CE Lease Operation Manager (CELOM)
Microsoft
In alignment with Microsoft’s values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day—and we need you as a CE Lease Operation Manager (CELOM). In this role, you will lead and develop a team of Critical Environment Field Service Engineers (CE FSEs) and ensure safe, compliant, and reliable operations of mission-critical mechanical and electrical infrastructure across assigned datacenter sites.
You will serve as a key operations leader across sites—driving standardization of maintenance execution, change/risk management rigor, audit readiness, incident response excellence, and continuous improvement. This opportunity will allow you to strengthen operational resilience, improve cost/energy efficiency, and grow a high-performing technical team in a highly regulated, always-on environment.
Microsoft’s Cloud Operations & Innovation (CO+I) is the engine that powers our cloud services. As a CO+I CE Lease Operation Manager (CELOM), you will perform a key role in delivering the core infrastructure and foundational technologies for Microsoft's online services including Bing, Office 365, Xbox, OneDrive, and the Microsoft Azure platform. As a group, CO+I is focused on the personal and professional development of all employees and offers training and growth opportunities including Career Rotation Programs, Diversity & Inclusion training and events, and professional certifications.
Our infrastructure is comprised of a large global portfolio of more than 200 Data Centers in 32 countries and millions of servers. Our foundation is built upon and managed by a team of subject matter experts working to support services for more than 1 billion customers and 20 million businesses in over 90 countries worldwide.
With environmental sustainability and optimization at the forefront of our data center design and operations, we continue to grow and evolve as we meet the ever-changing business demands that hold Microsoft as a world-class cloud provider.
Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.
Responsibilities
As a CE Lease Operation Manager (CELOM), your success will be measured by:
People Leadership & Team Development
Lead, coach, and develop CE FSEs by setting clear expectations, driving accountability, supporting career growth, and sustaining strong engagement and performance.
Define and track clear performance metrics for CE FSE execution quality, including MOP review rigor, maintenance record quality, audit finding closure, and incident recurrence trends.
Own workforce planning activities including recruitment, onboarding, training, development, and succession planning for CE FSE roles.
Critical Environment Operations & Maintenance Excellence
Ensure CE FSEs consistently execute day-to-day operations and maintenance of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) systems across assigned sites, protecting availability and operational readiness.
Ensure CE FSEs conduct thorough, line-by-line technical and risk-based reviews of EOPs/SOPs/MOPs, validating assumptions, failure modes, critical switching steps and rollback plans prior to execution.
Oversee implementation and governance of annual maintenance, break-fix, technical MEP projects and drive improvements (timeliness, accuracy, and execution quality) where gaps exist.
Change, Risk, Safety & Compliance Management
Supervise compliance to change management policies by ensuring critical work is properly planned, reviewed, and controlled—especially landlord/site maintenance activities executed under Microsoft governance.
Lead risk management across safety, operational, and compliance requirements (e.g., certifications, renewals, readiness gaps), escalating and driving mitigation plans through closure.
Promote and enforce electrical/mechanical safety practices for both landlord and Microsoft-owned equipment, ensuring the team is trained and consistently operating to expectations.
Incident Response & Continuous Improvement
Ensure regular emergency drills are planned, executed, reviewed, and improved, validating role clarity, accountability, and readiness across Microsoft and landlord teams.
Oversee development and dissemination of RCA (Root Cause Analysis) and incident learnings, driving preventive actions that reduce recurrence risk and improve operational maturity.
Drive a culture of continuous improvement, including follow-up on findings from assessments, audits, QA/compliance checks, and insurance/CEP-related requirements.
Stakeholder & Partner Management
Act as the primary people-manager interface between site CE FSE teams and Regional CE / Engineering functions.
Ensure operational feedback (incidents, RCAs, maintenance findings, audit outcomes) is systematically fed into regional engineering and global standards.
Ensure quality control of critical maintenance records, validating completeness, accuracy, and audit readiness across all assigned sites.
Represent CE operations in cross-functional forums, sharing lessons learned and driving CE-related programs that improve safety, reliability, and consistency.
Build and maintain strong partnerships with landlords, site operations leadership and regional/global stakeholders, serving as the primary CE people-manager escalation path.
Participate in and maintain structured lessor performance governance, including scorecards, trend analysis, and escalation of recurring operational or compliance risks.
Project & Capacity Support
Support and coordinate infrastructure upgrades and deployments (e.g., capacity-related changes) by aligning CE readiness, execution dependencies, and operational acceptance criteria.
Ensure accurate data management in relevant facility planning tools and support future deployment and capacity planning activities through disciplined operational inputs.
Ensure CE FSE participation in design reviews, commissioning activities, and site transitions in line with the Site Transition Program, validating operational readiness prior to BAU handover.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications
Demonstrated experience managing mission-critical physical operations in a Critical Environment infrastructure (e.g., electrical/mechanical plant operations and maintenance) and driving operational rigor across multiple sites.
Experience leading and motivating a diverse technical workforce, including performance management, coaching, and team capability development.
Working knowledge of change and risk management in critical environments, including reviewing/approving work controls and ensuring safe execution.
Willingness to support flexible hours / non-business hours as required by the rhythm of the business and incident response needs.
Ability to meet Microsoft/customer/government security screening requirements where applicable (e.g., Cloud Background Check requirements referenced in Microsoft Careers postings).
Fluency in Japanese and English language skills for high levels of engagement and extensive interaction with internal and external stakeholders.
Preferred Qualifications
Bachelor’s Degree or Technical College certification in mechanical or electrical engineering and/or services.
Experience driving standardization of EOP/SOP/MOP procedures, maintenance calendars, and cross-site best practices.
Experience leading audit/assessment readiness and closure, including corrective action planning and verification.
Demonstrated success delivering energy efficiency / cost optimization initiatives and tracking outcomes.
Strong stakeholder management skills with landlords, site ops leaders, and regional/global partners.
This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.
Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.