Data Center Lab Manager

Data Centre Lab Manager | Yorkshire | 3 days on site per week | 6 month contract | Inside IR35 | £560-£585 p/d

We are seeking an experienced Data Centre Lab Manager to take ownership of a busy on-premise lab environment supporting a major UK financial services organisation.

This is a hands-on, hardware-focused leadership position combining technical data centre responsibilities with day-to-day management of a team of around six engineers.

The role will also involve close collaboration with software, networking, floor management and customer teams, ensuring lab activity is effectively planned and delivered across both BAU and project work.

• Lead the day-to-day operation of the data centre lab, ensuring hardware processes, records, audits and documentation are maintained to a high standard.

• Manage the end-to-end lifecycle of physical infrastructure, including provisioning, installation, racking, cabling, configuration and decommissioning.

• Oversee certification and validation testing of new server and component hardware against core platforms.

• Support the integration of physical hardware with VMware environments, ensuring effective connectivity between the hardware and virtualisation layers.

• Provide senior-level technical support and escalation for the lab team, including rebuilding environments to support major incident investigations and P1 recreation.

• Coordinate with software, network, floor management and customer teams to plan and deliver technical activities.

• Manage team capacity and workload through Jira, including sprint planning, task allocation and prioritisation across BAU and project activity.

• Strong hands-on experience working with data centre hardware, including server racking, cabling, physical builds and hardware troubleshooting.

• Practical experience with server management consoles such as Dell iDRAC, HPE iLO or Lenovo XClarity.

• Working knowledge of VMware and an understanding of how physical infrastructure connects into virtualised environments.

• Solid understanding of SAN and storage infrastructure, particularly from a physical hardware and connectivity perspective.

• Experience using Jira to manage workloads, sprints and task allocation.

• Previous experience leading or managing a technical team, ideally around six people.

• Experience working within financial services or another highly regulated environment would be advantageous.

If you have a strong data centre hardware background and are looking for a contract opportunity where you can combine technical expertise with team leadership, we would be keen to hear from you.

Oscar Associates (UK) Limited is acting as an Employment Business in relation to this vacancy.

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