Data Center Master Planning Lead

Digital Realty; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Competitive compensation

401(k) matching

Job summary

Digital Realty is seeking a Data Center Master Planning Senior Design Manager in Boston. You will lead early-stage planning, test fits, and long-range campus development strategy for hyperscale campuses, translating site constraints into scalable, approvable master plans and phasing strategies.

You will collaborate with Real Estate, Due Diligence, and Entitlements teams while coordinating with internal design leads and external consultants to optimize MW yield and capital efficiency.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in master planning, design, or development for hyperscale data center campuses.
• Expertise in space planning and test fits and their effect on MEP, cost, and phasing.
• Strong data center MEP knowledge translating engineering realities to early planning.
• Experience supporting site plan approvals and entitlements with jurisdictions and consultants.
• Deep understanding of campus phasing, utility delivery sequencing, and future-proofing.
• Ability to balance technical rigor with commercial priorities and defend tradeoffs.
• Experience directing multi-disciplinary consultant teams in fast-paced early phases.
• Excellent communication to explain planning concepts to executives and authorities.
• Highly organized, process-driven, comfortable in ambiguous early-stage environments.
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Architecture, or related field; professional registration preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead master planning and test-fit efforts for large hyperscale data center developments, translating site constraints and requirements into scalable layouts and phasing strategies.
• Serve as the senior technical authority for early feasibility, evaluating power density, cooling strategies, building typologies, and future expansion paths.
• Develop and review test fits, conceptual site plans, and master plan alternatives with tradeoff analysis on MW yield and constructability.
• Partner with Real Estate Acquisitions, Due Diligence, and Entitlements teams to support site plan approvals and special exceptions.
• Lead technical coordination across internal teams and external partners including A/E firms, planners, acousticians, consultants, and authorities.
• Guide entitlement-driven design decisions, including height, setbacks, acoustics, stormwater, and community-facing design.
• Establish phasing strategies aligning utility delivery, substation build-out, and capital deployment with market demand.
• Ensure master plans reflect realistic MEP space, clearances, redundancy, and constructability.
• Oversee consultant engagement for planning scopes, RFPs, schedules, and deliverable quality.
• Review and approve early-stage deliverables including master plans, utility studies, and exhibits.
• Provide continuity from concept to execution, ensuring planning assumptions hold during project advancement.
• Drive improvements in planning tools and MW density benchmarks to increase speed and value.

Skills

Master planning

Test fits

Data center design

Stakeholder communication

Project management

Entitlements coordination

Phasing strategies

MEP considerations

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering/Architecture

Professional registration

Job description

Digital Realty is seeking a Data Center Master Planning Senior Design Manager in Boston. You will lead early-stage planning, test fits, and long-range campus development strategy for hyperscale campuses, translating site constraints into scalable, approvable master plans and phasing strategies.

You will collaborate with Real Estate, Due Diligence, and Entitlements teams while coordinating with internal design leads and external consultants to optimize MW yield and capital efficiency.