Senior Manager, Real Estate & Workplace Services - India

P-1628 Mission Databricks is one of the world's fastest-growing data and AI companies, transforming how organisations harness the power of their data. As we continue to scale across India, we're looking for an experienced and forward-thinking Senior Manager, Real Estate & Workplace Services – India to lead our workplace operations and employee experience across Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi. Our Real Estate & Workplace Services (REWS) team operates in a fast-paced, constantly evolving environment. We're looking for a leader who brings a startup mindset, combines strategic thinking with operational excellence, and is passionate about creating workplaces where our employees can do their best work. This role will have end-to-end accountability for workplace services across India, with Bangalore serving as our largest operational hub. You'll be responsible for creating an exceptional, consistent employee experience while ensuring our workplaces are safe, efficient, financially responsible and positioned to support the next phase of Databricks' growth. You will lead and develop our local workplace teams, oversee our outsourced Integrated Facilities Management (IFM) partners, and build strong relationships across the business. Beyond delivering excellent day-to-day operations, you'll be expected to anticipate future needs, challenge existing ways of working and introduce scalable processes, data-driven insights and AI-enabled solutions that improve how we operate. This is a highly visible leadership role requiring someone who can navigate complex operational challenges, influence senior stakeholders, and balance the needs of a rapidly growing business with long-term operational sustainability. The position is based in Bangalore, with regular travel to Mumbai and Delhi and occasional international travel. Outcomes • Own and execute the workplace services strategy across Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi, ensuring our workplaces support business growth, operational excellence and an exceptional employee experience. • Lead all aspects of workplace operations, including facilities, catering, hospitality, amenities and employee services, ensuring consistent standards, efficiency and accountability across the portfolio. • Build, coach and develop a high-performing workplace team, creating a culture of ownership, collaboration and continuous improvement while planning for future growth. • Create welcoming, inclusive and engaging workplaces that reflect Databricks' culture, using employee feedback and data to continuously elevate services and experiences. • Own strategic supplier relationships, including IFM and catering partners, driving performance, innovation, commercial value and service excellence. • Own India workplace budgets, forecasting and financial performance, identifying opportunities to optimise costs, improve productivity and deliver measurable business value. • Build trusted relationships with senior business leaders and cross-functional teams, influencing decisions, aligning priorities and proactively managing complex operational challenges. • Partner with Real Estate, Design & Construction and other stakeholders to support office expansions, relocations and operational transitions, ensuring workplaces are ready to scale. • Ensure all workplaces meet local regulatory and health and safety requirements, and maintain strong governance, risk management, and business continuity. • Champion data-driven decision-making, AI and automation to simplify processes, improve operational performance and create scalable ways of working. Requirements • 15+ years of experience in workplace services, facilities management, real estate operations or hospitality, ideally within a fast-growing global technology company. • Proven experience leading multi-site workplace operations, with strong knowledge of the Indian market, particularly Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi. • Demonstrated ability to develop and execute workplace strategies, manage complex operational challenges and drive measurable business outcomes. • Strong people leadership experience, with a track record of building, coaching and developing high-performing teams, including outsourced service partners. • Experience managing large-scale workplace operations, including facilities, catering, hospitality, employee experience and workplace services. • Strong financial and commercial acumen, including budget ownership, forecasting, cost optimisation, procurement and contract management. • Proven ability to manage strategic vendor relationships, particularly Integrated Facilities Management (IFM) providers, driving service excellence, accountability and continuous improvement. • Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to influence senior leadership, navigate competing priorities and work effectively across functions. • Strong understanding of Indian workplace regulations, health and safety, statutory compliance and operational risk management. • Highly organised and comfortable managing multiple priorities, complex projects and competing deadlines in a fast-paced environment. • A data-driven and solutions-focused mindset, with experience using operational metrics, technology, AI and automation to improve efficiency and service delivery. • A customer-focused approach with a passion for hospitality, employee experience and consistently delivering high-quality workplace services. • Experience supporting office expansions, relocations, workplace mobilisation and change management. • Proficiency with Google Workspace and collaborative workplace management tools; experience with Asana, Freshservice and similar platforms preferred. • A proactive, adaptable leader with a startup mindset, strong judgment and the confidence to operate independently while knowing when to escalate or challenge decisions. About Databricks Databricks is the Data and AI company. More than 20,000 organizations worldwide —