HEAD OF DATA CENTRE OPERATIONS

About RHAELM RHAELM is the sovereign AI cloud built to accelerate secure AI deployment at scale, combining power and infrastructure pipelines with global capability and local, in-country operations. Headquartered in London, with deployments across Europe and APAC, we deliver ring-fenced compute, networking, and storage infrastructure alongside a sovereign platform and flexible Bare Metal, Kubernetes, and AI-as-a-Service models.

Focused on regulated and mission-critical sectors including Government, Defence, Healthcare, and Financial Services, we give organisations sovereign control over their AI infrastructure, platform, and data. This Role This role is based in Tokyo, Japan, leading operational readiness across RHAELM's Japan data centre portfolio.

As Head of Data Centre Operations, you will own the operational readiness and in-life running of RHAELM's data centre portfolio, ensuring every facility transitions cleanly from construction handover into safe, resilient, always-on operation. You will build and lead the operations function from the ground up, setting the standards, governance, and team structure that keep our critical infrastructure available, secure, and compliant as the estate scales across new markets.

Key Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end operational readiness for new and existing data centres, from construction handover through to steady-state runningLead critical facilities operations across power, cooling, BMS, fire and life safety, and physical security, ensuring continuous uptimeBuild and lead the operations team, including shift structures, escalation paths, and vendor-managed service arrangementsOwn SLAs, KPIs, and reporting for facility availability, PUE, incident response, and maintenance complianceDirect preventive and corrective maintenance programmes across all M&E and critical systemsManage relationships with FM providers, equipment vendors, and utility partners across all marketsEnsure compliance with Uptime Institute Tier standards, ISO 27001/9001, and relevant local regulatory requirementsOwn major incident management, root cause analysis, and continuous improvement of operational proceduresPartner with Commissioning, Design, and Project Management teams to embed operability and maintainability into new builds Experience Extensive experience leading data centre or critical facilities operations at scale, ideally across multiple sitesProven track record building or scaling an operations function, including team and process designDeep understanding of M&E systems, BMS/EPMS, and Tier III/IV operational requirementsExperience managing facilities through construction handover and into live operationTrack record of managing FM and vendor contracts, budgets, and SLAsExperience operating within Japan's construction, engineering, or regulatory market context advantageous Skills Strong technical grounding across electrical, mechanical, and controls systems in a mission-critical environmentConfident leader able to build teams and operating rhythms from scratchSharp incident management and root cause analysis capabilityStrong stakeholder management across engineering, construction, and commercial teamsComfortable operating across multiple jurisdictions and regulatory regimes Qualifications Degree in Electrical, Mechanical, or Building Services Engineering, or equivalent experienceRelevant certifications (e.g.
• CDCP, CDCS, ITIL) advantageousChartered Engineer status desirableBased in Tokyo, Japan;
• business-level English required, Japanese language skills advantageous