Manchester Data Centre Jobs: £600M Pipeline & Hiring Opportunities

Looking for Manchester data centre jobs with real growth behind them?
Greater Manchester's £600m pipeline—anchored by Kao Data's 40MW Stockport campus and the consented Eccles/Salford facility—is already creating demand from build to operations.
This guide shows where the hiring is, what it pays in the North West, and how to land interviews fast.

Why Manchester is heating up for data centre work

The region's build-out is funded and moving through planning, construction, and commissioning phases.
Kao Data's 40MW site in Reddish/Stockport and the ~£250m Eccles/Salford project unlock multi-year hiring waves across construction, Cx, and operations.
For North West tech jobs, that means steady demand in 2025–2028 and beyond.

What it means for candidates.
More shift E&M roles, more commissioning contracts, and bigger ops teams as halls open.
Expect 4-on-4-off patterns, nights uplifts, and call-out on many sites.

Spotlight: Kao Data's 40MW Stockport campus (KMAN-01)

The campus is designed for AI/HPC and enterprise workloads with scalable power and efficient cooling.
Groundworks have progressed, with first customer power targeted in 2026 subject to phasing.
Located around Kenwood Road Industrial Estate, Reddish, it is commutable from Stockport, South Manchester, and Cheshire.

Hiring impact (typical phasing).
Construction and MEP trades ramp first, followed by commissioning engineers and controls specialists.
Operations hiring then scales for 24/7 coverage, facilities reliability, and customer SLAs.

In-demand roles in Manchester data centres

Shift Electrical & Mechanical (E&M) Engineers.
Data Centre Technicians (DCT) supporting critical environment maintenance and permits to work.
Commissioning Engineers and Cx Leads across electrical, mechanical, and integrated systems.
Controls/BMS Commissioning and integration specialists (Trend/Tridium/Siemens/Schneider) with EPMS exposure.
Critical Facilities Managers / Data Centre Managers to lead ops teams.

Skills that trigger interviews.
HV/MV switching authorisation (AP/EA) for 11kV/33kV distribution.
UPS OEM maintenance/commissioning exposure (Vertiv, Schneider/APC, Eaton) including battery chemistries.
Generator/ATS/loadbank testing and black-building / IST readiness.
BMS/EPMS integration, graphics, and sequence-of-operations fluency.
Liquid cooling readiness and high-density thermal management experience in retrofits.

Salaries & day rates (North West benchmarks)

Pay varies by site tier, portfolio size, shift pattern, and authorisations.
Below are indicative localised ranges for Manchester/North West based on public medians and recent adverts.

Permanent snapshots.
Data Centre Technician / Shift E&M: mid-£40ks to low-£50ks typical, with many adverts quoting £47k–£54k inclusive of shift allowance on 4-on-4-off.
Commissioning Engineer: ~£42k–£43k averages on general commissioning, with DC-specific roles trending higher due to HV/MV exposure.
Commissioning Lead / Cx Manager: £70k–£90k where data-centre and HV/MV background is required.
Data Centre Manager / Critical Facilities Manager: £60k–£75k typical regionally, higher for multi-site responsibility.

Contract day-rate signals.
Commissioning Engineer: national medians sit around the high £300s/day to low £400s/day, with ex-London bands frequently £425+/day.
Electrical Commissioning Engineer (utilities comparables): many listings at £450–£600/day outside IR35.
MV/HV Commissioning or Electrical Appointed Person (AP/EA): DC roles commonly exceed £450/day and can reach £500–£650/day depending on switching scope and permits.
Controls/BMS Commissioning: permanent £50k–£60k plus car/bonus common; contract £400–£550/day depending on OEM and integration scope.

How to get hired fast (North West playbook)

Tune your CV for DC language.
List HV authorisation status, switching experience, and any AP/EA responsibilities.
Name UPS OEMs you've touched (e.g., Vertiv, Schneider/APC, Eaton) and reference battery tests and maintenance regimes.
Add generator/ATS testing, black-building/IST contributions, and BMS/EPMS systems you've configured.

Show shift-readiness.
State 4-on-4-off experience, night shifts, call-out participation, and permit-to-work familiarity.
Include specific plant: CRAC/CRAH, chilled water, LV/HV switchgear, UPS topology, STS/ATS.

Certs that move the needle.
18th Edition.
F-Gas (role dependent).
SSSTS/SMSTS for construction/Cx contexts.
OEM/vendor training for Trend/Tridium/Siemens/Schneider.

Employers & sites to watch in Greater Manchester

Kao Data Stockport (Reddish).
£350m investment, 40MW, community and skills partnerships, and a 2026 service target depending on build phases.
Likely to recruit in waves: construction trades → commissioning → operations.

Eccles/Salford data centre (Halo West).
~£250m scheme on a multi-acre site with data halls, plant, and office space.
Planning consent achieved with local authority backing; look for procurement and contractor appointments to signal hiring ramps.

Equinix Manchester (MA sites).
Multiple IBXs in the city, including MA5's opening footprint and MA1 as a network-dense node.
Expect ongoing facilities hiring and vendor partner activity around expansions.

LDeX2 Manchester (Iomart).
Trafford Wharf Road facility with N+N UPS and on-site parking, serving regional workloads.

The pipeline math: why "~£600m" stacks up

Kao Data's ~£350m Stockport campus plus the ~£250m Eccles/Salford development totals roughly £600m in capex for the corridor.
This excludes ongoing expansion capex from existing colocation operators and private sites.
As phases progress from planning to build to Cx and live service, headcount demand broadens from project specialists to 24/7 ops teams.

Practical commuting & access notes (Reddish/Stockport)

Kenwood Road / Reddish industrial estate access suits early and late handovers.
Expect shift changes around 06:45–07:15 and 18:45–19:15 for typical 07:00–19:00 and 19:00–07:00 patterns.
Driving is often preferred for nights and early starts, with on-site parking common in critical operations environments.

Frequently Asked Questions

What qualifications do you need to work in a data centre?

Most hiring managers ask for an electrical bias, 18th Edition, and proven critical environment experience.
HV/MV exposure and UPS/generator familiarity accelerate interviews, and vendor training for BMS/EPMS is a plus.

Are data centre jobs well paid in the UK?

Yes, with Manchester data centre jobs offering mid-£40ks to low-£50ks for shift engineers and £60k–£75k for managers, plus uplifts for nights and OT.
Contract commissioning and HV/AP/EA mandates frequently exceed £450/day depending on scope.

How do I get a data centre job with no experience?

Bridge from hospitals, banks, or pharma facilities where you can demonstrate permits to work, UPS, generators, and BMS exposure.
Target junior DCT roles, then add vendor certs and pursue HV authorisation to move up the ladder.

What does a data centre engineer do day to day?

They maintain power and cooling plant, respond to alarms, perform rounds, and manage permits and change controls.
On projects, they support testing, commissioning, and readiness for IST/black-building scenarios.

Is Manchester good for tech jobs?

Yes, the £600m data centre pipeline is drawing contractors, vendors, and operators into Greater Manchester.
That means more opportunities across build, commissioning, and 24/7 operations through 2026–2028.

Conclusion

Manchester data centre jobs are rising on the back of funded projects and operator expansion.
If you align your CV to DC language, prove shift-readiness, and show HV/UPS/BMS capability, you'll unlock interviews faster.
Send your CV to URecruit's Data Centre desk and we'll line up roles that match your skills and shift preferences.
Hiring will deepen as 2026–2028 phases go live—now is the moment to position yourself.