Manager, Site Selection

Description

As a member of the Corporate Development team and reporting directly to the Director, Site Selection, the Manager, Site Selection is responsible for identifying, evaluating, negotiating, and advancing strategic land opportunities within an assigned region of the United States. This individual will build a strong regional pipeline of on-market and off-market opportunities, cultivate relationships with brokers, landowners, developers, utilities, municipalities, and other market participants, and manage assigned transactions from initial sourcing through closing.

This is a hands-on, execution-oriented role requiring data center and land acquisition experience, sound commercial judgment, strong relationship-building and negotiation skills, and the ability to coordinate complex, multidisciplinary diligence efforts. The Manager will serve as the day-to-day acquisition lead for assigned opportunities within the region and partner closely with Development, Engineering, Power, Finance, Legal, Design & Pre-Construction, Construction, General Management, Operations, and other functions to ensure proposed sites are executable and aligned with the Company's growth objectives.

The successful candidate will be a proactive originator who can independently develop market intelligence, self-source opportunities, manage multiple active transactions, prepare clear investment recommendations, and balance execution speed with disciplined risk management and sound investment judgment.

Manager, Site Selection Role-

Primary Responsibilities:

Site Selection & Opportunity Origination

• Execute site selection plans for an assigned region in alignment with the Company's market priorities, customer demand, and long-term growth strategy.
• Independently source on-market and off-market land acquisition opportunities through brokers, developers, landowners, utilities, municipalities, economic development organizations, and other industry relationships.
• Build and maintain a strong regional network of commercial real estate brokers, landowners, developers, consultants, utilities, and strategic partners.
• Maintain a robust and actionable pipeline of acquisition opportunities and provide regular updates regarding market activity, key relationships, and transaction status.
• Conduct market and competitive research within the assigned region to identify expansion opportunities and assess customer demand, land availability, power, fiber, entitlement conditions, infrastructure constraints, and development feasibility.

Land Acquisition & Transaction Execution

• Manage assigned land, powered land, and powered shell acquisitions from initial sourcing through closing under the direction of the Director, Site Selection.
• Prepare, structure, and negotiate letters of intent, purchase and sale agreements, option agreements, development agreements, easements, and other transaction documents in partnership with Legal.
• Develop transaction strategies and recommendations that balance certainty, timing, risk allocation, flexibility, and investment returns.
• Coordinate transaction approvals, closings, and post-closing obligations.
• Represent the Company professionally with sellers, brokers, developers, public officials, utilities, consultants, and other external stakeholders.

Investment Analysis & Approvals

• Prepare clear, concise, and decision-ready investment memoranda for acquisition opportunities, including the strategic rationale, site attributes, key commercial terms, diligence findings, risks, mitigants, and recommended next steps.
• Partner with Finance and other internal stakeholders to support financial underwriting, development economics, sensitivity analysis, and evaluation of project returns.
• Validate and synthesize commercial, technical, legal, schedule, and financial assumptions used in investment recommendations.
• Prepare presentation materials and support the Director, Site Selection in presenting opportunities through executive and investment approval processes.

Due Diligence & Risk Management

• Coordinate cross-functional due diligence for acquisition opportunities, including title, survey, environmental, geotechnical, zoning, land use, entitlements, access, easements, utility infrastructure, power availability, fiber connectivity, constructability, and development constraints.
• Coordinate internal stakeholders and external consultants to establish diligence scope, priorities, schedules, and deliverables.
• Identify commercial, technical, legal, regulatory, schedule, and execution risks and develop practical mitigation strategies.
• Synthesize diligence findings into clear recommendations for the Director, executive leadership, and investment approval processes.
• Maintain transaction speed and discipline while ensuring risks are appropriately understood and managed.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with Development, Engineering, Power, Finance, Legal, Procurement, Design & Pre-Construction, Construction, Operations, Sales, and General Management throughout the site selection and acquisition process.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to define site requirements and ensure acquisition opportunities support customer, market, power, schedule, and development objectives.
• Facilitate the transition of acquired properties into the development organization following closing.
• Support new market entry and campus expansion strategies by providing market intelligence, acquisition recommendations, and execution plans.

Process & Team Contribution

• Provide guidance and support to analysts or other team members assigned to regional opportunities.
• Support the Director, Site Selection in implementing acquisition priorities, regional coverage strategies, reporting standards, and transaction management practices.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of sourcing, diligence, investment materials, transaction management, market intelligence, and reporting processes.
• Demonstrate a culture of ownership, collaboration, responsiveness, accountability, continuous improvement, and execution excellence.

Qualifications:

Knowledge, Skills & Competencies

• Strong knowledge of data center site selection, land acquisition, development processes, utility infrastructure, and market fundamentals.
• Demonstrated ability to self-source acquisition opportunities and cultivate durable relationships with brokers, landowners, developers, utilities, municipalities, and other market participants.
• Strong commercial judgment, negotiation skills, and ability to structure complex real estate transactions.
• Strong working knowledge of letters of intent, purchase and sale agreements, option agreements, easements, title, survey, environmental review, entitlements, zoning, and land development constraints.
• Demonstrated ability to prepare executive-quality investment memoranda and communicate a clear, well-supported investment recommendation.
• Working knowledge of financial underwriting, development economics, project returns, and investment sensitivity analysis.
• Ability to synthesize technical, commercial, legal, financial, and operational information into clear recommendations.
• Strong understanding of power availability, utility processes, fiber connectivity, constructability, and other critical data center site requirements.
• Excellent communication, presentation, organization, and relationship management skills.
• Demonstrated ability to build alignment and coordinate cross-functional teams without direct authority.
• Ability to manage multiple complex transactions and priorities simultaneously in a fast-paced environment.
• High level of ownership, accountability, urgency, discretion, and sound decision-making.
• Advanced computer skills, including Microsoft Office products.

Leadership Characteristics

• A bias toward action and execution.
• An owner-focused mindset and a proactive, solutions-oriented approach.
• Intellectual curiosity and strong commercial instincts.
• Comfort making informed decisions in ambiguous situations.
• Resilience and adaptability in a rapidly changing, high-growth environment.
• A collaborative working style and ability to influence across functions.
• Unwavering integrity and sound business judgment.
• A commitment to operational excellence and continuous improvement.

Experience & Education

• 5+ years of progressive experience in data center site selection, land acquisition, real estate development, infrastructure development, or a closely related field.
• Direct experience sourcing and acquiring land for data centers or other large-scale, power-intensive, mission-critical infrastructure strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated success originating off-market opportunities and building productive relationships with brokers and landowners.
• Experience negotiating letters of intent, purchase and sale agreements, options, easements, development agreements, and related transaction documents.
• Experience coordinating multidisciplinary due diligence and transactions from origination through closing.
• Experience supporting financial underwriting and preparing investment memoranda or similar executive approval materials.
• Experience coordinating cross-functional transaction teams and external consultants.
• Strong understanding of data center markets, utility infrastructure, entitlement processes, land development, and development economics.
• Bachelor's degree in Real Estate, Finance, Business, Engineering, Planning, or a related field required.
• MBA, master's degree in Real Estate, or other relevant advanced degree preferred.
• Ability and willingness to travel frequently within the assigned region and elsewhere as business needs require, including occasional travel on short notice.

Benefits-