Feasibility Development Manager

Ares Management Corporation•Chicago, IL

65d•$100,000 - $500,000

About The Position

The Feasibility Development Manager supports the Global Design & Innovation (GDI) team in the early-stage evaluation of data center development opportunities across international and domestic markets. This role focuses on the analysis of technical, regulatory, and commercial factors to help determine site viability and inform strategic decision-making. Working closely with internal stakeholders and external partners, the Feasibility Development Manager helps enable scalable and efficient growth aligned with the organization’s business and infrastructure goals. This role requires strong analytical and coordination skills across a multidisciplinary environment—spanning engineering, real estate, utilities, and permitting. The ideal candidate has experience in site feasibility, project development, and infrastructure evaluation, ideally in the data center, energy, and large-scale industrial sectors.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in engineering, planning, real estate, environmental science, or a related field; advanced degree a plus.
7–10 years of experience in infrastructure development, feasibility, site selection, or technical due diligence—experience in the data center or critical infrastructure highly space preferred.
Strong working knowledge of permitting processes including zoning, entitlements, CEQA/NEPA (or equivalent), and utility interconnection.
Familiarity with early-stage energy strategy, including renewable sourcing, utility negotiations, and sustainability evaluations.
Ability to manage and synthesize inputs from diverse technical teams and stakeholders.
Detail-oriented with strong organizational and analytical skills.
Experience with tools such as GIS mapping, Excel modeling, Microsoft Project, or project management software.
Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment with shifting priorities.
Strong communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to present findings clearly.
Willingness to travel domestically and internationally as needed (up to 20%).

Nice To Haves

Experience working with or supporting hyperscaler and enterprise data center clients is a strong plus.
Global experience is a plus.

Responsibilities

Manage technical and commercial evaluations of potential data center sites.
Support environmental, permitting, and utility assessments in partnership with internal SMEs and third-party consultants.
Analyze jurisdictional requirements for entitlements, environmental review, building permits, and timelines.
Identify permitting risks and recommend strategies to mitigate development delays.
Evaluate opportunities for incorporating alternative energy solutions such as solar, on-site generation, energy storage, or renewable PPAs.
Develop and maintain standardized feasibility reporting tools, dashboards, and trackers.
Research and analyze local market conditions, zoning, land use, and infrastructure to assess site suitability.
Participate in screening of sites presented by brokers, developers, or internal sources.
Coordinate with design and engineering teams to assess fit-for-purpose requirements (power, fiber, water, access, constructability, etc.).
Provide comparative analysis across markets and geographies to support prioritization.
Manage communication and collaborate with real estate, legal, energy, design, sustainability, delivery, and operations teams to support the end-to-end feasibility process.
Facilitate input collection and documentation to support investment memos and go/no-go decisions.
Assist in developing processes and standards to enable global consistency in feasibility analysis.
Manage timelines and deliverables across early-stage project workstreams.
Maintain clear records of feasibility inputs, assumptions, and outcomes for historical tracking and lessons learned.
Support senior members of the GDI team in preparing executive summaries and presentations.