Director, Data Center Development

Nscale • Houston, TX

3d • Hybrid

About The Position

Nscale is seeking a Director, Data Center Development to lead end-to-end development of new AI data center sites across the Americas — from origination and site control through entitlement, design coordination, and partnership with construction for ultimate delivery. Reporting to the SVP, Site Selection, you will own a portfolio of development projects and lead a team of internal reports and external consultants delivering Nscale’s speed to market. You will be accountable for advancing sites through the full development lifecycle — securing land and power (in partnership with Nscale’s power team), managing due diligence, permitting, and entitlements, and coordinating design, energy, and preconstruction workstreams to bring shovel-ready, powered sites to Final Investment Decision (FID).

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Real Estate, Engineering, Construction Management, Finance, or a relevant discipline, or equivalent combination of education and experience
• 8+ years of related experience in data center, real estate, or infrastructure development, with a track record advancing complex projects from site selection to construction
• Demonstrated expertise across the development lifecycle — site control, due diligence, entitlements and permitting, and design coordination
• Experience managing development budgets, schedules, and total development cost, and preparing FID / capital approval packages
• Working knowledge of power and utility interconnection and its role in data center deliverability
• Proven ability to lead teams and manage multiple concurrent projects in a fast-paced environment
• Proficiency in Google Suite and Microsoft Office tools

Nice To Haves

• Data center or mission-critical facility development experience strongly preferred

Responsibilities

• Lead a development team responsible for advancing a portfolio of AI data center sites from origination through diligence and FID
• Own project development strategy, budgets, and schedules across the portfolio, driving speed-to-power and speed-to-market
• Manage the full development lifecycle — site control, due diligence, entitlements, permitting, utility coordination, and design management
• Coordinate cross-functional workstreams across Energy and Power, Design, Preconstruction, and Sales to keep projects on schedule and on budget
• Direct site due diligence — title, survey, geotechnical, environmental, zoning, and utility studies — and lead risk identification and mitigation
• Lead land acquisition and site-control efforts (purchase, option, ground lease) in partnership with Legal and external resources
• Manage entitlement and permitting strategy and schedule, engaging jurisdictions, land-use counsel, and consultants to de-risk the path to FID
• Partner with Energy and Power teams on utility interconnection and self-generation power procurement to validate deliverability
• Develop and manage integrated development budgets and total development cost, partnering with Preconstruction and Finance on capital planning and FID packages
• Track project milestones, costs, and risks, and report status to executive leadership
• Manage external consultants, engineers, and design partners through the development phase
• Drive standardization and continuous improvement of development processes, playbooks, and reporting
• Represent the development team in executive reviews, investment committees, and partner and jurisdiction meetings
• Build and maintain relationships with landowners, developers, brokers, utilities, and local authorities
• Hire, mentor, and develop junior team members building a high-performance team culture as the group scales

Benefits

• medical
• dental
• vision
• flexible paid time off
• parental leave
• retirement plan participation

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director