Head of Planning & PMO – AI Datacenters

HCL Technologies Limited; Mumbai; On-site; INR 4,000,000 - 7,000,000; Full time

Job summary

HCL Technologies Limited is seeking a strategic Head of Planning & PMO for AI Datacenters to establish governance, master schedules, budgets, and risk management across hyperscale datacenter projects. You will coordinate Civil Core & Shell, PEB, MEP, and liquid cooling deployment, ensuring alignment with long‑lead supply chains and client readiness dates.

You will lead end‑to‑end program management, integrate IMS, manage procurement for CDUs and transformers, and provide real‑time KPI dashboards

Qualifications

• Experience:12–15+ years leading planning, project controls, or PMO functions, with 5+ years in multi‑megawatt hyperscale or enterprise datacenter developments.
• Technical Software Mastery: Primavera P6, MS Project, Deltek Cobra, Earned Value Management systems, and BIM 4D (Synchro/Navisworks).
• Domain Knowledge: Civil/PEB build sequences, heavy MEP infrastructure, liquid cooling deployment, and 100 kW–150 kW+ rack environments.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Civil, Mechanical, or Electrical Engineering, or Construction Management (PMP, PgMP, or AACE certification required).
• Key Skills: CPM, EVM, multi‑project portfolio management, contractor change order control, and executive stakeholder reporting.

Responsibilities

• Enterprise Master Scheduling & Critical Path Management.
• Integrated Master Schedule (IMS): Build and maintain enterprise‑level Primavera P6 master schedules covering site acquisition, permits, civil foundations, PEB erection, MEP fit‑out, and Level 1–5 commissioning.
• Interface Management: Map strict dependencies between fast‑track Civil/PEB milestones and specialized high‑density MEP installation sequences.
• Critical Path Analysis: Track float, model schedule acceleration techniques (crashing/fast‑tracking), and prevent bottlenecks on long‑lead critical infrastructure.
• AI & High‑Density Infrastructure Program Controls.
• Specialized Procurement Tracking: Manage long‑lead equipment procurement schedules for high‑capacity liquid cooling units (CDUs), direct‑to‑chip piping arrays, medium‑voltage transformers, and high‑density UPS units.
• Hyperscale Delivery Integration: Align project handoffs with hyperscale / Enterprise customer readiness dates for high‑density GPU cluster installations (e.g., NVIDIA H100/B200/GB200 architectures).
• Cost & Earned Value Management (EVM): Track baseline budgets, forecast cash flows, analyze S‑curves, and monitor Earned Value (CPI/SPI) across multi‑megawatt mega‑builds.
• Portfolio Governance: Establish standardized PMO frameworks, baseline change control procedures, and stage‑gate approval protocols across all data center builds.
• Executive Dashboards: Prepare real‑time KPI reporting, schedule variance analysis, and risk heat maps for C‑suite leadership and hyperscale client stakeholders.
• Risk Mitigation & Claim Management: Proactively identify constructability, supply chain, and utility energization risks, maintaining mitigation matrices and managing delay/claims exposure.

Skills

Critical Path Method

Earned Value Analysis

Multi‑project portfolio management

Contractor change order control

Executive stakeholder reporting

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Civil/Mechanical/Electrical Engineering or Construction Management

PMP/PgMP/AACE certification

Tools

Primavera P6

MS Project

Deltek Cobra

BIM 4D (Synchro/Navisworks)

Job description

Job Title: Head of Planning & PMO – AI Datacenters

Department: Project Management Office (PMO) & Program Governance

Reports To: AI Datacenter Head / SVP

Position Overview

We are looking for a strategic, analytical Head of Planning & PMO to establish and drive governance, critical-path master schedules, budget control, and risk management across our portfolio of ultra-high-density AI datacenter developments.

You will orchestrate the end-to-end project lifecycle—synchronizing heavy Civil Core & Shell / PEB execution with complex MEP engineering, liquid cooling infrastructure deployment, and long‑lead supply chain deliveries (GPUs, CDUs, transformers) for 100 kW to 150 kW+ per rack hyperscale data halls.

Key Responsibilities

1. Enterprise Master Scheduling & Critical Path Management
2. Integrated Master Schedule (IMS): Build and maintain enterprise‑level Primavera P6 master schedules covering site acquisition, permits, civil foundations, PEB erection, MEP fit‑out, and Level 1–5 commissioning.
3. Interface Management: Map strict dependencies between fast‑track Civil/PEB milestones and specialized high‑density MEP installation sequences.
4. Critical Path Analysis: Track float, model schedule acceleration techniques (crashing/fast‑traking), and prevent bottlenecks on long‑lead critical infrastructure.
5. AI & High‑Density Infrastructure Program Controls
6. Specialized Procurement Tracking: Manage long‑lead equipment procurement schedules for high‑capacity liquid cooling units (CDUs), direct‑to‑chip piping arrays, medium‑voltage transformers, and high‑density UPS units.
7. Hyperscale Delivery Integration: Align project handoffs with hyperscale / Enterprise customer readiness dates for high‑density GPU cluster installations (e.g., NVIDIA H100/B200/GB200 architectures).
8. Cost & Earned Value Management (EVM): Track baseline budgets, forecast cash flows, analyze S‑curves, and monitor Earned Value (CPI/SPI) across multi‑megawatt mega‑builds.
9. Portfolio Governance: Establish standardized PMO frameworks, baseline change control procedures, and stage‑gate approval protocols across all data center builds.
10. Executive Dashboards: Prepare real‑time KPI reporting, schedule variance analysis, and risk heat maps for C‑suite leadership and hyperscale client stakeholders.
11. Risk Mitigation & Claim Management: Proactively identify constructability, supply chain, and utility energization risks, maintaining mitigation matrices and managing delay/claims exposure.

Qualifications & Requirements

1. Experience:12–15+ years leading planning, project controls, or PMO functions, with 5+ years in multi‑megawatt hyperscale or enterprise datacenter developments.
2. Technical Software Mastery: Advanced expertise in Primavera P6 Professional/EPPM, MS Project, Deltek Cobra, Earned Value Management systems, and BIM 4D (Synchro/Navisworks).
3. Domain Knowledge: Comprehensive understanding of Civil/PEB build sequences, heavy MEP infrastructure, liquid cooling deployment, and 100 kW–150 kW+ rack environments.
4. Education: Bachelor’s degree in Civil, Mechanical, or Electrical Engineering, or Construction Management (PMP, PgMP, or AACE certification required).
5. Key Skills: Critical Path Method (CPM), Earned Value Analysis (EVM), multi‑project portfolio management, contractor change order control, and executive stakeholder reporting.