Job Description
Commissioning Owner's Representative (CxOR) – Data Centers
Location: United States (Multiple Locations)
Travel Requirement: Up to 75
Position Summary
The Commissioning Owner's Representative (CxOR) acts as the owner's technical advocate throughout the planning, design, construction, commissioning, and turnover of mission-critical data center projects across the United States.
This role provides independent oversight to ensure all building systems are designed, installed, tested, commissioned, and handed over in accordance with the Owner's Project Requirements (OPR), design intent, operational readiness objectives, and applicable U.S. codes and standards.
The CxOR partners with internal stakeholders, design consultants, general contractors, commissioning providers, trade contractors, equipment manufacturers, and operations teams to deliver highly reliable, maintainable, and scalable facilities supporting 24x7 operations.
The ideal candidate possesses extensive experience in mission-critical environments and a deep understanding of data center electrical and mechanical infrastructure, integrated systems testing, and operational turnover processes.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Project Planning and Design
- Develop, maintain, and validate the Owner's Project Requirements (OPR).
- Review the Basis of Design (BOD) to verify alignment with business objectives and operational requirements.
- Participate in design reviews during concept, schematic, design development, and construction documentation phases.
- Evaluate designs for reliability, maintainability, scalability, constructability, and operational efficiency.
- Identify design gaps, commissioning risks, and potential operational impacts early in the project lifecycle.
- Support project budgeting, scheduling, and resource planning for commissioning activities.
- Establish commissioning milestones, deliverables, and key performance indicators.
Construction and Quality Oversight
- Serve as the owner's representative for all commissioning and quality assurance activities during construction.
- Monitor contractor compliance with project specifications, commissioning requirements, and quality standards.
- Review submittals, RFIs, shop drawings, sequence of operations, and equipment startup procedures.
- Coordinate with general contractors, subcontractors, OEMs, testing agencies, and commissioning providers.
- Facilitate issue resolution and drive closure of deficiencies and non-conformance items.
- Monitor project schedules and identify risks that could impact commissioning or turnover milestones.
- Participate in site walks, quality inspections, and readiness assessments.
Commissioning Management
- Develop, review, and approve commissioning plans, test scripts, and integrated systems testing procedures.
- Oversee factory acceptance testing (FAT), factory witness testing, site acceptance testing (SAT), and integrated systems testing (IST).
- Coordinate Level 1 through Level 5 commissioning activities.
- Verify proper startup, functional testing, and performance validation of all critical systems.
- Ensure testing activities are executed safely and in compliance with approved Methods of Procedure (MOPs) and commissioning protocols.
- Review test documentation and validate resolution of deficiencies prior to system turnover.
- Coordinate phased turnovers and beneficial occupancy milestones.
Mission-Critical Systems Oversight
Provide technical leadership and commissioning oversight for:
- Utility service entrance and substation infrastructure
- Medium-voltage and low-voltage electrical distribution systems
- Generator plants and paralleling switchgear
- Automatic transfer switches (ATS) and static transfer switches (STS)
- Uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems and battery energy storage systems
- Remote power panels (RPPs), power distribution units (PDUs), and busway systems
- Chilled water plants and water treatment systems
- Computer room air handlers (CRAHs), computer room air conditioning (CRAC) units, and in-row cooling systems
- Cooling towers, dry coolers, pumps, and heat rejection systems
- Building automation systems (BAS), building management systems (BMS), and electrical power monitoring systems (EPMS)
- Fire alarm and clean agent suppression systems
- Security, access control, and video surveillance systems
- Structured cabling infrastructure and telecommunications systems
- Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) platforms
Operational Readiness and Handover
- Ensure complete and accurate turnover documentation packages.
- Review and approve as-built drawings, asset registers, and operations and maintenance manuals.
- Coordinate training sessions for operations and maintenance personnel.
- Support development and validation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Emergency Operating Procedures (EOPs), and Methods of Procedure (MOPs).
- Verify operational readiness prior to turnover.
- Support warranty management and post-occupancy evaluations.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Construction Management, or related technical discipline.
- Minimum of 10 years of experience in mission-critical facilities, data center construction, commissioning, design engineering, or operations.
- Minimum of 5 years of direct experience supporting data center commissioning programs or owner's representation.
- Demonstrated experience delivering hyperscale, colocation, enterprise, or edge data center projects within the United States.
- Experience managing multiple stakeholders across fast-paced, large-scale construction programs.
- Ability to travel extensively to project sites throughout the United States.
Preferred Qualifications
- Professional Engineer (PE) license in one or more U.S. states.
- Accredited Tier Designer (ATD) or Accredited Tier Specialist (ATS).
- Certified Commissioning Professional (CCP).
- Certified Commissioning Authority (CxA).
- Project Management Professional (PMP).
- LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP).
Technical Knowledge and Experience
Demonstrated knowledge of:
- U.S. mission-critical design and commissioning practices
- ASHRAE Guideline 0 and ASHRAE Standard 202
- NFPA 70 (National Electrical Code)
- NFPA 70E (Electrical Safety in the Workplace)
- NFPA 72 (National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code)
- NFPA 110 (Emergency and Standby Power Systems)
- International Building Code (IBC)
- International Fire Code (IFC)
- IEEE standards applicable to power systems and reliability
- OSHA regulations and construction safety requirements
- Uptime Institute Tier Standards and methodologies
- Redundancy topologies including N, N+1, 2N, and 2(N+1)
- Integrated Systems Testing (IST) methodologies
- Microsoft Office Suite, Bluebeam, Procore, BIM 360, Primavera P6, and commissioning management platforms
Core Competencies
- Strong leadership and stakeholder management skills
- Excellent verbal and written communication abilities
- Exceptional problem-solving and decision-making capabilities
- Ability to influence teams without direct authority
- Strong organizational and documentation skills
- Commitment to safety, quality, and operational excellence
- Ability to manage multiple projects and competing priorities
Physical Requirements
- Ability to access active construction sites and operational data centers.
- Ability to walk extended distances and climb stairs and ladders.
- Ability to work in mechanical and electrical rooms during commissioning activities.
- Ability to wear required personal protective equipment (PPE), including arc flash-rated clothing and other site-specific safety equipment.
- Ability to support off-hours testing, weekend work, and critical system cutovers.
Key Performance Indicators
- Achievement of commissioning milestones on schedule and within budget
- Successful completion of integrated systems testing
- Reduction in post-turnover deficiencies and warranty claims
- On-time completion of turnover documentation
- Achievement of target reliability and availability objectives
- Zero recordable safety incidents associated with commissioning activities
- Positive stakeholder and operations team feedback