Director, Data Center Contracts & Commercial Strategy

Lambda; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health coverage

Dental coverage

Vision coverage

401k match

Flexible PTO

Wellness stipend

Commuter stipend

Job summary

Lambda, The Superintelligence Cloud, is a leader in AI cloud infrastructure. This role sits in the San Francisco Bay Area with multi-office presence and 4 days per week on-site.

You will own contracting strategy for data center capacity, lead high-stakes negotiations, and manage leases from LOI to close, ensuring on-time delivery and favorable terms. You will also guide owned-capacity strategies, coordinate with Legal and Finance, and drive governance, templates, and execution standards that

Qualifications

• 10+ years in data center or complex infrastructure contracting, commercial real estate or capacity leasing.
• Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Real Estate, Supply Chain Management, Engineering, or related field, or equivalent experience.
• Lead negotiator with a track record of large, complex deals (typically $100M+).
• Experience negotiating data center leases or colocation agreements and understanding delivery models and cost types.
• Understanding of data center lifecycle from land to commissioning.
• Experience managing contracts post-signature: renewals, amendments, changes, closeout.

Responsibilities

• Own contracting and commercial strategy for securing data center capacity today and in growth phases.
• Lead negotiations on leases, colocation, and service agreements with Legal and Finance alignment.
• Manage existing lease portfolio: renewals, expansions, restructurings, exits, milestones.
• Protect delivery schedules through milestones, credits, rights, and SLA discipline.
• Build strategy for owned capacity including design firms, long-lead equipment, and delivery models.
• Run bids and RFPs, evaluate proposals, and recommend awards across sites and equipment.
• Negotiate and execute master agreements with providers, OEMs, and contractors.
• Drive change orders, disputes handling, and governance to scale operations.
• Partner with cross-functional teams and brief executives on deal strategy and risks.

Skills

Data Center Contracts

Commercial Real Estate

Negotiation Leadership

Strategic Sourcing

Financial Acumen

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business/Finance/Real Estate

Tools

Contract Management Software

ERP Systems

Job description

Lambda, The Superintelligence Cloud, is a leader in AI cloud infrastructure serving tens of thousands of customers. Our customers range from AI researchers to enterprises and hyperscalers. Lambda's mission is to make compute as ubiquitous as electricity and give everyone the power of superintelligence. One person, one GPU.

If you'd like to build the world's best AI cloud, join us.

*Note: This position requires presence in our San Francisco, San Jose, or Bellevue office location 4 days per week; Lambda’s designated work from home day is currently Tuesday.

What You'll Do

• Own the contracting and commercial strategy for how Lambda secures data center capacity — from leased and colocation sites today to owned, greenfield builds as the portfolio grows

• Serve as Lambda's lead negotiator on the highest-value capacity agreements — leases, colocation and service agreements, master agreements, design, equipment, and construction contracts — setting negotiation strategy and partnering with Legal and Finance on terms

• Lead lease and colocation negotiations with landlords, providers, and developers from LOI through definitive agreements and service orders — balancing rent, power pricing, delivery dates, expansion rights, and performance obligations

• Manage the existing lease portfolio — renewals, expansions, amendments, restructurings, exits, and landlord performance — and keep obligations, milestones, and critical dates current

• Protect delivery schedules through ready-for-service dates, delay credits, step-in rights, milestones, and SLAs, and hold landlords, suppliers, and contractors accountable for performance

• Build the contracting strategy for owned capacity — design firms and Engineers of Record, long-lead equipment (owner- vs. contractor-furnished), and GC, EPC, or EPCM delivery models and cost types (lump sum, GMP, cost-plus)

• Run competitive bids and RFPs, evaluate proposals, and recommend awards across leases, equipment, and construction

• Negotiate and execute master agreements with key providers, OEMs, design firms, and contractors that secure capacity and favorable terms across sites

• Drive change order, claims, and dispute discipline alongside Construction, Legal, and Finance

• Set standards for contract execution — term sheets, negotiation guardrails, templates, contract abstraction, approval workflows, and governance — that build the foundation for scale

• Partner across Data Center Development, Construction, Design, Capacity Planning, Finance, Legal, and Operations, and deliver executive-level briefings on deal strategy, risks, and contingency plans

You

• Have 10+ years of experience in data center or complex infrastructure contracting, commercial real estate or capacity leasing, strategic sourcing, or procurement

• Hold a Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Real Estate, Supply Chain Management, Engineering, or a related field, or have equivalent experience

• Are recognized as a lead negotiator — you have personally closed large, complex agreements (typically $100M+), not directed someone else to

• Have negotiated data center leases or colocation agreements and understand how landlords and providers price, structure, and deliver capacity and/or have negotiated construction, design, or equipment contracts and understand delivery models (GC, EPC, EPCM, design-build) and cost types (lump sum, GMP, cost-plus)

• Understand the data center lifecycle — land, power and utility, design, equipment, construction, commissioning — and how each affects deliverability

• Have managed contracts after signature — renewals, amendments, change orders, claims, and closeout

• Have set process, policy, or governance standards that an organization adopted

• Brief and persuade executives comfortably and build the business case that earns the decision

• Operate well in ambiguity, on compressed timelines, managing parallel deals in a supply-constrained market

Nice to Have

• Experience securing capacity for hyperscalers, AI clouds, or large GPU/HPC deployments

• Experience on the landlord, developer, colocation provider, or contractor side

• Experience with complex construction programs such as semiconductor, oil and gas, or energy

• Experience standing up a contracts or sourcing function where little existed

Salary Range Information

The annual salary range for this position has been set based on market data and other factors. However, a salary higher or lower than this range may be appropriate for a candidate whose qualifications differ meaningfully from those listed in the job description.

About Lambda

• Founded in 2012, with 500+ employees, and growing fast

• Our investors notably include TWG Global, US Innovative Technology Fund (USIT), Andra Capital, SGW, Andrej Karpathy, ARK Invest, Fincadia Advisors, G Squared, In-Q-Tel (IQT), KHK & Partners, NVIDIA, Pegatron, Supermicro, Wistron, Wiwynn, Gradient Ventures, Mercato Partners, SVB, 1517, and Crescent Cove

• We have research papers accepted at top machine learning and graphics conferences, including NeurIPS, ICCV, SIGGRAPH, and TOG

• Our values are publicly available: https://lambda.ai/careers

• We offer generous cash & equity compensation

• Health, dental, and vision coverage for you and your dependents

• Wellness and commuter stipends for select roles

• 401k Plan with 2% company match (USA employees)

• Flexible paid time off plan that we all actually use

Equal Opportunity Employer

Lambda is an Equal Opportunity employer. Applicants are considered without regard to race, color, religion, creed, national origin, age, sex, gender, marital status, sexual orientation and identity, genetic information, veteran status, citizenship, or any other factors prohibited by local, state, or federal law.