Director, Operational Readiness

About Nscale Nscale is the GPU cloud engineered for AI. We provide cost-effective, high-performance infrastructure for AI start-ups and large enterprise customers. Nscale enables AI-focused companies to achieve superior results by reducing the complexity of AI development. Our GPU cloud bolsters technical capabilities and directly supports strategic business outcomes, including cost management, rapid innovation, and environmental responsibility. We thrive on a culture of relentless innovation, ownership, and accountability, where every team member takes pride in their work and drives it with excellence and urgency. As an Nscaler, you'll build trust through openness and transparency, where everyone is inspired to do their best work. If you join our team, you'll be contributing to building the technology that powers the future. About the Role We're hiring a Director, Operational Readiness to build and lead Nscale's portfolio-level readiness capability, ensuring every new site, capacity expansion, and major infrastructure deployment is truly ready for production. Reporting to the Sr. Director, Technical Program Management, you'll set up the readiness framework, gates, scorecards, and transition model that bring our infrastructure into steady-state operations. You'll work across Development, Construction, Commissioning, Technical Program Management, Network, Compute, Security, Procurement, Legal, vendors, and Operations to surface dependencies early, manage exceptions, and align readiness with customer and operational milestones. Operational Readiness doesn't replace program delivery, technical acceptance, or on-site Operations. It connects them. You'll provide the common model and portfolio-level assurance that leadership relies on to make confident go-live decisions, and you'll lead a growing team of Sr. Project Managers and Technical Writers who carry out readiness across our sites and regions. What You'll be Doing Readiness Operating Model & Portfolio Integration • Build and lead Nscale's Operational Readiness capability and team, establishing and continuously improving the readiness lifecycle, gates, standards, governance, and escalation framework • Define minimum readiness requirements across people, process, technology, tooling, documentation, training, vendor support, monitoring, ownership, and risk • Establish clear readiness interfaces with Development, Construction, Commissioning, Technical Program Management, Network, Compute, Security, Procurement, Legal, vendors, and Operations • Build integrated readiness plans that connect milestones, gates, dependencies, evidence, ownership, and decisions, and drive cross-functional gaps to clear ownership and resolution • Maintain forward visibility into upcoming sites, expansions, and infrastructure programs so readiness work starts early Readiness Assurance & Transition • Own the portfolio readiness scorecard as the single source for readiness reporting to executive leadership, covering status, material risks, dependencies, exceptions, and required decisions • Govern the readiness gate process into steady-state Operations and issue formal gate recommendations for site go-live approval • Make sure material readiness exceptions are resolved, deferred, or explicitly accepted by the appropriate functional or executive authority • Keep a clear line between readiness assurance and the technical acceptance authority held by Commissioning, Engineering, and Operations • Run early-life reviews on newly transitioned infrastructure and turn findings into stronger readiness standards and deployment practices Standards & Documentation • Make sure readiness documentation, evidence, standards, and transition artifacts are complete, consistent, and reusable • Use existing systems and governance wherever possible to avoid unnecessary process overhead • Partner with on-site Operations to confirm readiness evidence for SOPs, MOPs, EOPs, and runbooks ahead of handoff Team Leadership • Build and lead a high-performing team of Sr. Project Managers and Technical Writers that scales with Nscale's deployment portfolio • Create clear accountability, common methods, and consistent execution across regional and deployment readiness work • Coach the team to work at both strategic and tactical levels in a fast-moving environment About You • 12+ years of progressive experience in data center infrastructure, mission-critical operations, technical program management, operational readiness, infrastructure operations, service delivery, reliability, or related large-scale technology environments • Proven experience building or scaling readiness frameworks, operating models, transition processes, or cross-functional delivery capabilities • Experience leading teams across multiple concurrent infrastructure initiatives and integrating dependencies across Engineering, Facilities, Operations, vendors, and program teams • Strong understanding of how physical infrastructure, technology platforms, and steady-state operations connect, from planning and construction through commissioning, transition, and production • Excellent executive communication, with the ability to translate technical and operational conditions into clear risks, decisions, and actions • Ability to influence across organizational boundaries without direct authority • Comfortable working at both strategic and tactical levels in a rapidly scaling environment Nice to Have • Experience with AI, HPC, GPU infrastructure, hyperscale data centers, or high-density infrastructure • Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, Business, or a related field (equivalent professional experience will be considered) • Relevant certifications in data center infrastructure, technical program management, IT service management, reliability, or operations Why this role matters As Nscale grows, more sites, technologies, vendors, and teams have to come together before infrastructure can enter production. Operational needs like staffing, tooling, documentation, monitoring, training, and vendor support must be identified early enough to develop alongside technical delivery. This role makes that happen. You'll give leadership a clear, data-backed view of readiness across the portfolio, catch dependencies before they affect milestones, and make sure risks are explicitly owned rather than quietly passed on to Operations. The result is cleaner handoffs, fewer late blockers, and readiness that scales with Nscale's deployment pace. What We Can Offer You At Nscale, you'll find a collaborative, supportive, and innovative environment where your contributions spark real impact. We're building something extraordinary, and we want you at the core. Highly competitive US compensation package (base + bonus + equity), with performance reviews every 12 months. 🚀 Join one of the fastest-growing AI infrastructure companies — your chance to directly shape how global AI capacity is planned and deployed. ✨ Expect a dynamic progression plan tailored to your ambitions. Grow by leading critical cross-functional initiatives and shaping capital strategy — always with our full support. Human-First Flexibility: We treat you as humans first. 🫶🏽 Our flexible workplace trusts Nscalers to deliver, giving you the autonomy to shape your day around life's moments. Equal Opportunities Statement We strongly encourage applications from people of colour, the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities, neurodivergent people, parents, carers, and people from lower socio-economic backgrounds. If there's anything we can do to accommodate your specific situation, please let us know. The responsibilities outlined in this job description are not exhaustive and are intended to provide a general overview of the position. The employee may be required to perform additional duties, tasks, and responsibilities as assigned by management, consistent with the skills and qualifications required for the role. For information on how Nscale handles candidate personal data, please see our Employee & Candidate Privacy Notice: Here. For information on how Nscale handles candidate personal data, please see our Employee & Candidate Privacy Notice: Here. Nscale does not accept unsolicited candidate submissions from recruitment agencies.