Critical Facilities Lead

Summary

In Places, we don’t sit back and let things happen, we make things happen, and we do this in service to all Apple employees and customers. Our team is a diverse and nimble group that manages Apple’s corporate and retail workplaces and workplace services. We develop and manage Apple’s global real estate portfolio, lead all related capital construction projects, provide outstanding facilities and site services, develop and lead sustainability initiatives to reduce the environmental impact of all Apple facilities, including commute and renewable energy programs, and do everything we can to ensure the health and safety of all Apple personnel, facilities, and customers in our facilities around the world.
 
The Electrical team manages all electrical systems, critical infrastructure, and power generation across the Austin Places Portfolio. As a cross-functional team, we collaborate both within and beyond the Places organization to ensure operational excellence and reliability.
 
We have an exciting opportunity for a Critical Facilities Lead – Electrical Infrastructure to support our maintenance and operations team. Our primary responsibility as a team is to use our respective technical foresight to ensure the campus is operating at the highest levels while maintaining critical environments without compromising efficiency.
 
Close coordination with all Real Estate & Development groups is encouraged, including but not limited to the Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S), Maintenance & Operations, Project Management, Energy Efficiency partners and contracted technical support.

Description

The Critical Facilities Lead – Electrical Infrastructure is responsible for the operational integrity, reliability, maintenance, and safety of all high-availability electrical distribution and backup power systems across the campus/critical facility.

This role serves as the subject matter expert (SME) and operational leader for mission-critical power systems—including Medium Voltage (MV) switchgear and substations, Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) systems, emergency diesel/natural gas generators, paralleling switchgear, and associated power monitoring infrastructure (EPMS/SCADA).

The ideal candidate combines deep hands-on technical acumen with strong leadership, a rigorous safety-first mindset rooted in NFPA 70E / OSHA standards and demonstrated experience executing flawless Method of Procedures (MOPs) in zero-downtime, 24/7 environments.

Responsibilities

1. Electrical Infrastructure & Asset Reliability:
Medium Voltage Distribution: Oversee the operation, inspection, and maintenance of MV switchgear (4.16 kV to 35 kV class), unit substations, dry-type/oil-filled transformers, protective relays (e.g., SEL), and vacuum/SF6 circuit breakers.
Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS: Lead maintenance, load-balancing, and lifecycle management for multi-module double-conversion static or rotary UPS systems, static transfer switches (STS), power distribution units (PDUs), and energy storage solutions (VRLA, Lithium-ion, battery strings).
Emergency Generation & Fuel Systems: Direct operational readiness, monthly no-load testing, scheduled dynamic/load-bank testing, and preventative maintenance on multi-megawatt standby generator systems, emergency fuel storage/filtration polishing systems, and automated paralleling switchgear.
Power Quality & Monitoring: Continuously monitor power quality, harmonics, power factor, and transient disturbances utilizing the Electrical Power Monitoring System (EPMS) and SCADA platforms.

2. Operational Procedures & Risk Mitigation (MOP / SOP / EOP)
Procedure Authoring & Review: Author, review, and strictly enforce detailed Methods of Procedure (MOPs), Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and Emergency Operating Procedures (EOPs) for all planned maintenance, testing, switching operations, and contingency drills.
Switching Operations: Oversee MV and LV complex switching sequences, bypass operations, and utility-to-generator transfer scenarios to prevent unintended power interruptions.
Root Cause Analysis (RCA): Lead post-event investigations and technical root cause analyses for any power anomalies, outages, or near-misses, driving corrective and preventive actions (CAPA) to completion.

3. Electrical Safety & Regulatory Compliance
Safety Leadership: Champion the site Electrical Safety Program in full compliance with NFPA 70E, OSHA 1910 Subpart S, and NFPA 70 (NEC).
Hazard Control: Enforce strict Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) protocols, arc-flash boundary enforcement, appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) compliance, and Energized Electrical Work Permit (EEWP) processes.
Code & Environmental Compliance: Maintain compliance with local, state, and federal codes, including NFPA 110 (Emergency and Standby Power Systems), EPA air quality permits, spill prevention (SPCC) for fuel oil storage, and local environmental reporting.

4. Preventative Maintenance & CMMS Administration
Manage annual, semi-annual, quarterly, and monthly preventive/predictive maintenance programs (PM/PdM) via the site Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS).
Oversee advanced non-destructive diagnostic programs: infrared (IR) thermography, breaker primary/secondary current injection testing, relay calibration, and battery internal resistance/impedance testing.
Track Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) including Planned Maintenance and Reactive Work orders completion rates, and power utilization metrics.

5. Vendor, Project & Commissioning Management
Manage specialized critical electrical service contractors (e.g., switchgear testing houses, UPS factory technicians, generator service providers, relay engineers).
Act as the operation’s technical representative for capital improvement, expansion, and equipment refresh projects.
Participate in Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT), Site Acceptance Testing (SAT), and Integrated System Testing (IST) for new electrical installations.

6. Emergency Response & Incident Command
Participate in the 24/7 technical on-call rotation for critical infrastructure system alarms, critical failures, utility interruptions, and severe weather response.
Act as incident commander or technical lead during emergency power transitions, ensuring rapid, safe fault isolation and service restoration.

Minimum Qualifications

Experience: Minimum of 7–10+ years of hands-on experience in critical facilities operations (e.g., enterprise data centers, semiconductor fabrication plants, central utility plants, or healthcare critical power environments).
Leadership: Minimum of 3+ years leading technical teams, sub-contractors, or acting as a lead facility engineer.
Electrical Systems Mastery: Direct operational experience with Medium Voltage switchgear (4.16 kV – 15 kV+), including relay coordination, breaker rack-in/rack-out, and substation operations.
In-depth technical knowledge of commercial/industrial UPS topologies (static and/or rotary), battery management systems, and automatic static transfer switches (STS).
In-depth expertise in standby diesel generators, automated paralleling switchgear logic, governor/voltage regulator controls, and ATS systems.
Safety Certifications: Thorough, documented mastery of NFPA 70E (Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace); Qualified Electrical Worker (QEW) credentials.
Master or Journeyman Electrician License, OR Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, Facilities Engineering, or related technical field, OR Equivalent specialized military electrical power generation/distribution experience (e.g., Navy Nuclear / Power Distribution).

Preferred Qualifications

Certified Data Center Management Professional (CDCMP), Certified Facility Manager (CFM), or CEM credential.
Experience with SEL (Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories) or Basler protective relays, including event report extraction and analysis.
Experience with Schneider Electric EcoStruxure Power SCADA, Eaton Foreseer, or similar enterprise EPMS software.
Level 1/2 Infrared Thermography certification.
Familiarity with commissioning levels 1 through 5 (from factory test through Integrated Systems Testing).

Application Deadline

Apple accepts applications to this posting on an ongoing basis.