Data Center Architect

Overview

Job Title:
Data Center Architect

Location:
Brooklyn, NY (Hybrid)

Duration:
Long Term Contract

• Data Center Architecture & Technical Leadership
  • Proven ability to serve as technical lead for enterprise-scale data center initiatives, including design, build, migration, and operational transition.
  • Deep expertise in end-to-end data center architecture, including:
    • Compute platforms (physical and virtual)
    • Storage and SAN architectures (including modern spine-leaf designs)
    • Network and WAN architectures
    • Backup and data protection solutions
    • Voice and supporting infrastructure
    • Physical data center facilities and plant design
  • Demonstrated experience eliminating single points of failure and modernizing legacy architectures.
  • Ability to model and document architectures across compute, storage, backup, network, and physical facilities.
• Data Center Modernization & Transformation
  • Hands-on experience leading data center modernization efforts, including:
    • Migration from legacy technologies (e.g., tape-based backup systems) to modern platforms such as Commvault and cloud-based storage (e.g., AWS).
    • UNIX platform migrations (e.g., Solaris to AIX or equivalent).
    • Transition to cloud-aligned and hybrid operating models.
  • Strong understanding of cloud integration, automation, and Dev Ops-aligned infrastructure practices.
  • Experience partnering with Dev Ops teams on observability, automation, and monitoring strategies.
• Infrastructure Engineering & Facilities Design
  • Expertise in physical data center design, including:
    • Facility floor plans with rack layouts
    • Power, cooling (BTU), weight load, and space planning
    • Electrical, grounding, and cabling requirements
  • Ability to define and document physical requirements for new data center facilities.
  • Experience providing engineering data for:
    • Ladder racks
    • Fiber raceways
    • Structured cabling systems
    • Power distribution and grounding
  • Proven ability to coordinate with vendors, contractors, and facilities teams for electrical, power, and cabling installations.
• Project Leadership & Delivery
  • Strong capability to lead all phases of a data center project, including:
    • Business and technical requirements gathering
    • Architecture and design development
    • Proposal and RFP contribution
    • Financial forecasting and business case development
    • Installation, configuration, and commissioning
    • Production cutover and application/service migration
  • Experience overseeing concurrent, high-risk initiatives that cannot pause without significant operational impact.
  • Ability to identify, assess, and communicate technical and operational risks.
• Financial Planning & Business Acumen
  • Proven experience developing:
    • Capital and operational expenditure (Cap Ex/OpEx) plans
    • Financial forecasts for data center infrastructure and CoLo space
    • Cost models for infrastructure services
  • Ability to develop and present business cases, solution overviews, and data-driven recommendations to leadership.
  • Strong analytical skills for evaluating design options and financial trade-offs.
• Operations Readiness & Transition
  • Strong understanding of data center operations, including:
    • Transitioning services from build teams to run/operations teams
    • Operational readiness, documentation, and support models
    • Maintenance, patching, and lifecycle management
  • Ability to ensure systems and environments are fully documented for operations best practices.
  • Experience supporting operations through:
    • Strategic recommendations
    • Technical consulting
    • Identification and remediation of operational inefficiencies
• Monitoring, Observability & Automation
  • Expertise in monitoring and observability platforms, including application and infrastructure visibility tools (e.g., App Dynamics and Riverbed).
  • Ability to design and expand monitoring solutions with a strong focus on automation and proactive operations.
  • Experience defining metrics, dashboards, and alerting strategies aligned with operational and business needs.
• Governance, Compliance & Security
  • Strong knowledge of security, compliance, and regulatory requirements applicable to enterprise data centers.
  • Ability to ensure architectures and implementations meet quality, compliance, and audit standards.
  • Experience developing and updating policies, procedures, and standards for data center operations.
• Capacity Planning, KPIs & Service Management
  • Proven experience in:
    • Data center capacity planning and roadmap development
    • Defining and documenting KPIs and recommending SLAs
    • Supporting service performance management and continuous improvement
  • Ability to translate business demand into scalable and sustainable infrastructure designs.
• Communication, Collaboration & Stakeholder Management
  • Strong ability to translate business requirements into technical solutions.
  • Demonstrated experience collaborating with:
    • Infrastructure, application, and operations teams
    • Vendors and service providers
    • Facilities and external contractors
  • Ability to provide clear, regular updates to management and executive stakeholders.

Recognized as a subject matter expert (SME) and trusted technical advisor.