Senior Manager Site Readiness – AI Data Centers

About the role

This Senior Manager role focuses on preparing sites for the construction of AI data centers. Responsibilities include developing and executing permitting strategies, managing government relations, and representing the company at public hearings to secure necessary approvals. The position requires a deep understanding of local codes and regulatory strategies, ensuring all infrastructure designs comply with local requirements and proactively engaging with building officials to smooth the approval process.

A key part of the role involves coordinating with legal and land teams to secure easements and resolve land rights issues, as well as reviewing title reports and surveys. The Senior Manager will also oversee third-party consultants, defining their scopes of work, managing budgets, and ensuring the quality of technical reports. This includes working closely with utility providers to align service delivery with construction schedules and securing temporary services for site mobilization.

Success in this position means identifying and mitigating site constraints, maintaining a clear dashboard for executive leadership on critical path items and risks, and formalizing a "Ready to Build" package for the construction team. The role also contributes to standardizing site readiness processes and defining project accountability, ensuring a smooth transition from development to construction for new AI data center projects.

The compensation for this role is listed between $100,000 and $250,000 USD.

Skills that matter here

• land development: This role requires experience in land development to manage the progression of sites from initial development through to construction readiness.
• project management: The position involves overseeing multi-threaded permitting timelines and coordinating various aspects of site preparation, necessitating strong project management skills.
• Technical Literacy: The ability to interpret civil engineering drawings, ALTA surveys, and legal descriptions is crucial for navigating site requirements and resolving issues.
• Negotiation Skills: This role involves negotiating with utility providers and municipal leaders to secure necessary agreements and approvals.
• Procore: Proficiency in project management software like Procore is needed to track and manage complex permitting timelines.
• Primavera P6: Familiarity with Primavera P6 or similar software is required for tracking multi-threaded permitting timelines effectively.

Who this role suits

• Someone with 8-12 years of experience in heavy industrial, energy, or data center sectors.
• A person who is adept at navigating complex regulatory environments and interpreting technical documents.
• An individual with a proven track record of successful negotiations with external stakeholders.
• A professional who can manage multiple project timelines and coordinate various external consultants efficiently.

From the employer

Key Responsibilities

• Entitlements and Jurisdictional Management
• Permitting Strategy: Develop and execute a comprehensive permitting roadmap for each project, including land use, environmental, grading, and building permits.
• Government Relations: Support the Chief Development Officer and VP of Policy and Government Relations as directed and where appropriate serve as the point of contact for local planning departments, building officials, and regulatory agencies to expedite approvals.
• Public Hearings: Represent the company as needed at planning commission meetings, zoning boards, and city council hearings to secure necessary variances or Special Use Permits (SUPs).

• Local Codes and Regulatory Strategies
• Code Interpretation & Technical Compliance: Conduct reviews of local building codes and design guidelines to ensure AI specific infrastructure meets local requirements. Identify any challenges or gray areas and propose solutions. Partner with Design and Construction teams to ensure plans align with local code requirements.
• Local Standards & Ordinance Navigation: Conduct reviews of local ordinances including zoning, architectural standards, setbacks, energy efficiency, noise, environmental or other relevant ordinances. Collaborate with all Corporate Services teams to develop strategies and solutions.
• Proactive Jurisdictional Engagement: Lead technical “Pre-app” meetings with local building officials to socialize new construction and secure buy-in before formal submission. Serve as the primary technical advocate when local inspectors or code officials raise questions regarding the development and construction as needed.

• Easements and Land Rights
• Easement Resolution: Coordinate and partner with Legal team and Land & Power team to identify, negotiate, and secure necessary easements (utility, access, drainage) and rights-of-way required to support development / construction requirements.
• Title and Survey Review: Analyze ALTA surveys and title reports to identify encumbrances or gotchas that could impact the construction footprint or site ingress/egress.
• Boundary & Encroachment Management: Coordinate and partner with Legal team and Land & Power team to resolve any existing site encroachments or boundary disputes prior to mobilization.

• External Professional Services Oversight
• Consultant Management: Coordinate as needed or directed the work of third-party firms, including civil engineers, environmental consultants (Phase I/II ESA), traffic consultants, or other firms supporting development and construction.
• Scope & Budgeting: Support the VP Construction with defining Scopes of Work (SOWs) for site readiness services, review proposals, and manage the associated budgets to prevent cost overruns in the pre-construction phase.
• Deliverable Quality Control: Ensure all technical reports (geotechnical, hydrological, etc.) meet the specific load and cooling requirements of AI-optimized data center shells.

• Utility and Infrastructure Coordination
• Utility Liaison: Work closely with power and water authorities to ensure that service delivery timelines align with the construction schedule.
• Temporary Services: Secure permits and infrastructure for temporary construction power, water, and site trailers to enable immediate mobilization.
• Fiber Connectivity: Support Corporate Services teams as needed to coordinate with telecommunications providers to ensure diverse fiber paths are secured and permitted to the property line.

• Risk Mitigation and Site Assessment
• Site Constraints Analysis: Identify physical or legal constraints (e.g., wetlands, endangered species, archaeological sensitivity) and assist VP Construction with development of mitigation plans.
• Due Diligence Reporting: Maintain a Site Readiness Dashboard for executive leadership, highlighting critical path items, risks to the Start Construction date, and mitigation strategies.
• Handover Coordination: Formalize a Ready to Build package for the internal construction execution team, ensuring all conditions of approval are documented and understood.

• Strategic Support
• Standardization: Assist in developing a Site Readiness Playbook to standardize the approach for deployments and industrialized models.
• RACI & Workflow: Contribute to the development of project-specific RACI matrices to ensure clear accountability between all Enterprise teams.

• Additional duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• 8–12 years in land development, project management, or site readiness, specifically within heavy industrial, energy, or data center sectors.
• Technical Literacy: Ability to interpret civil engineering drawings, ALTA surveys, and complex legal descriptions.
• Negotiation Skills: Proven track record of negotiating with utility providers and municipal leaders.
• Project Management: Proficiency in project management software (e.g., Procore, Primavera P6, or MS Project) to track multi-threaded permitting timelines.
• This position may involve duties that require operation of a company vehicle or travel between job sites. As such, candidates must be insurable under CleanSpark's vehicle insurance policy.

CleanSpark Offers

• Equal Opportunity Employer: CleanSpark provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.
• This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.