Senior Director, Energy Capital & Strategy

QTS Data Centers•Ashburn, VA

3d•$184,568 - $282,253

About The Position

QTS is a global digital infrastructure company that designs, builds, and operates advanced data centers supporting AI, cloud, and digital transformation initiatives. The Senior Director, Energy Capital & Strategy owns and governs the company’s energy capital and power readiness strategy, aligning it with long-range growth plans, capital allocation priorities, and enterprise risk appetite. The role establishes utility risk tiering, power readiness gates, and early-warning indicators to identify, mitigate, and escalate risks that may affect cost, schedule, or customer commitments. As a cross-functional integrator and strategic advisor to executive leadership, the role drives disciplined decision-making, consistent standards, and scalable governance across the enterprise energy portfolio. The position leads enterprise frameworks for evaluating and sequencing power investments, classifying utility and project risks, and gating progress through the development lifecycle. It oversees recurring utility risk reviews, proactive mitigation and escalation, and clear reporting of assumptions, dependencies, readiness, and portfolio health. The role leads cross-functional teams and advances repeatable, auditable, and scalable systems for energy capital and utility risk management.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Electrical, Mechanical, Civil, or Industrial), Economics, Finance, Business Administration, Data Analytics or Applied Analytics, Operations Research or Systems Engineering, or a closely related field.
At least 10 years of professional experience with progressive responsibility in energy strategy, capital planning, infrastructure development, utility engagement, risk management, or related enterprise strategy roles.
Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional teams and influencing decisions across Development, Energy, Utilities, Investments, Finance, Legal, and Operations.
Proven ability to drive strategic planning, governance frameworks, and business growth in capital-intensive or infrastructure-dependent environments.
Master’s degree in Engineering (Electrical, Mechanical, Civil, or Industrial), Economics, Finance, Business Administration, Data Analytics or Applied Analytics, Operations Research or Systems Engineering, or a closely related field.

Nice To Haves

At least 15 years of professional experience with progressive responsibility in energy strategy, capital planning, infrastructure development, utility engagement, risk management, or related enterprise strategy roles.
Strong grounding in systems thinking, risk classification, and governance models.
Ability to translate technical, regulatory, and utility-specific inputs into enterprise-level strategy and capital decisions.
Experience designing and operating stage-gate models, readiness frameworks, and early-warning indicators.
Executive-level communication skills, including presenting complex risk and capital tradeoffs to senior leadership and governance forums.

Responsibilities

Own and govern the enterprise energy capital and power readiness strategy in alignment with growth plans, capital allocation priorities, and risk appetite.
Establish a structured framework to evaluate, prioritize, and sequence power-related investments across markets and development stages.
Advise executive leadership on energy-related risk, capital exposure, and readiness constraints.
Design and implement utility risk tiering to classify markets, utilities, and projects based on readiness, reliability, regulatory exposure, and execution risk.
Ensure utility risk classifications inform site selection, capital planning, development pacing, and executive decision-making.
Create and enforce power readiness gates across the development lifecycle, from early feasibility through execution and delivery.
Embed power readiness gates in investment approvals, development milestones, and capital committee processes.
Develop and maintain early-warning indicators for emerging utility, regulatory, capacity, and execution risks.
Lead mitigation planning and escalation for identified risks, with clear ownership and accountability.
Lead recurring utility risk review forums, providing structured oversight, consistent reporting, and decision transparency.
Ensure risks, assumptions, and dependencies are documented, tracked, and communicated to senior leadership and governance bodies.
Lead cross-functional teams spanning Energy Strategy, Utility Engagement, Development, Investments, Finance, Legal, Procurement, and Operations.
Align stakeholders around disciplined execution, consistent standards, and enterprise-level risk visibility; influence without direct authority.
Transition informal practices into repeatable, auditable, and scalable energy capital and utility risk management systems.
Define metrics, dashboards, and reporting that give leadership insight into readiness, risk exposure, and portfolio health.
Perform other duties as assigned.