{"schemaVersion":"jobsearcher.job.v1","id":"f418dcfada16cc5b9b79fc27","url":"https://jobsearcher.com/jobs/f418dcfada16cc5b9b79fc27","canonicalUrl":"https://jobsearcher.com/jobs/f418dcfada16cc5b9b79fc27","title":"Construction Manager","description":"Manager, Facilities and Construction, Data Center Operations (Onsite, Buffalo NY)Empire AI is establishing New York as the national leader in responsible artificial intelligence. Backed by a consortium of top academic and research institutions including Columbia, Cornell, NYU, CUNY, RPI, SUNY, Rochester Schools, Mount Sinai, Simons Foundation, and the Flatiron Institute.By leveraging the state's rich academic resources and research institutions, Empire AI is driving innovation in fields like medicine, education, energy, and climate change, all while giving New York's researchers access to computing resources that are often prohibitively expensive and only available to big tech companies, fueling statewide innovation, driving economic growth, and preparing a future-ready AI workforce to tackle society's most complex challenges.The initiative is funded by $500+ million in public and private investments, State Capital Grant, Academic Institutions, Simons Foundation, Flatiron Institute, and Tom Secunda (Co-Founder of Bloomberg).Position SummaryThe Manager, Facilities and Construction will lead the buildout, commissioning, and ongoing operation of Empire AI's computing facilities in Buffalo, New York. This position is responsible for the physical infrastructure that Empire AI's research computing depends on — power, cooling, controls, and life safety.Reporting to the Director of Research Computing, the Manager, Facilities and Construction will manage the active retrofit of an existing operating building while simultaneously representing owner operations during the design and construction of a new data center facility. Once that facility is commissioned, this position assumes responsibility for its daily operation and maintenance.This role suits someone who has followed building systems through the full lifecycle — from drawings and design review through construction, startup, commissioning, and years of daily operation. Decisions made during construction determine how a facility runs for the next decade, and this position is structured so that the person who builds it is the person who runs it.Duties and ResponsibilitiesServe as owner's representative for the retrofit of the existing facility, coordinating electrical, mechanical, and controls work inside an occupied, operating buildingPlan and sequence shutdowns, work windows, and temporary power and cooling so that critical operations are not interruptedReview and approve contractor procedures for any work affecting critical systems, including risk assessment and backout planningManage day-to-day site coordination: contractor access, material staging, deliveries, equipment rigging, and trade conflictsTrack submittals, change orders, schedule impacts, and cost implications; escalate issues with clear recommendationsRepresent operations throughout the design and construction of the new facility, reviewing designs and equipment selections for serviceability, isolation, redundancy, and long-term maintainabilityIdentify operational risk before turnover, including incomplete documentation, unresolved commissioning items, missing spare parts, and insufficient trainingCoordinate with design teams, general contractors, commissioning agents, equipment vendors, and utility representativesParticipate in commissioning and integrated systems testing, including failure and failover scenariosOwn the turnover process: operating manuals, staff training, spare parts inventory, warranty documentation, and maintenance system setupLead daily operation of critical power, cooling, controls, and life safety systems once the facility is liveServe as the primary escalation point for infrastructure events, alarms, outages, and abnormal operating conditionsOwn the preventive and corrective maintenance program, including work orders, schedules, rounds, and critical sparesDevelop and maintain standard and emergency operating procedures, lockout/tagout procedures, safety plans, and training recordsLead incident response, conduct root cause analysis, and drive corrective actionsRun drills and operator training for failure, transfer, alarm, and recovery scenariosManage mechanical, electrical, controls, and low-voltage contractors and service providers; scope work, review proposals and invoices, and hold vendors accountable for quality and safetyCoordinate site access and security protocols for staff, contractors, vendors, and visitorsMaintain accurate facility documentation, including drawings, one-line diagrams, control sequences, equipment records, and as-builtsPartner with research computing and IT teams to translate technology requirements into building infrastructure requirementsMinimum Qualifications5+ years of experience in data center operations, mission-critical facilities, central plant or utility operations, industrial facilities, or comparable environments where downtime is not acceptableDemonstrated mechanical and electrical experience across the full project lifecycle — design review, installation, startup, commissioning, and ongoing operationWorking knowledge of critical power systems, including switchgear, generators, uninterruptible power supplies, transfer switches, and power distributionWorking knowledge of cooling systems, including chilled water, air handling, pumps, heat rejection, and building automation controlsAbility to read and work from construction drawings, one-line diagrams, control sequences, and equipment submittalsExperience managing contractors and construction activity inside an operating facility Experience developing or executing maintenance plans, operating procedures, incident reports, and root cause analysisStrong safety discipline, including lockout/tagout, energized work planning, and contractor safetyStrong written and verbal communication skills across executive, engineering, trade, and research audiencesAbility to work on-site in Buffalo, New York, and respond to after-hours emergencies as requiredPreferred QualificationsExperience in data center, high-performance computing, hyperscale, semiconductor, or other mission-critical technical facilitiesFamiliarity with liquid cooling infrastructure and high-density rack powerOwner's representative or project management experience on new construction or major retrofit projectsExperience with building management, power monitoring, or computerized maintenance management systemsExperience with commissioning, integrated systems testing, and operational readiness OSHA 30, NFPA 70E, an electrical or mechanical trade license, an engineering degree, or a facilities certification such as Certified Data Center Professional or Uptime Institute credentialsExperience in university, research, public-sector, or high-security facility environmentsFamiliarity with fire and life safety systems, access control, and surveillance systemsCompensationOur compensation reflects the cost of labor across several US geographic markets. The base pay and target total cash for this position range from $100,000 to $200,000. Pay is based on a number of factors including market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.","company":"Facilities Construction Manager","rawCompany":"facilities construction manager","city":"Buffalo","state":"NY","isRemote":false,"isActive":false,"createdAt":"2026-08-06T10:23:36.107Z","occupations":[{"code":"11-9021.00","title":"Construction Managers","slug":"construction-managers"},{"code":"11-3013.00","title":"Facilities Managers","slug":"facilities-managers"},{"code":"11-3021.00","title":"Computer and Information Systems Managers","slug":"computer-and-information-systems-managers"}],"industries":[{"code":"236220","title":"Commercial and Institutional Building Construction","slug":"commercial-and-institutional-building-construction"},{"code":"238990","title":"All Other Specialty Trade Contractors","slug":"all-other-specialty-trade-contractors"},{"code":"236210","title":"Industrial Building Construction","slug":"industrial-building-construction"}],"jobPosting":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"JobPosting","title":"Construction Manager","description":"Manager, Facilities and Construction, Data Center Operations (Onsite, Buffalo NY)Empire AI is establishing New York as the national leader in responsible artificial intelligence. Backed by a consortium of top academic and research institutions including Columbia, Cornell, NYU, CUNY, RPI, SUNY, Rochester Schools, Mount Sinai, Simons Foundation, and the Flatiron Institute.By leveraging the state's rich academic resources and research institutions, Empire AI is driving innovation in fields like medicine, education, energy, and climate change, all while giving New York's researchers access to computing resources that are often prohibitively expensive and only available to big tech companies, fueling statewide innovation, driving economic growth, and preparing a future-ready AI workforce to tackle society's most complex challenges.The initiative is funded by $500+ million in public and private investments, State Capital Grant, Academic Institutions, Simons Foundation, Flatiron Institute, and Tom Secunda (Co-Founder of Bloomberg).Position SummaryThe Manager, Facilities and Construction will lead the buildout, commissioning, and ongoing operation of Empire AI's computing facilities in Buffalo, New York. This position is responsible for the physical infrastructure that Empire AI's research computing depends on — power, cooling, controls, and life safety.Reporting to the Director of Research Computing, the Manager, Facilities and Construction will manage the active retrofit of an existing operating building while simultaneously representing owner operations during the design and construction of a new data center facility. Once that facility is commissioned, this position assumes responsibility for its daily operation and maintenance.This role suits someone who has followed building systems through the full lifecycle — from drawings and design review through construction, startup, commissioning, and years of daily operation. Decisions made during construction determine how a facility runs for the next decade, and this position is structured so that the person who builds it is the person who runs it.Duties and ResponsibilitiesServe as owner's representative for the retrofit of the existing facility, coordinating electrical, mechanical, and controls work inside an occupied, operating buildingPlan and sequence shutdowns, work windows, and temporary power and cooling so that critical operations are not interruptedReview and approve contractor procedures for any work affecting critical systems, including risk assessment and backout planningManage day-to-day site coordination: contractor access, material staging, deliveries, equipment rigging, and trade conflictsTrack submittals, change orders, schedule impacts, and cost implications; escalate issues with clear recommendationsRepresent operations throughout the design and construction of the new facility, reviewing designs and equipment selections for serviceability, isolation, redundancy, and long-term maintainabilityIdentify operational risk before turnover, including incomplete documentation, unresolved commissioning items, missing spare parts, and insufficient trainingCoordinate with design teams, general contractors, commissioning agents, equipment vendors, and utility representativesParticipate in commissioning and integrated systems testing, including failure and failover scenariosOwn the turnover process: operating manuals, staff training, spare parts inventory, warranty documentation, and maintenance system setupLead daily operation of critical power, cooling, controls, and life safety systems once the facility is liveServe as the primary escalation point for infrastructure events, alarms, outages, and abnormal operating conditionsOwn the preventive and corrective maintenance program, including work orders, schedules, rounds, and critical sparesDevelop and maintain standard and emergency operating procedures, lockout/tagout procedures, safety plans, and training recordsLead incident response, conduct root cause analysis, and drive corrective actionsRun drills and operator training for failure, transfer, alarm, and recovery scenariosManage mechanical, electrical, controls, and low-voltage contractors and service providers; scope work, review proposals and invoices, and hold vendors accountable for quality and safetyCoordinate site access and security protocols for staff, contractors, vendors, and visitorsMaintain accurate facility documentation, including drawings, one-line diagrams, control sequences, equipment records, and as-builtsPartner with research computing and IT teams to translate technology requirements into building infrastructure requirementsMinimum Qualifications5+ years of experience in data center operations, mission-critical facilities, central plant or utility operations, industrial facilities, or comparable environments where downtime is not acceptableDemonstrated mechanical and electrical experience across the full project lifecycle — design review, installation, startup, commissioning, and ongoing operationWorking knowledge of critical power systems, including switchgear, generators, uninterruptible power supplies, transfer switches, and power distributionWorking knowledge of cooling systems, including chilled water, air handling, pumps, heat rejection, and building automation controlsAbility to read and work from construction drawings, one-line diagrams, control sequences, and equipment submittalsExperience managing contractors and construction activity inside an operating facility Experience developing or executing maintenance plans, operating procedures, incident reports, and root cause analysisStrong safety discipline, including lockout/tagout, energized work planning, and contractor safetyStrong written and verbal communication skills across executive, engineering, trade, and research audiencesAbility to work on-site in Buffalo, New York, and respond to after-hours emergencies as requiredPreferred QualificationsExperience in data center, high-performance computing, hyperscale, semiconductor, or other mission-critical technical facilitiesFamiliarity with liquid cooling infrastructure and high-density rack powerOwner's representative or project management experience on new construction or major retrofit projectsExperience with building management, power monitoring, or computerized maintenance management systemsExperience with commissioning, integrated systems testing, and operational readiness OSHA 30, NFPA 70E, an electrical or mechanical trade license, an engineering degree, or a facilities certification such as Certified Data Center Professional or Uptime Institute credentialsExperience in university, research, public-sector, or high-security facility environmentsFamiliarity with fire and life safety systems, access control, and surveillance systemsCompensationOur compensation reflects the cost of labor across several US geographic markets. The base pay and target total cash for this position range from $100,000 to $200,000. Pay is based on a number of factors including market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.","datePosted":"2026-08-06T10:23:36.107Z","dateModified":"2026-08-06T10:23:36.107Z","hiringOrganization":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Facilities Construction Manager","sameAs":"https://jobsearcher.com"},"jobLocation":{"@type":"Place","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","addressLocality":"Buffalo","addressRegion":"NY","addressCountry":"US"}},"identifier":{"@type":"PropertyValue","name":"JobSearcher","value":"f418dcfada16cc5b9b79fc27"},"url":"https://jobsearcher.com/jobs/f418dcfada16cc5b9b79fc27"}}