory, environmental, and power constraints

Ensure engineering decisions support long-term asset performance, customer requirements, and commercial outcomes

Act as the senior engineering authority within EMEA leadership discussions and strategic decision-making

Technical Authority and Engineering Governance

Serve as the final technical authority for mission-critical engineering across EMEA

Establish and enforce clear technical governance, decision rights, and escalation pathways

Ensure all engineering decisions are made with appropriate rigour, cross-functional input, and documented justification

Lead engineering assurance across all major design decisions, including topology selection, redundancy philosophy, and system integration

Govern deviations, ensuring any departure from standards is controlled, justified, and approved at the appropriate level

Maintain discipline in engineering reviews, approvals, and technical sign-off processes

Own the engineering philosophy, system architecture, and performance criteria for all developments

Define and validate:

Electrical and mechanical topology

Redundancy strategy

Protection philosophy

Cooling architecture

Availability model

Ensure all engineering designs are supported by robust modelling and analysis, including:

Short circuit and fault level studies

Harmonic analysis

Availability modelling

Thermal and CFD modelling

Ensure designs are regulatorily defensible and aligned with planning, environmental, and permitting requirements

Lead identification and mitigation of technical risks from early-stage development through design completion

Challenge consultants and internal teams to ensure technical robustness and alignment with standards

Design Freeze and Change Control Discipline

Basis of Design is clearly defined and approved

Performance criteria are locked

Interfaces and system boundaries are understood

Key vendor selections are technically validated

Ensure that post-freeze changes are tightly controlled and assessed for impact on performance, compliance, and risk

Prevent erosion of engineering integrity through uncontrolled value engineering or late-stage design changes

Define escalation pathways for performance-impacting decisions

Product Platform and Standardisation

Protect and enforce engineering alignment with the EMEA product platform and global product strategy

Ensure engineering supports modular, repeatable, and scalable data centre solutions

Drive standardisation across systems, components, and design approaches to improve consistency and delivery efficiency

Manage the balance between standardisation and necessary regional adaptation

Ensure engineering decisions support product integrity, cost efficiency, and delivery repeatability

Integration with Delivery, Procurement, and DfMA

Ensure engineering is fully aligned with how projects are procured, packaged, and delivered

Provide technical authority over key engineering decisions impacting:

DfMA and prefabrication strategies

Equipment selection and integration

Constructability and sequencing

Support validation of vendor technical solutions and ensure alignment with performance requirements

Ensure engineering decisions do not compromise delivery efficiency, programme certainty, or buildability

Act as the escalation point for performance-impacting issues arising during procurement or construction

Construction and Commissioning Technical Authority

Provide targeted technical oversight during construction and commissioning phases

Intervene at key stages, including:

Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT)

System integration milestones

Commissioning readiness

Major technical variations

Ensure that delivered systems remain aligned with original engineering intent and performance expectations

Approve or reject performance-impacting changes arising during construction

DC Campus Energy, Power, and Infrastructure Strategy Support

Provide engineering leadership into DC power and energy strategy across EMEA

Ensure engineering solutions align with grid constraints, utility strategies, and power availability realities

Support engineering input into site selection, capacity planning, and resilience strategy

Ensure designs are aligned with evolving power density requirements, including high-density and AI-driven loads

Contribute to development of energy-aware engineering solutions that balance performance, resilience, and efficiency

Risk, Compliance, and Reliability

Own engineering-related risk identification, mitigation, and control across the portfolio

Ensure compliance with all relevant engineering codes, standards, and regulatory requirements

Maintain control over technical risks associated with design decisions, system integration, and performance outcomes

Ensure lessons learned from incidents, operational performance, and project delivery are embedded into standards and future designs

Stakeholder Engagement

Act as the senior engineering interface with internal and external stakeholders

Provide CTO approved technical support to:

Customer Solutions Engineering

Sales

Development

Product

Design Management

Procurement

Energy

Delivery

Operations

Support customer engagement, technical reviews, and strategic discussions where engineering credibility is required

Ensure alignment between engineering decisions and broader business objectives

People Leadership and Capability Development

Lead and develop a high-performing, multidisciplinary engineering organisation across EMEA

Build strong technical capability across mechanical, electrical, fire, ICT, and security engineering disciplines

Establish clear roles, responsibilities, and accountability within the MCE function

Develop succession planning and leadership capability within the engineering team

Foster a culture of technical excellence, accountability, and disciplined decision-making

Required Experience and Qualifications

Extensive senior leadership experience in mission-critical engineering, data centres, or comparable critical infrastructure environments (nominal 10+ years)

Proven experience acting as technical authority across multidisciplinary engineering systems

Deep expertise in electrical and mechanical systems, with strong understanding of fire, ICT, and security engineering

Demonstrated experience in engineering governance, design assurance, and performance validation

Experience working across multiple countries and regulatory environments within EMEA

Strong understanding of engineering modelling, system integration, and performance validation methodologies

Experience supporting large-scale capital projects and complex infrastructure delivery

Ability to operate effectively within a matrix organisation and influence across functions

Strong commercial awareness and ability to balance technical integrity with business objectives

Degree-qualified in either Mechanical or Electrical Engineering or a related field; chartered status essential.

Leadership Expectations

The successful candidate will demonstrate:

Clear and decisive technical judgement

Strong ownership of engineering outcomes and accountability

Ability to operate at both strategic and detailed technical levels

A disciplined, structured approach to decision-making and governance

The ability to challenge constructively and maintain engineering integrity under pressure

Strong collaboration across engineering, product, delivery, and operations

Measures of Success

Success in this role will be demonstrated through:

Consistent, high-quality engineering standards across all EMEA projects

Effective design freeze and change control discipline

Improved alignment between engineering, product, and delivery

Reduced technical risk and increased reliability across the portfolio

Improved repeatability and scalability of engineering solutions

Strong leadership capability and development within the engineering team

Additional Job Description

This role is a key member of the EMEA CTO leadership team and plays a central role in shaping the engineering foundation of the organisation’s product platform, delivery model, and long-term infrastructure strategy.

Vantage Data Centers does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firm agencies. Fees will not be paid in the event a candidate submitted by a recruiter without an agreement in place is hired; such resumes will be deemed the sole property of Vantage Data Centers.

#LI-AF1

We operate with No Ego and No Arrogance. We work to build each other up and support one another, appreciating each other’s strengths and respecting each other’s weaknesses. We find joy in our work and each other, actively seeking opportunities to inject fun into what we do. Our hard and efficient work is rewarded with an above market total compensation package. We offer a comprehensive suite of health and welfare, retirement, and paid leave benefits exceeding local expectations.

Throughout the year, the advantage of being part of the Vantage team is evident with an array of benefits, recognition, training and development, and the knowledge that your contribution adds value to the company and our community.

Don't meet all the requirements? Please still apply if you think you are the right person for the position. We are always keen to speak to people who connect with our mission and values.

Vantage Data Centers does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firm agencies. Fees will not be paid in the event a candidate submitted by a recruiter without an agreement in place is hired; such resumes will be deemed the sole property of Vantage Data Centers.