Head of Data Center Practice - Global Markets India / Singapore

Additional Information

What Success Looks Like

The successful leader will establish a differentiated US Data Center Practice with:

• A clearly defined portfolio of market-ready data center services.
• A credible technical and delivery organization with the right talent and partner ecosystem.
• A repeatable solutioning and go-to-market model.
• A growing pipeline of qualified opportunities and successful customer wins.
• Consistent delivery quality, safety, customer satisfaction, and operational performance.
• Sustainable revenue growth, healthy margins, and recurring managed services opportunities.

Company Description

About Sutherland: 

At Sutherland, we’re transforming how we work by harnessing the power of AI, data, and digital innovation to accelerate the discovery and development of life-saving therapies. Our vision is to embed artificial intelligence and advanced analytics across every stage of our scientific and operational workflows—empowering our teams with smarter tools, seamless data, and actionable insights to deliver client-centric services and solutions that better serve our customers and, ultimately, improve patients’ lives.

Job Description

Head of Data Center Practice - Global Markets

Location: India OR Singapore, ​​​
Function: Data Center Infrastructure, Engineering & Managed Services for Global Markets.
 

About the Role

Sutherland is looking for a highly experienced, entrepreneurial leader to establish, build, and scale its Data Center Practice across the United States.

This is a strategic leadership role for someone who combines deep technical and operational expertise in data center infrastructure with the commercial acumen to build a profitable, growing business. The individual will own the practice end to end—from market strategy, solution development, and business development to engineering, deployment, operations, maintenance, and decommissioning.

The ideal candidate has hands-on experience across the data center lifecycle, including hyperscale, colocation, enterprise, and AI infrastructure environments. They understand traditional data center infrastructure as well as evolving technologies such as GPU clusters, high-density compute, liquid cooling, and next-generation AI infrastructure.

The successful candidate will build the team, ecosystem, delivery capabilities, operating model, and customer relationships required to position Sutherland as a trusted end-to-end data center infrastructure services partner.

 

Key Responsibilities

1. Build and Lead the Data Center Practice

• Develop and execute the US Data Center Practice strategy, defining target markets, service offerings, investment priorities, and a scalable growth roadmap.
• Build the practice from the ground up, including technical leadership, engineering, project management, field operations, quality assurance, and managed services capabilities.
• Establish the delivery organization, operating model, processes, governance, and performance metrics required to execute complex customer engagements.
• Build strategic relationships with data center operators, hyperscalers, colocation providers, OEMs, equipment manufacturers, engineering firms, contractors, and specialist service providers.
• Own practice performance, including revenue growth, pipeline, bookings, gross margin, delivery performance, customer satisfaction, and profitability.

2. End-to-End Data Center Lifecycle Expertise

Lead and develop capabilities across the complete data center lifecycle, including:

• Planning and readiness: Site readiness assessments, infrastructure surveys, deployment planning, capacity planning, implementation schedules, and risk assessments.
• Installation and deployment: Rack installation, server and network hardware deployment, power distribution, structured cabling, fiber installation, labeling, connectivity, and infrastructure integration.
• Commissioning and validation: Installation verification, connectivity testing, power and thermal validation, documentation, acceptance testing, and operational handover.
• Operations and maintenance: Preventive and corrective maintenance, break-fix services, hardware replacement, infrastructure monitoring, incident management, root-cause analysis, and service-level management.
• Expansion and modernization: Capacity expansion, hardware refreshes, infrastructure upgrades, migrations, reconfiguration, and technology transitions.
• Decommissioning and asset lifecycle management: Safe equipment removal, asset tracking, data-bearing equipment handling, redeployment, recycling, disposal, and audit-ready documentation.

The practice leader must understand how to integrate these services into repeatable, commercially viable offerings for enterprise and hyperscale customers.

3. Advanced and Emerging Data Center Technologies

• Develop solutions for rapidly evolving AI and high-performance computing infrastructure, including GPU deployments and high-density compute environments.
• Understand the implications of increased rack power density, thermal loads, and next-generation cooling requirements.
• Build capabilities around liquid cooling, including direct-to-chip and other applicable cooling architectures, cooling distribution infrastructure, and associated deployment and maintenance requirements.
• Develop expertise in power and thermal infrastructure, including UPS systems, power distribution, cooling systems, monitoring, and environmental controls.
• Evaluate emerging technologies, industry standards, automation opportunities, and new service models to keep Sutherland competitive.
• Translate evolving technical requirements into practical, scalable, customer-ready solutions, supported by qualified engineering and technology partners.

4. Solution Development and Technical Pre-Sales

• Partner with sales and account leadership to identify opportunities, shape customer requirements, and develop differentiated solutions.
• Lead technical discovery, infrastructure assessments, solution architecture, statements of work, proposals, RFP/RFI responses, and solution presentations.
• Develop standard service offerings, implementation methodologies, pricing models, staffing approaches, and delivery playbooks.
• Build solutions that combine Sutherland’s delivery capabilities with specialist partners and OEM ecosystems where required.
• Assess feasibility, delivery risks, resource requirements, service levels, and commercial assumptions before committing to customer engagements.
• Serve as the senior technical authority in customer discussions, executive briefings, solution workshops, and deal negotiations.

5. Business Development and Commercial Ownership

• Build and maintain a qualified pipeline of data center infrastructure opportunities across the United States.
• Work with sales teams to pursue new logos, expand existing accounts, establish strategic partnerships, and convert opportunities into long-term engagements.
• Identify opportunities across hyperscalers, cloud providers, colocation operators, technology companies, and large enterprises.
• Own the commercial model for the practice, including pricing, cost estimation, resource utilization, margin management, and delivery economics.
• Develop recurring revenue opportunities through managed services, maintenance contracts, lifecycle support, and multi-site infrastructure engagements.
• Build a strong partner ecosystem to extend capabilities, accelerate market entry, and support large or geographically distributed deployments.

6. Delivery Excellence, Quality Assurance and Safety

• Establish rigorous quality assurance and quality control standards across installation, cabling, equipment deployment, testing, commissioning, and maintenance.
• Implement standard operating procedures, checklists, acceptance criteria, documentation standards, and audit mechanisms.
• Drive consistent execution across sites, ensuring adherence to customer requirements, applicable codes, safety standards, and contractual service levels.
• Establish program governance, risk management, escalation processes, and performance reporting.
• Drive continuous improvement through root-cause analysis, defect prevention, productivity improvements, and lessons learned.
• Ensure appropriate controls for change management, access, asset handling, data security, and work performed in mission-critical environments.

7. Organization Building and Leadership

• Recruit, develop, and lead a high-performing team of engineers, technical architects, project managers, field technicians, quality specialists, and operations leaders.
• Develop workforce planning, certification, training, and capability-building programs to support growth.
• Establish relationships with subcontractors and regional delivery partners while maintaining consistent quality and accountability.
• Create a culture of safety, customer focus, technical excellence, ownership, and disciplined execution.
• Provide executive leadership with transparent reporting on pipeline, delivery performance, profitability, investments, risks, and growth opportunities.

 

 

Qualifications

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Typically 15+ years of relevant experience in data center infrastructure, critical facilities, deployment, engineering, operations, or infrastructure services, including substantial senior leadership responsibility.
• Demonstrated experience building, scaling, or leading a data center services business, practice, or multidisciplinary delivery organization.
• Strong end-to-end understanding of data center infrastructure, from installation and commissioning through ongoing operations, upgrades, and decommissioning.
• Practical knowledge of rack-and-stack, structured cabling, fiber connectivity, server and network deployments, power distribution, cooling, testing, and infrastructure integration.
• Experience supporting hyperscale, colocation, enterprise, cloud, or AI infrastructure environments.
• Understanding of modern GPU infrastructure, high-density racks, liquid cooling, and evolving power and thermal requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to develop customer solutions, lead technical pre-sales, contribute to winning proposals, and support complex commercial negotiations.
• Experience managing delivery teams, subcontractors, technology partners, project economics, quality, safety, and customer outcomes.
• Strong financial and business acumen, including revenue growth, pipeline development, pricing, margin management, and P&L accountability.
• Excellent executive communication, customer relationship management, and cross-functional leadership skills.
• Willingness to travel across the United States and to customer sites as business needs require.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience building services for hyperscalers, major cloud providers, colocation operators, or large enterprise data centers.
• Experience with GPU clusters, AI infrastructure, high-performance computing, and liquid-cooling deployments.
• Relevant industry certifications in data center infrastructure, project management, networking, electrical/mechanical systems, or facilities operations.
• Familiarity with ITIL, structured project governance, quality management systems, and relevant data center standards.
• Experience creating partner ecosystems and combining in-house capabilities with specialist engineering and field service providers.