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As the fastest growing digital infrastructure developer in the world, Aligned requires an exceptional Director, Powered Land Development to help keep our growing powered land development pipeline full, and flowing. This will require high-throughput transactional execution with a meticulous attention to detail, at a deal scale ranging from nine-figure project acquisitions to five-figure easement acquisitions.
You have an exceptional drive and a tactical instinct to create “win / win” outcomes, the ability to communicate and present credibly and clearly across a very wide range of project stakeholders, and a deep appreciation of the value of reputation.
You can thrive in a highly dynamic and frequently ambiguous high stakes environment.
You will join a seasoned team with decades and GWs of experience, so data center-specific experience is not necessary. We hope you bring adjacent-sector energy-related real estate acquisition experience to the team.
Summary: The Director, Powered Land Development will lead the identification, qualification, and acquisition of powered land for Aligned's hyperscale and AI-driven data center pipeline. Acting as the accountable owner for each prospective site, this role secures land and power positions ahead of demand and serves as the connecting point between Aligned's Energy, Commercial/Sales, and Platform Delivery & Land Enablement teams, ensuring a disciplined, well-coordinated handoff from site identification through to development.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Lead early stage identification and development of powered land opportunities for hyperscale and AI-driven data center campuses across target markets
- Conduct market assessments, fatal-flaw analysis, and initial site reconnaissance to screen prospective sites for power availability, land characteristics, and development constraints
- Secure site control, including negotiating options, leases, easements, and other land agreements with landowners and brokers
- Lead site-level due diligence and support negotiation of power agreements, interconnection arrangements, and related utility engagements
- Oversee all activities from market assessment, to project conception, and through to development hand-off including competitor intelligence and project power strategies
- Serve as Aligned’s primary point of contact for each prospective site, coordinating with the Commercial/Sales, Energy, and Platform Delivery & Land Enablement teams from initial identification through transition to development
- Act as a connector across departments, aligning priorities, timelines, and site data between Commercial/Sales, Energy, Platform Delivery, Land Enablement, Government Affairs, Legal, and Finance
- Represent Aligned with landowners, brokers, customers, and state and local officials throughout the site-selection process, including leading and negotiating agreements for local economic development, tax, and community agreements
- Support economic modeling and feasibility analysis for prospective sites to inform investment decisions
- Coordinate with engineering, environmental, and Platform Delivery colleagues to ensure a technically validated handoff of qualified sites into development and construction
- Manage site-identification tasks against budgets and schedules, including coordinating internal and external technical support (environmental consultants, engineers, legal counsel)
- Prepare and review work scopes and proposals from third-party consultants supporting site identification and diligence
- Maintain disciplined pipeline tracking and reporting to keep leadership informed of site status, risk, and timeline
- Support government affairs and community relations efforts tied to prospective sites
- Support marketing and sales efforts for data center development opportunities in the pipeline
This role will partner with the following functions within Aligned:
- Executive Leadership
- Commercial/Sales
- Energy
- Platform Delivery & Land Enablement
- Government Affairs
- ESG
- Legal
- Finance/Accounting
Preferred Qualifications:
- 10+ years of experience in land development, site selection, or real estate acquisition within the energy or data center industry (large load and/or generation preferred)
- Demonstrated experience across early-to-late stage project development: market assessment, site control, permitting, and interconnection
- Experience negotiating leases, easements, and land agreements with landowners and brokers
- Economic development experience, including negotiating tax incentives and community investments
- Demonstrated cross-functional leadership, with comfort acting as a liaison across commercial, technical, and executive stakeholders
- Experience across multiple ISO/RTOs (ERCOT, SPP, PJM, MISO, Southwest, Southeast)
- Experience and knowledge of design and technical standards that impact data center development and delivery
- Experience taking projects through FID or NTP preferred
- Experience with private equity infrastructure investors and lenders a plus
- Bachelor's degree in a related field; advanced degree a plus
- Valid driver's license and ability to travel to prospective sites as needed (25-50%)