Roles we fill
Data Center Headhunters recruits critical facilities, data center operations, construction and delivery, commissioning, power and cooling, and executive talent for colocation, hyperscale and enterprise sites. We research the market, contact working people and qualify a shortlist for your opening. No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
A buyer who starts a search with a title often ends up with the wrong hire, so the better first step is to choose the discipline and the level of authority the work needs.
This is what we do all day: recruit data center professionals.
No postings. No stacks of resumes. No chasing. You interview a short list.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
- No upfront fee
- Pay only if you hire
- Data centers only, construction to operations
- Local and 100% travel candidates
- Replacement guarantee on standard searches
Find your role
Search every title, or start from the frontline.
Construction & Project Delivery
Explore the specialist family hub and every title we cover.
Hiring a commissioning or operations leader? Start a search.
Electrical & Mechanical Trade Leadership
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Commissioning & Quality
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Hiring a commissioning or operations leader? Start a search.
Critical Facilities Operations
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Controls, BMS, EPMS & Automation
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Hiring a commissioning or operations leader? Start a search.
Design & Engineering
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Power, Utility & Energy
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Hiring a commissioning or operations leader? Start a search.
Site Selection, Land & Development
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Program & Portfolio Management
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Hiring a commissioning or operations leader? Start a search.
Supply Chain & Procurement
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EHS, Safety & Security
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Hiring a commissioning or operations leader? Start a search.
Network, IT & AI Infrastructure
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Colocation Sales, Leasing & Solutions Engineering
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Hiring a commissioning or operations leader? Start a search.
Field Service & OEM Equipment
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Executive Leadership
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Hiring a commissioning or operations leader? Start a search.
Data Center Technicians, Remote Hands & NOC
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Deployment, Rack & Stack and Structured Cabling
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Critical Facilities Maintenance Technicians
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Commissioning, Testing & Controls Technicians
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Hiring a commissioning or operations leader? Start a search.
Mechanical, Structural & General Craft
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Hiring a commissioning or operations leader? Start a search.
Data Center Security
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Logistics, Asset & Site Services
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Hiring a commissioning or operations leader? Start a search.
What does this hire really come down to?
Data center work covers several disciplines that rarely overlap. Construction and field leadership, electrical and mechanical trades, commissioning, critical facilities operations, security and logistics, development and power, and corporate functions are different worlds with different people. Choosing the wrong discipline wastes weeks.
The second choice is authority. A lead who directs a shift is different from a manager who owns a budget and a director who sets standards across sites. Titles overlap between companies. A superintendent at one firm may do what another calls a project manager. Describe the decisions the person will make and who they report to.
The third choice is the stage of the work. A site in design needs different people from a site in energization or one in steady operation. The same discipline looks different at each stage. A commissioning manager hired for design review will not be the right person for integrated testing. Use this page to find the discipline, then the level, then read the role page for the details.
What do we check before you see anyone?
Ask which group the work belongs to and who the person works beside every day. This points to the right family. Ask what the person will approve alone, what needs sign-off and who reports to them. This decides the level.
- Discipline: ask which group the work belongs to and who the person works beside every day. This points to the right family.
- Authority: ask what the person will approve alone, what needs sign-off and who reports to them. This decides the level.
- Stage: ask where the site is in its life, from design to steady operation. The same role changes with stage.
- Reporting line: ask who the person answers to. A seat that reports to an owner differs from one that reports to a contractor.
- Travel and site: ask whether the work is at one site or across many. This changes who will say yes.
- Credentials: ask which licenses or certifications are required by law or by the client.
- Size of the team: ask how many people the seat will lead. A lead of three is a different job from a manager of thirty.
Where do we find these candidates?
Each discipline draws from different places. Field leaders come from contractors, operations people from other sites and hospitals, commissioning staff from independent firms, and development staff from utilities and developers.
People move for different reasons by discipline. Field leaders move for project size and rotation, operations staff for hours and authority, commissioning staff for repeat work and home time, and corporate staff for scope.
Matching the role to the background saves time. A good description attracts the right people and filters the rest.
Many buyers are surprised to find that a person who sounds right in one discipline sits in another. The directory and role pages help with that.
Which hiring mistakes should you avoid?
Do not choose a title before deciding what the person decides. Titles differ between companies. Do not hire for a discipline close to the one needed and hope they adapt. Near matches create gaps that show up later. Do not ignore stage and hire for design when the site is ready to energize.
- Choosing a title before deciding what the person decides. Titles differ between companies.
- Hiring for a discipline close to the one needed and hoping they adapt. Near matches create gaps that show up later.
- Ignoring stage and hiring for design when the site is ready to energize. Each stage needs a different strength.
How the search runs
Pick the discipline
Look at the work in the next year. Choose the group of roles that does it, then narrow within it. If two disciplines seem to fit, choose the one that owns the hardest part of the work.
Decide the level
Write what the person approves, who reports to them and who they answer to. Compare it to the level descriptions on the role pages. If the authority is unclear, ask who will sign for failure.
Call us with the draft
Send us the draft of the seat and we will tell you which roles fit and where the description is unclear. We will tell you plainly if the seat looks like two jobs.
Questions
How do I know if I need a manager or a lead?
If the person owns a budget or staffing, you need a manager. If they direct daily work without that, you need a lead. Write the decisions and see which fits.
Can one person cover two disciplines?
Sometimes on small sites. Be careful, because the second discipline is usually the weaker one. Ask candidates which they prefer.
What if my role is not listed?
Describe the work and we will find the closest match. Many seats combine tasks from several roles.
Should I hire for the site's current stage or its future one?
Hire for the next stage, not the final one. Ask candidates how they have worked through stage changes.
How should I use the role pages?
Read the one that matches your task and compare the checks to your needs. The questions on each page help with interviews.
How long did your last search take? How much did the empty seat cost while you waited?
An open data center seat holds up commissioning dates, stretches the people covering it and adds cost every week it stays empty. Put your own numbers into the cost-of-vacancy calculator, then compare that figure with a contingency search where you pay only if you hire.
Work out your cost of vacancyHow a search runs
How does The Six-Step Search work?
Every search runs the same six steps. We agree the brief with you, map where the people work, find direct contact routes, reach out personally and repeatedly, then qualify each candidate live. You only see a short list of people who fit, with notes on each, and we stay with you through offer and start.
- 01
Search Calibration
You get: A written brief you sign off on: scope, must-haves, pay band and who not to approach.
- 02
Market Mapping
You get: A map of the companies and projects where your future hire is working today.
- 03
Professional Contact Intelligence
You get: Verified direct contact routes to the people on that map, not job board replies.
- 04
Persistent Personalized Outreach
You get: Repeated, role-specific outreach to people who are not looking, in your words.
- 05
Live Candidate Qualification
You get: Each candidate is screened live against your brief before you hear their name.
- 06
Candidate Intelligence and Process Support
You get: A short list with candidate briefs, then support through interviews, offer and start.
Need this person?
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
How should you use this list of roles?
Start with the family closest to the work, then open the title that matches the seat. Each role page covers what the hire comes down to, where candidates come from, what we check before you meet anyone and which mistakes to avoid. If titles differ at your company, search by the work instead.
Families group seats that share skills and candidate pools. Electrical craft, commissioning, critical facilities and controls each draw from different places, and the screening differs too, so the family view is often the faster route to the right page.
Senior and junior versions of a seat are listed separately where the hiring decision differs, such as technician levels or a senior engineer who writes procedures rather than following them.
What if the role you need sits between two titles?
Open both pages and compare the screening sections. Hybrid seats are common on smaller sites where one person covers duties that larger campuses split. Tell us which half carries more risk, and we search for people strong in that half first, then test the other half live.
If neither title fits, our page for unlisted roles explains what to send. A few lines about scope, reporting line and location are enough to start.
Role pages link onward to salary data where a reliable occupation match exists, and to hiring guides for each family.
Where no reliable match exists, the role page still covers sourcing, screening and common mistakes, and we share pay expectations from live conversations instead.
Which roles are hardest to fill right now?
Seats that combine live site judgment with documentation discipline are usually hardest: commissioning leads, senior controls engineers, medium voltage specialists and experienced superintendents. People who do this work well are rarely looking, so direct approach matters more than any posting.
Traveling seats add a further filter, because rotation and per diem terms decide who will accept. Our traveling pages cover those terms separately.
Entry level seats are easier to source but harder to screen, because many applicants have the right badge without the habits. We qualify those roles live, asking candidates to describe the last shift they worked step by step.
Where should you go next?
These pages carry on from here. Each one covers a related decision in more depth, so pick the one closest to the question you still have about this hire, the data behind it or how we work with you.
Questions
Are all titles on this list ones you actively recruit?
Yes. Each title has its own page because we speak with people who do that work.
Why are some roles grouped into families?
Families share skills and candidate pools, so the family view helps when your title is not an exact match.
Where do I start if my title is missing?
Use the unlisted role page and describe the work, reporting line and location.