Microsoft Gulf
Data Center Operations Director
- Permanent
- Dammam, Saudi Arabia
- Experience 5 - 10 yrs
- Urgent
Job expiry date: 27/10/2025
Job overview
Date posted
12/09/2025
Location
Dammam, Saudi Arabia
Salary
SAR 60,000 - 100,000 per month
Compensation
Comprehensive package + relocation
Experience
5 - 10 yrs
Seniority
Director
Qualification
Bachelors degree
Expiration date
27/10/2025
Job description
Microsoft is seeking a Data Center Operations Director to lead its mission-critical data center operations in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. As part of the Cloud Operations & Innovation (CO+I) team, you will be responsible for managing the infrastructure powering Microsoft’s global services including Azure, Office 365, Bing, and Xbox. This leadership role requires oversight of large-scale physical and critical IT infrastructure, operational resilience, and customer service delivery. You will manage service compliance, KPIs, and budgets while ensuring adherence to safety, sustainability, and governance standards. The role includes fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and professional growth, managing diverse technical teams, and ensuring operational excellence through continuous improvement. You will act as a trusted advisor across regional and global teams, balancing business demands with technical execution, and ensuring a seamless customer experience.
Required skills
Key responsibilities
- Lead and empower diverse technical teams, modeling Microsoft’s culture and values
- Develop and maintain datacenter operational strategies aligned with global CO+I standards
- Ensure compliance with SLAs, KPIs, and client satisfaction metrics
- Oversee budget planning and manage costs within a $1M+ scope
- Partner with cross-functional teams to support environmental health, safety, and risk initiatives
- Support capacity forecasting and resource planning to meet future business demands
- Manage end-to-end service delivery including incident response (Sev 1 and Sev 2)
- Oversee safety, availability, and security adherence in datacenter operations
- Foster collaboration across regional/global management and operational teams
- Promote continuous learning and capability building within the workforce
- Represent datacenter operations to internal and external stakeholders
- Drive accountability, performance reviews, and recognition of team achievements
Experience & skills
- High School Diploma or equivalent; Bachelor’s preferred in IT, Engineering, or related fields
- Minimum 5 years of mission-critical service management experience
- At least 3 years of experience leading diverse technical teams
- 6+ years of enterprise-level project/program management experience preferred
- Expertise in critical environment infrastructure (UPS, generators, AHUs)
- Experience with physical IT infrastructures (servers, SANs, networking, cabling)
- Strong budgeting and fiscal management experience ($1M+)
- Familiarity with ITIL, MOF, or PMP certification preferred
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
- Ability to pass Microsoft Cloud Background Check and other security clearances
