Senior Associate, Data Center Development, North America

About the role

The Senior Associate, North American Development leads US data center sites from Letter of Intent through entitlements and permitting, preparing sites for handoff to the delivery team. This role requires strong leadership, project management, and coordination skills to guide internal and external experts, mitigate risks, manage budgets, and maintain schedules. The ideal candidate has a developer background, experience managing BTS and Spec developments, and the ability to navigate multiple customer requests and development pathways at once. They must manage projects with flexible strategies, using input from SME's to deliver the highest and best value for each site.

Responsibilities

• Due Diligence, Development, and Entitlement Management
• Lead site development from Letter of Intent through permitting, entitlements, and regulatory approvals.
• Lead site due diligence in both desktop and detailed formats to support site acquisitions.
• Coordinate with municipalities, permitting agencies, utilities, and consultants to secure required approvals.
• Consolidate input from technical experts and stakeholders to track project risks, recommend mitigation strategies, and maintain compliance with schedules and budgets.
• Oversee environmental assessments, land use studies, and utility interconnection requirements.
• Ensure sites meet organizational criteria for power, fiber, water, access, and constructability prior to handoff.
• Site Feasibility
• Conduct initial site reviews to assess feasibility, including zoning, land use, infrastructure, and regulatory requirements.
• Provide recommendations on site viability and prioritize development opportunities.
• Support the internal site selection team in conversations with landowners, brokers, and partners during early acquisition phases, providing guidance and assistance as needed.
• Leadership and Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Serve as the central point of coordination, gathering information from subject matter experts to maintain alignment across teams.
• Ensure that project schedules, deliverables, budgets, and risks are actively monitored and communicated to senior leadership.
• Partner with legal, site selection, energy, design, sustainability, and delivery teams to ensure smooth project execution.
• Develop standardized processes and tools for consistent North American development practices.
• Project Management and Reporting
• Maintain schedules, milestone trackers, release logs, and development summaries, and coordinate information into regional and global dashboards.
• Track permitting and entitlement progress, ensuring documentation of approvals, assumptions, and decisions.
• Prepare executive summaries, status reports, and presentations for senior leadership and investment review.
• Lead teams to make strategic decisions for projects with multiple development pathways, ensuring the highest and best value outcomes for each site based on SME input.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Architecture, engineering, planning, development, construction management, or a related field. Advanced degree is a plus.
• 7 to 10 years of experience in North American data center development, real estate development, or equivalent.
• Demonstrated leadership in managing multidisciplinary teams and coordinating input from multiple subject matter experts.
• Strong knowledge of zoning, entitlements, CEQA/NEPA, and permitting processes across multiple jurisdictions in North America.
• Experience with BTS and Spec developments.
• Track record of managing budgets, schedules, and risks for complex development projects.
• Experience coordinating with municipalities, utility providers, and regulatory agencies.
• Ability to manage multiple customer requests and deve

Benefits

Additional Information

Over the last 20 years, Ares' success has been driven by our people and our culture. Today, our team is guided by our core values - Collaborative, Responsible, Entrepreneurial, Self-Aware, Trustworthy - and our purpose to be a catalyst for shared prosperity and a better future. Through our recruitment, career development and employee-focused programming, we are committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive work environment where high-performance talent of diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives can build careers within this exciting and growing industry. Job Description About Ada Infrastructure Ada Infrastructure is a part of the digital infrastructure platform of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES), a leading global alternative investment manager offering clients complementary primary and secondary investment solutions across the credit , real estate, private equity and infrastructure asset classes. We are a global data center business grounded in sustainability, safety, and security. With a world-class team of industry leaders and the resources of Ares Management Ada Infrastructure is executing on our mission to lead the world in sustainable digital infrastructure that drives customer success and social benefit.

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