Datacentre Operations Manager - London

The Firm

XTX Markets is an algorithmic trading firm that actively trades tens of thousands of instruments on over eighty venues with a daily volume of almost three hundred billion USD. We partner with counterparties, exchanges, and e-trading venues globally to provide consistent liquidity in the Equity, FX, Fixed Income, Commodity & Options markets, helping market participants throughout the world obtain the best prices in the various assets classes we cover.

We leverage the talent of the people who work here, modern computational techniques and state-of-the-art research infrastructure to analyse large data sets across markets quickly and efficiently, to maximise the effectiveness of our proprietary trading algorithms. The models that drive our trading strategies have evolved considerably over the last 10 years, from econometric methods that gave our company its name, to trees, to neural networks, to modern deep learning architectures. We are actively seeking new methods and ideas.

At XTX Markets technology is our business and we are a diverse organisation which attracts outstanding talent from across all industry backgrounds. We are focused on teamwork and our people collaborate on all aspects of the business, working openly and with respect for each other, our clients and the market. Our culture is non-hierarchical and one where everyone is valued. We strive for excellence in everything we do.

The Role

XTX has established a presence in more 50 datacentres globally, primarily to support its proprietary and client-facing trading activities, and operates state-of-the-art, multimegawatt high performance computing infrastructure to meet its long-term research objectives.

We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Datacentre Operations Manager responsible for the management, oversight and operational efficiency of our global datacentre infrastructure.

The ideal candidate will possess a deep understanding of datacentre infrastructure and operations, industry best practices, a proven track record in managing large-scale HPC and financial trading infrastructure, and leading high-performing global teams.

The role is full-time, permanent, with the primary work location in London.

This role requires periodic international travel to various datacentre sites and global offices, and availability for on-call emergencies and critical incident management as needed.

Responsibilities

Team Leadership, Development and Innovation

• Recruit, onboard, and train a skilled and well-resourced team of datacentre engineers and support staff globally.
• Establish clear roles, responsibilities, and expectations for team members.
• Foster a collaborative and supportive work environment, encouraging knowledge sharing and continuous improvement.
• Provide mentorship, guidance, training, and professional development opportunities to team.
• Stay informed of industry trends and emerging technologies, incorporating relevant advancements into our datacentre strategy and operations.
• Lead initiatives to increase automation, streamline processes, and improve the scalability of datacentre infrastructure and operations.

Operational Management and Standardisation

• Responsible for day-to-day operations for the global datacentre infrastructure.
• Coordinate with engineering and technical teams to address operational issues promptly.
• Develop and implement standard operating procedures (SOPs) for all datacentre operations, including incident management, change control, capacity planning, and hardware maintenance.
• Support standardisation in server, network and structured cabling configurations to ensure consistency across all datacentres.

Project Management and Planning

• Lead complex datacentre projects, including new site builds, expansions, and migrations, ensuring that they are delivered safely, accurately and to schedule.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams and resources to execute projects concurrently and expediently.
• Evaluate current infrastructure utilisation and define plans to expand, upgrade, or consolidate datacentre facilities as needed.

Infrastructure Deployment, Support and Maintenance

• Responsible for the installation (including component integration) of servers, switches, cabling and so forth, and maintaining a well-ordered datacentre infrastructure (e.g., designing, installing, and maintaining labelled, structured cabling).
• Handling and resolving technical issues and requests.
• Develop and enforce hardware support and refresh best practices.
• Maintain an up-to-date inventory of all hardware assets, including purchase dates, warranties, and support contracts.
• Track hardware across its lifecycle, including location, usage, and maintenance history.
• Track end-of-support and end-of-life announcements from hardware vendors.
• Support the implementation of monitoring tools to track hardware performance metrics and receive real-time alerts for failures or anomalies.
• Keep spare systems and parts readily available and appropriately stocked.
• Document all hardware configurations, support procedures, and common troubleshooting guides.
• Maintain a knowledge base for the team to quickly address recurring issues and for training new staff.

Procurement, Warehousing and Logistics

• Support procurement activities, strategic warehousing/storage for inventory management and component integration.
• Play a key role in managing global logistics, including the challenges of international shipping and supply chains (such as hardware RMA).
• Support the budgeting and financial management of datacentre operations.

Essential Attributes

• Minimum of 10 years of experience in managing large-scale, global datacentre operations, with a strong emphasis on HPC and financial trading environments, and the specific operational challenges these present.
• Proven experience in building and leading a global team and managing infrastructure projects across multiple regions. You will possess excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• In-depth knowledge of datacentre infrastructure, including server hardware, network architecture, storage systems, power and cooling systems, and virtualization technologies.
• Strong understanding of industry standards and best practices, such as Uptime Institute Tier standards.
• Ability to work effectively under pressure and prioritize tasks in a fast-paced environment.
• Have the assertiveness to spot new opportunities and follow through with them.
• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, computer science, or related field. Master's degree preferred.

Benefits

• Onsite gym, sauna, and fitness classes at no charge.
• Extensive medical benefits including an on-site doctor and therapist at no charge.
• Breakfast and lunch provided daily.
• Various supports for caregivers, including emergency dependent care.
• Beautiful Kings Cross office: https://vimeo.com/257888726
• 25 days paid holiday per year + statutory holiday and paid sick days.
• Generous Pension contributions.
• We work 4 days per week in the office, 1 from home unless stated otherwise.