We invite you to apply for the Head of RE Data Center & Lab Infrastructure role, a pivotal opportunity for a strategic thinker passionate about shaping critical infrastructure. In this position, you will develop a comprehensive strategic roadmap for our data center, manufacturing, and lab Real Estate, ensuring alignment with our business, R&D, and capacity needs. You will be instrumental in guaranteeing our infrastructure environments meet stringent performance, resiliency, energy, and compliance requirements, while also driving significant improvements in cost efficiency, footprint utilization, and long-term operational sustainability. If you are adept at establishing standardized governance, robust risk controls, and advanced technical planning methodologies, and thrive on fostering cross-functional alignment among engineering, IT, security, and Real Estate stakeholders to support scalable business growth, we encourage you to explore this exciting opportunity and join our innovative team.
Responsibilities
1. Strategic Real Estate Infrastructure Planning
- Define real estate infrastructure strategy for data center, manufacturing and lab spaces, including capacity planning, modernization, consolidation, and future expansion
- Align technical infrastructure needs with Real Estate portfolio plans and corporate strategic priorities
- Evaluate site suitability for new or expanded lab environments
2. Technical Real Estate Governance
- Own governance for data center, manufacturing & lab infrastructure within Real Estate, including standards, lifecycle requirements, and approval processes
- Ensure compliance with electrical, mechanical, safety, environmental, and information security standards
- Establish design and operational frameworks for high‑density compute, cooling, and power systems
3. Program & Project Delivery
- Lead or oversee complex projects involving data center, lab or manufacturing builds, expansions, and facility transformations
- Coordinate with other Real Estate teams, Engineering, Business stakeholders and IT to ensure technical requirements are integrated into RE project delivery
- Ensure execution meets safety, compliance, quality, schedule, and budget targets
4. Operational Excellence & Performance
- Monitor operational performance indicators including uptime, energy usage, capacity, and environmental metrics
- Drive optimization programs for power usage effectiveness (PUE), energy cost efficiency, and sustainability
- Lead risk assessments, failure analyses, and mitigation plans for critical systems
5. Financial & Portfolio Management
- Support development of business cases, cost models, REBC packages, and strategic investments for real estate technical infrastructure
- Manage Opex/Capex planning, forecasting, and oversight for data center, manufacturing & lab real estate related projects
- Identify cost-saving opportunities through consolidation, modernization, or system improvements
6. Cross‑Functional Collaboration
- Engage regularly with R&D, Network Infrastructure, IT Infrastructure, Security, EHS, and other Real Estate counterparts
- Ensure technical infrastructure decisions reflect both engineering requirements and Real Estate constraints
- Facilitate transparent communication among all stakeholders
7. Risk, Compliance & Safety
- Implement strong risk‑management frameworks addressing critical systems, redundancy levels, security requirements, and incident preparedness
- Ensure operations comply with global standards, local regulations, and corporate policies
- Lead readiness assessments and troubleshooting during critical outages or events
You have:
- 10 years experience in data center operations, lab infrastructure, critical facilities engineering, or technical real estate management
- Strong working knowledge of HVAC, electrical distribution, UPS, generators, cooling technologies, and facility management for mission‑critical environments
- Experience managing multi‑site or global lab/data center portfolios
- Proven success leading complex infrastructure or construction projects
- Familiarity with safety and compliance standards
- Proficiency with relevant systems (e.g., DCIM tools, CMMS, CAD/BIM, capacity planning tools, SAP/financial systems)
- Leadership and stakeholder influence across cross‑functional teams
- Problem‑solving, decision‑making, and agility in high‑pressure environments
- Strong organizational, planning, and time‑management skills
About Us
Nokia is a global leader in connectivity for the AI era. With expertise across fixed, mobile and transport networks, powered by the innovation of Nokia Bell Labs, we’re advancing connectivity to secure a brighter world.
Our recruitment process
We act inclusively and respect the uniqueness of people. Our employment decisions are made regardless of race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by law. We are committed to a culture of inclusion built upon our core value of respect.
If you’re interested in this role but don’t meet every listed requirement, we still encourage you to apply. Unique backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences enrich our teams, and you may be just the right candidate for this or another opportunity.
The length of the recruitment process may vary depending on the specific role's requirements. We strive to ensure a smooth and inclusive experience for all candidates. Discover more about the recruitment process at Nokia.
- Corporate Retirement Savings Plan
- Health and dental benefits
- Short-term disability, and long-term disability
- Life insurance, and AD&D – Company paid 2x base pay
- Optional or Supplemental life and AD&D insurance (Employee/Spouse/Child)
- Paid time off for holidays and Vacation
- Employee Stock Purchase Plan
- Tuition Assistance Plan
- Adoption assistance
- Employee Assistance Program/Work Life Resource Program
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