Data Center Business Development Manager

Sonepar Canada, Inc.; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

401(k) retirement savings with company

Professional and personal development

Job summary

Capital Electric, part of the Sonepar family, seeks a proactive Data Center Business Development Manager to own the data center vertical in the assigned territory. You will hunt early-stage projects, map executive relationships, and position Sonepar/Capital Electric as the preferred distributor for data center owners and designers.

You will travel 40–50% in the United States, build a robust pipeline, and collaborate with cross‑functional teams to win competitive opportunities while advancing

Qualifications

• 5–7+ years of B2B sales or business development experience in electrical distribution, mission-critical data centers or related construction verticals.
• Proven track record of hunting new business and building relationships at the C-suite and procurement level with hyperscale/colocation owners.
• Existing network within the data center ecosystem (owners, developers, engineers, GCs) in the target geography is a significant advantage.
• Strong understanding of data center power infrastructure (MV switchgear, transformers, PDU/RPP, UPS, generators, busway) and the design/build process.
• Experience using project intelligence platforms (Dodge, ConstructConnect, Industrial Info Resource, DataCenterKnowledge) and CRM (SPARK).
• Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail — you will own the single source of truth for data center activity in your territory.
• Self-starter comfortable working remotely with regular travel (30–50%) throughout the territory.
• Bachelor’s degree preferred but not required with relevant industry experience.

Responsibilities

• Identify data center projects in your territory well before bids.
• Build and maintain a real-time project pipeline with owner, developer, GC, and MEP details.
• Develop relationships with end-users and procurement teams to drive preferred-vendor status.
• Position Capital Electric early in design/specification through support and collaboration.
• Coordinate execution with local branches to ensure smooth hand-off.

Skills

B2B sales

Data center market knowledge

C-suite relationships

Project management

CRM SPARK

Travel 40-50%

Bachelor’s degree preferred

Education

Bachelor’s degree preferred

Tools

Dodge/DataCenter

IIR

Dynamics/BAE reports

Public filings

Job description

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Data Center Business Development Manager

Date: Aug 10, 2026

Location: Upper Marlboro, MD, US, 20774

There’s a Place for You at Capital

A career at Capital Electric is more than a job. You’re investing in a brighter, more sustainable future together and joining a team that makes a real difference for our customers. Capital Electric offers electrical products and services to contractors. If it helps bring electricity to an office, home, factory or other building – you can find it here. We operate in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, and are part of the Sonepar group, the world’s #1 electrical distributor with over 45,000 associates around the globe.

Being “Powered by Difference” means we respect and value diverse perspectives. WithinCapital Electric, we offer a supportive culture and great benefits, and as part of the larger Sonepar group, we can offer exciting opportunities to grow your career.

We are seeking a proactive and strategic Business Development Manager – Data Center to own the data center vertical within Capital Electric assigned geographic territory. This is a hunter-style role focused on early-stage project intelligence, relationship mapping, and positioning Sonepar/ Capital Electric as the preferred electrical distribution partner with data center owners, developers, operators, and their design/build teams.

This is not a traditional outside sales role. You will act as the market expert for data center construction and expansion, identifying projects 12–36 months before bid, building multi-level relationships, and driving specification and preferred-vendor status at the end-user level while coordinating execution through our local branches.

• Proactively identify, track, and map every data center project (hyperscale, colocation, enterprise, edge) in your assigned territory using proprietary tools, Dodge/DataCenter, IIR, Dynamics/BAE reports, public filings, permitting data, and direct outreach.
• Collaboration with executive and regional leadership to identify opportunities, provide insight and guidance on sales/service requirements, engage local branch teams when directed or necessary to drive market share and sales growth.
• Build and maintain an accurate, real-time project pipeline database including owner/developer, GC, MEP contractor, engineer, timeline, size (MW), and current supplier incumbents.
• Develop deep relationships with data center end-users (Ex. Meta, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Equinix, Digital Realty, QTS, CyrusOne, Vantage, Aligned, etc.), their procurement teams, mission-critical engineering firms (Corgan, HDR, Syska Hennessy, etc.), and key influencers.
• Position Sonepar/Capital Electric early in the design/specification phase through lunch & learns, spec-in support, value-engineering collaboration, and preferred distributor agreements.
• Serve as the central point of contact between the end-user/owner and our regional and local branch network; ensure seamless hand-off and execution once projects move to procurement.
• Effectively collaborate with Capital Electric executive and regional leadership and with Richard Landry & the Sonepar DataCenter Business Development Team.
• Conduct regular project reviews and strategy sessions with regional leadership
• Attend key industry events (Data Center World, 7x24 Exchange, PTC, DCD Connect, etc.) to expand network and gather intelligence.
• Achieve quarterly and annual revenue, project capture, and pipeline development targets.

Minimum work experience requirements:

• 5–7+ years of B2B sales or business development experience in electrical distribution, mission-critical power, data centers, or related construction verticals.
• Proven track record of hunting new business and building relationships at the C-suite and procurement level with hyperscale/colocation owners strongly preferred.
• Existing network within the data center ecosystem (owners, developers, engineers, GCs) in the target geography is a significant advantage.
• Strong understanding of data center power infrastructure (MV switchgear, transformers, PDU/RPP, UPS, generators, busway, etc.) and the design/build process.
• Experience using project intelligence platforms (Dodge, ConstructConnect, Industrial Info Resource, DataCenterKnowledge, etc.) and CRM (SPARK).
• Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail — you will own the single source of truth for data center activity in your territory.
• Self-starter comfortable working remotely with regular travel (30–50%) throughout the territory.
• Bachelor’s degree preferred but not required with relevant industry experience.
  Ability to travel 40-50% within the United States.

$100,000-150,000+

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What We Offer You

We offer great family-friendly benefits to full-time associates:

• Paid time off
• Paid parental leave
• 401(k) retirement savings with company match
• Professional and personal development programs
• Opportunity to become a shareholder
• Employer-paid short- and long-term disability
• Employer-paid life insurance for spouse and dependents
• Robust wellness program
• Gym reimbursement
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

We’re proud to be a military-friendly company, and our many employee resource groups (ERGs) help you make connections and feel supported.

Sonepar is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to their race, color, creed, religion, national origin, citizenship status, ancestry, sex, age, physical or mental disability unrelated to ability, marital status, family responsibilities, pregnancy, genetic information, sexual orientation, order of protection status, protected veteran or military status, or an unfavorable discharge from military service, or any other categories protected by federal, state or local law.

Sonepar and our family of brands are committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. In keeping with our commitment, we will take the steps to assure that people with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. Accordingly, if a reasonable accommodation is required to fully participate in the job application or interview process, to perform the essential functions of the position, and/or to receive all other benefits and privileges of employment, please call 843-745-2420 or email [e-mail] .

EEO is the Law

Applicants and employees are protected under Federal law from discrimination. To learn more, Click here .

Pay Transparency Non-Discrimination Provision

Sonepar follows Executive Order 11246, including the Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision. To learn more, Click here.