Site Acceptance Manager, Data Centers (Norway or Portugal)

Job Title: Site Acceptance Manager Department: Facilities Operations – Deployment Reports To: Senior Director of Deployment, Facilities Operations Location: [Site location – to be confirmed] Position Type: Full-Time, Permanent Travel: Primarily site-based during build and handover; occasional travel (c.10–20%) to other Nscale sites, vendor/OEM factories for FAT and Nscale offices across Europe About Nscale Nscale is the GPU cloud engineered for AI. We provide cost-effective, high-performance infrastructure for AI start-ups and large enterprise customers. Nscale enables AI-focused companies to achieve superior results by reducing the complexity of AI development. Our GPU cloud bolsters technical capabilities and directly supports strategic business outcomes, including cost management, rapid innovation, and environmental responsibility. At Nscale, our Facilities Operations team plays a critical role in driving the safe, reliable and efficient operation of the data centre infrastructure that powers our GPU cloud – from first energisation of a new site through to steady-state live operations at scale. We thrive on a culture of relentless innovation, ownership, and accountability, where every team member takes pride in their work and drives it with excellence and urgency. As an Nscaler, you’ll build trust through openness and transparency, where everyone is inspired to do their best work. If you join our team, you’ll be contributing to building the technology that powers the future. About the Role We’re looking for a Site Acceptance Manager with exceptional planning, technical and stakeholder leadership skills to own the transition of our self-build data centre projects from construction into live operations. Reporting to the Senior Director of Deployment, you’ll plan, oversee and manage site acceptance end-to-end – from commissioning readiness and witness testing through to the formal handover of a complete, safe and fully documented facility to our operational teams. You’re comfortable leading at the interface between construction, commissioning and operations, making sound decisions under programme pressure and with incomplete information. You’re comfortable influencing without authority – holding contractors, commissioning agents, vendors and internal teams to an agreed acceptance standard. You have strong technical grounding in critical facility systems (power, cooling, controls and life safety) and can quickly get to the root of a defect or failed test. You’re a meticulous planner who is extremely organised and diligent, with a disciplined approach to documentation, punch lists and evidence of acceptance. You’re safety-first, and won’t accept a system into operations until it’s proven safe, complete and maintainable. You’re a self-starter, curious and quick to learn, comfortable bringing structure to a fast-scaling, high-growth environment. What You’ll be Doing You’ll own the end-to-end site acceptance and construction-to-operations transition plan for Nscale’s self-build data centre projects, from pre-commissioning readiness through to final handover and early-life support. You’ll build and maintain an integrated acceptance and handover programme aligned to construction, commissioning (Levels 1–5 / IST) and customer go-live milestones, tracking progress and escalating risks to the Senior Director of Deployment. You’ll define acceptance criteria, handover requirements and readiness gates (e.g. Ready for Energisation, Ready for Commissioning, Ready for Service), agreeing them with design, construction, commissioning and operations stakeholders at project outset. You’ll oversee and witness commissioning activities – including factory acceptance tests (FAT), site acceptance tests (SAT) and integrated systems testing (IST) – ensuring results are evidenced, defects are captured and retests are completed. You’ll manage the punch list and defects process, prioritising and driving close-out of outstanding items with contractors and vendors before and after handover. You’ll ensure complete and accurate handover documentation – O&M manuals, as-built drawings, test certificates, asset registers, warranties, spares and statutory compliance certificates – is delivered, reviewed and accepted. You’ll lead operational readiness with Facilities Operations leadership, ensuring staffing, training, SOPs/MOPs/EOPs, CMMS asset and planned maintenance set-up, critical spares and service contracts are in place before go-live. You’ll coordinate vendor and OEM training and knowledge transfer so the operations team is confident and competent on every critical system they inherit. You’ll manage the formal transfer of site control – permit-to-work, LOTO and site safety responsibility – from the principal contractor to Nscale operations, ensuring a safe and controlled transition. You’ll chair acceptance and handover meetings, maintain RAID logs and provide clear, data-driven reporting on readiness status to senior leadership. You’ll oversee the defects liability and early-life support period, tracking warranty claims and capturing lessons learned to feed back into design standards and future builds. You’ll continuously improve Nscale’s acceptance and handover framework, templates and standards so they scale across a growing portfolio of sites. About You (Skills / Qualifications Experience) 7+ years’ experience in data centre or mission-critical facility delivery, commissioning or operations, including at least 3 years leading site acceptance or construction-to-operations handover on large-scale projects. Strong technical knowledge of critical MEP infrastructure: HV/MV/LV distribution, switchgear, UPS, generators, chillers/CRAHs, liquid cooling, BMS/EPMS and fire detection and suppression. Proven experience of commissioning processes (Levels 1–5, IST) and witnessing FAT/SAT. Excellent planning and programme management skills, with experience using MS Project, Primavera P6 or similar. Sound understanding of construction health & safety (e.g. CDM 2015 or local equivalent), permit-to-work and LOTO procedures. Experience establishing operational readiness, including CMMS set-up, SOP/MOP/EOP development and maintenance strategies. Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to hold contractors to account and influence at all levels of the organisation. Degree in electrical or mechanical engineering, building services or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience. Nice to Have: Experience with high-density AI/HPC deployments (direct-to-chip liquid cooling, high kW-per-rack environments). Owner-side experience on self-build or hyperscale data centre programmes. Relevant certifications such as Uptime Institute ATD/AOS, CDCP/CDCS, PMP or PRINCE2. Familiarity with Uptime Tier standards, EN 50600 or TIA-942. Equal Opportunities Statement At NScale, we are committed to fostering an inclusive, diverse, and equitable workplace. We believe that a variety of perspectives enriches our work environment, and we encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds, experiences, and abilities. We strongly encourage applications from people of colour, the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities, neurodivergent people, parents, carers, and people from lower socio-economic backgrounds. If there’s anything we can do to accommodate your specific situation, please let us know. For information on how Nscale handles candidate personal data, please see our Employee & Candidate Privacy Notice: Here. Nscale does not accept unsolicited candidate submissions from recruitment agencies.