Data Recovery Operations Manager

About our group:

Seagate’s Customer Support division, part of the Global Quality organization, includes the Contact Center, Data Recovery Services (DRS), and Analytics/Business Intelligence teams. Our DRS labs (OKC, AMS, HZ) work closely together to deliver secure, high quality, and customer centric data recovery services. The Hangzhou DRS lab is critical in supporting mainland China customers and ensuring service continuity and operational excellence.

About the role - you will:

The Data Recovery Operations Manager provides operational leadership and people management for the Hangzhou DRS lab. This role ensures smooth operations, strong process compliance, team development, and effective handling of escalations.
This is not a technical authority role; technical decisions and deep recovery expertise reside with lab engineers and technical specialists.

Operational Leadership
•    Oversee daily operations of the Hangzhou DRS lab, ensuring alignment with global DRS processes and China specific requirements.
•    Maintain operational readiness including staffing, scheduling, equipment, tools, inventory, and workflow.
•    Ensure productivity, workload balance, SLA performance, and documentation accuracy.
•    Perform daily case assignments to lab engineers and 3rd-party data recovery partners.
•    Oversee daily operations from case intake through shipment to maintain accuracy and ensure smooth workflow.
•    Conduct routine audits on process compliance, quality, and data security controls.
•    Collaborate with global labs (OKC, AMS) for alignment on processes, training, best practices, and knowledge sharing.
•    Manage 3rd party data recovery partners to support mainland China operational needs.
•    Ensure 3rd party partners adhere to Seagate processes, contractual requirements, data security, and internal policies.
•    Perform audits on 3rd party partners as necessary to validate compliance, operational quality, and recovery discipline.
•    Serve as the Point of Contact (POC) for all case exceptions and operational escalations.
•    Lead continuous improvement initiatives in safety, efficiency, communication, and overall service quality.

People Management & Leadership
•    Provide strong leadership and coaching, guiding technicians and support staff to improve skills, performance, and professionalism.
•    Build a collaborative, accountable, high trust culture.
•    Conduct performance management, feedback, development planning, and team engagement.
•    Work with global lab managers and Senior Engineers to enhance employee knowledge and broaden cross site capability.
•    Champion structured training programs and support onboarding for new hires.

Problem Solving & Operational Support
•    Demonstrate strong problem solving skills, proactively identifying and resolving operational issues.
•    Be resourceful: know where to find correct information, answers, or experts for the team.
•    Escalate technical matters appropriately to Senior Engineers or global SMEs.
•    Ensure escalations are managed promptly, transparently, and with thorough follow through.

About you:

•    Bachelor’s degree in computer science, IT, engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
•    Strong leadership and people management skills; proven ability to coach, mentor, and develop a team.
•    Experience managing operations in a technical, lab, service, or workflow driven environment.
•    Knowledge of HDD/SSD fundamentals and storage interface protocols (SATA, SAS, NVMe, USB, Thunderbolt).
•    Strong problem solving abilities, sound judgment, and ability to make resourceful decisions.
•    Ability to collaborate with teams in the U.S. and EMEA during off business hours.
•    Proficiency in English and Mandarin is required.

Your experience includes:

•    Experience in data recovery operations (hardware, firmware, or file system exposure beneficial but not required for technical leadership).
•    Experience with operational planning, capacity forecasting, and workflow optimization.
•    Experience developing technicians, managing training programs, or supporting knowledge development.
•    Experience in customer facing or service oriented environments.

Location:

Seagate first entered the Chinese market in 1995, and in the more than 20 years that followed, has committed itself to remain at the forefront in the innovation and development in the country’s storage industry. With its strong technical knowledge and experience, Seagate has worked with many customers and business partners to help capture market opportunities – both domestically and overseas. Now the company operates four branch offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu; a surveillance center, and a data recovery center in Hangzhou.

Location: Hangzhou, China
Travel: None