Senior Manager, Quality & Commissioning

Zerra develops and operates hyperscale data centre campuses across Australia, Japan and India, delivering capacity at scale into markets driven by the growth of cloud and AI. Zerra's flexible campus developments support hyperscale and neocloud organisations, enabling some of the world's fastest-scaling technology businesses to grow with certainty and ambition. 

At Zerra, we empower exceptional people to challenge convention, drive innovation and make a real impact in digital infrastructure. Our culture fuses entrepreneurial agility with global expertise, enabling our teams to deliver results that matter. 

We believe that diverse perspectives, inclusive leadership and equitable opportunities are essential to building stronger teams and better outcomes. We are committed to fostering a workplace where everyone feels respected, supported and empowered to thrive. 

Zerra is part of AGP, an independently owned investor and asset manager that develops and operates real assets across the energy, digital and real estate sectors. 

Western Downs Digital Park
Western Downs Digital Park (WDDP) is a master-planned digital and energy precinct in regional Queensland, developed and operated by Zerra. Planned across multiple delivery phases, WDDP brings together AI-ready data centres, energy infrastructure and a purpose-built campus environment. 

Located close to major power infrastructure within the Western Downs Special Industry Area, WDDP represents a major investment in Queensland's digital future and an opportunity to help deliver the critical infrastructure supporting the continued growth of cloud computing and artificial intelligence. Experience 

• 10+ years of experience in quality assurance and commissioning roles within data centre, mission-critical, or comparable complex infrastructure projects.
• Direct experience leading integrated systems testing (IST/OAT) for power and cooling infrastructure at scale.
• Demonstrated management of construction QA programmes — ITPs, NCR systems, hold and witness points — on a live capital project.
• Proven track record managing commissioning agents and specialist test vendors to a consistent quality standard.
• Experience building or running a defects and punch-list management process from first inspection through close-out.
• Proven hyperscaler or customer commissioning interface experience, including OAT witness management and formal acceptance processes.
• Prior experience leading a small technical team, including specialist consultants and vendors.
• Strong understanding of Operations handover requirements — documentation, training, and O&M readiness.
• Australian mission-critical facility experience is highly regarded; Queensland-specific experience is an advantage.

Skills 

• QMS application: ITP execution, hold/witness governance, NCR management, and close-out tracking within an established QMS framework.
• Deep technical knowledge of data centre commissioning methodology (Cx Level 1–5 protocols, IST/OAT planning, test script development, punch list management).
• Working knowledge of critical infrastructure systems — HV switching, generators, UPS, cooling (air and liquid), BMS/SCADA, and fire suppression.
• Digital commissioning and quality tools (e.g. Procore, Aconex, or equivalent) for ITP management, NCR tracking, and commissioning close-out.
• Programme scheduling literacy (P6 or MS Project) sufficient to sequence commissioning against construction completion.
• Strong technical documentation skills — test protocols, O&M manuals, as-built verification records.
• Clear stakeholder communication under pressure, particularly with customer technical teams during acceptance testing.

Desirable Qualifications and Professional Certification

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Mechanical, or Building Services Engineering.
• Formal commissioning certification (e.g. Building Commissioning Association, CxA) is highly regarded.
• Chartered Engineer status (Engineers Australia) or equivalent is advantageous.
• BICSI Data Center Design Consultant (DCDC), Uptime Institute ATS, or equivalent hyperscaler-recognised commissioning credential is beneficial.
• ISO 9001 Lead Auditor or equivalent quality certification is advantageous.

Competencies 
Execution Mindset — Holds the line on test rigour even when the programme is under pressure to declare a building ready. 
Analytical Thinking — Reads NCR and defect trend data across buildings to catch a systemic issue before it repeats on the next one. 
Stakeholder Orientation — Manages customer technical teams through acceptance testing without letting commercial pressure compromise the test record. 
Adaptability — Re-sequences the commissioning programme cleanly when construction completion slips, without cutting corners on test scope. 
Integrity & Ethics — Does not sign off a quality gate or commissioning milestone that hasn’t genuinely been met, regardless of schedule pressure. 
Leadership — Builds a small commissioning team and vendor group that holds the line on quality even when Kevin isn’t in the room.  The Senior Manager, Quality and Commissioning owns quality assurance and commissioning for WDDP — the function that proves, at the leased building now and at each future building as it reaches this stage, that what has been constructed actually performs to design intent before it is handed to a customer or to Operations. The role applies the APAC Quality Management System (QMS) and Commissioning Framework at project level: ITPs, NCR management, hold and witness points, Cx Level 1–5 testing protocols, IST/OAT, and formal handover criteria. 

This role owns the WDDP commissioning programme, the quality assurance framework applied across all construction workstreams, and integrated systems testing (IST) for critical infrastructure, with authority to reject systems that do not meet activation standards. 

Scope runs from warm shell through customer fit-out and handover for the leased building now in delivery, extending to each future building as it reaches commissioning readiness. The role works daily with the HV Utilities SPM and BaseBuild delivery teams on readiness sequencing, with the PMO Manager, Construction Delivery on programme integration, and reports functionally to the Director, Quality & Commissioning — APAC on QMS application, commissioning methodology, and cross-project lessons learned, while sitting locally under the Construction Delivery Lead for day-to-day project governance. 

Success is zero quality defects transferred to Operations at handover — no failed IST/OAT cycles that blow the handover date, every NCR logged, dispositioned, and closed before its stage gate, and a documentation trail complete enough that Operations can run the facility with confidence from day one.

Safety Leadership (Injury & Incident Free) 
This role carries personal accountability for maintaining an Injury & Incident Free (IIF) environment across all activities, teams, and sites it influences. 

• Own safety controls specific to commissioning and testing activities, including live systems testing and energised equipment work, ensuring all activities run under approved Cx scripts, method statements, and permit-to-work controls.
• Ensure all commissioning agents and vendors are inducted and briefed on WDDP site safety requirements before test activities begin.
• Enforce lock-out/tag-out and isolation discipline during integrated systems testing, and confirm HV switching and generator load testing are executed only by suitably qualified, authorised personnel.
• Lead pre-test safety briefings for every major commissioning milestone (power-on, load bank testing, IST/OAT).
• Lead incident investigation for any commissioning-related safety event, driving root-cause analysis and closing out corrective actions before testing resumes.

Quality Assurance & Commissioning 
This is the primary accountability of this role: applying the APAC QMS and Commissioning Framework at WDDP so quality and commissioning are enforced as an integrated, non-negotiable discipline rather than a construction sign-off formality. 

• Own the WDDP quality assurance programme, setting inspection, test, and sign-off standards — ITPs, hold and witness points — applied consistently across BaseBuild, HV/Utilities, and Fit-Out workstreams, in line with the APAC QMS.
• Review and approve GC and OSE ITP submissions, audit compliance throughout construction, and govern IST/OAT milestones against construction completion gates.
• Enforce zero-defect transfer to Operations: every NCR logged, dispositioned, and resolved before its stage gate is passed — nothing carried forward unresolved or unrecorded.
• Develop and run the commissioning programme for the leased building and each future building as it reaches readiness, sequencing component, system, and integrated systems testing (IST/OAT) against the master programme.
• Lead integrated systems testing for critical infrastructure (power, cooling, controls, fire suppression) to confirm performance against design intent before customer or Operations handover.
• Own the commissioning interface with hyperscaler technical teams — witness scheduling, test sign-off, OAT objection resolution — and chair joint quality and commissioning reviews with the customer, GC, OSE vendors, and Operations.
• Ensure commissioning validates energy efficiency systems, PUE benchmarks, and sustainability controls against design-stage commitments, and manage regulatory notifications for sustainability certification testing (Green Star, LEED, or equivalent).
• Manage commissioning agents and specialist test vendors, holding them accountable for test rigour and documentation quality.
• Build and maintain the commissioning documentation set (ITP records, NCR register, test records, O&M manuals, as-built verification) required for a clean Operations handover.
• Escalate any commissioning failure or performance shortfall immediately, with a clear root-cause and remediation plan.

Design Coordination & Value Engineering 
This role treats quality and commissioning as a design input criteria. 

• Participate in commissioning design review on the leased building and future buildings, challenging specifications that create unnecessary testing complexity or risk.
• Feed commissioning outcomes back into design: identify deficiencies exposed during IST/OAT, escalate to Design with root-cause evidence, and confirm they are addressed before the next building’s design is frozen.

Construction Delivery & Management 
This role manages the handover interface between construction completion and commissioning readiness, with the authority to hold the line when a system isn’t genuinely ready. 

• Set and enforce construction-to-commissioning handover criteria, with authority to reject systems that do not meet activation standards.
• Confirm construction completion criteria are genuinely met before accepting a system or building into the commissioning programme.
• Coordinate with BaseBuild and OSE delivery teams to resolve readiness gaps ahead of scheduled commissioning windows.
• Lead the handover to Operations, ensuring documentation, training, and lessons learned are complete for a seamless transition.

High Voltage & Utility Delivery
This role owns energisation sequencing and holds utility and HV delivery to commissioning-grade discipline. 

• Own energisation sequencing — generator, UPS, switchgear, and cooling commissioning sequenced against confirmed utility availability — with energisation authorisations signed off before switching.
• Coordinate HV energisation and load testing sequencing directly with the Senior Project Manager, HV Utilities, treating confirmed energisation dates as binding commissioning programme inputs.
• Manage regulatory notifications for HV energisation and fire suppression commissioning specific to the Queensland jurisdiction.
• Verify HV and utility systems performance as part of the integrated systems testing programme.

Enterprise Risk, Issues & Analytical Insights
This role owns the risk of a failed or delayed commissioning cycle, and uses NCR and defect data to catch systemic issues before they repeat. 

• Maintain the WDDP commissioning and quality risk register, flagging test failures, vendor performance issues, or documentation gaps early, with quantified schedule and cost exposure.
• Use NCR pattern analytics and defect trend data across buildings to diagnose systemic design or procurement deficiencies, not just isolated failures, and escalate to Design with evidence.
• Provide clear reporting to the Construction Delivery Lead and Director, Quality & Commissioning — APAC on commissioning readiness and risk.

People & Culture
This role builds and leads a small, highly technical commissioning team and the specialist vendors supporting it, with the same rigour the APAC function expects at portfolio scale. 

• Lead and develop the on-site commissioning engineering team, setting clear standards for test rigour and documentation.
• Coach commissioning engineers on stakeholder management with construction, OSE, and customer teams during high-pressure test windows.
• Coordinate specialist commissioning agents and vendors as an extension of the team, holding them to the same standard.
• Foster a culture where NCRs are raised openly and the QMS is treated as a delivery tool, not paperwork to get through.