Director, Data Center Development

Hanwha Data Centers; United States; Remote; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Hanwha Energy USA, headquartered in Houston, TX, is seeking a Director of Development to identify, evaluate, and deliver new data center sites across the U.S. This role drives the process from site identification through acquisition and early-stage development.

The ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced environment, navigates ambiguity, and brings a blend of strategic negotiation skills, real estate acumen, and project execution.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree (Business, Real Estate, Engineering or related field). MBA or equivalent preferred.
• 7+ years in real estate development, site acquisition, or infra project management, ideally with data centers, energy, or industrial development.
• Strong understanding of land development, utilities, permitting, and entitlement processes.
• Excellent analytical and negotiation skills; ability to evaluate complex site and transaction data.
• Proven ability to manage multiple projects concurrently and work cross-functionally in a fast-moving environment.
• Entrepreneurial mindset — proactive, resourceful, and able to own outcomes end-to-end.
• Exceptional communication and relationship management skills.
• Ability to travel up to 50% as needed.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with internal and external teams to identify and pursue site selection opportunities, including provisioning of utilities (power, water, fiber).
• Support negotiations and agreements with local governments, economic development agencies, and landowners, ensuring favorable terms and regulatory compliance.
• Lead site acquisition efforts for new data center projects, including market analysis, site sourcing, due diligence, and transaction execution.
• Evaluate potential sites based on power availability, connectivity, zoning, permitting, and other development factors.
• Develop and maintain relationships with brokers, utilities, landowners, and local jurisdictions to support siteselection and development.
• Coordinate due diligence and entitlement processes, including environmental studies, title review, and permitting.
• Partner with strategy, engineering, finance, and legal to align site development with company objectives.
• Prepare business cases and investment memos to support site acquisitions and strategic growth decisions.
• Track and report pipeline progress, providing leadership visibility on milestones and challenges.
• Drive process improvements to make site evaluation and development more efficient and scalable.

Skills

Negotiation

Analytical skills

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Real estate development

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business/Real Estate/Engineering

MBA or equivalent

Job description

Hanwha Energy USA, headquartered in Houston, Texas, is part of the Hanwha Group—a FORTUNE Global 300 company and one of South Korea’s most respected business enterprises. With over a decade of experience delivering high-quality, utility-scale energy projects across North America, Hanwha Energy USA has evolved into a comprehensive energy solutions provider. Our portfolio now spans utility-scale renewables, natural gas generation, retail electricity, and strategic partnerships that power America’s growing data center industry.

Our expertise covers the entire energy value chain—from project development and engineering to construction, operations, and maintenance. By integrating advanced technologies, proven processes, and strong partnerships, we deliver reliable, customized solutions that meet the dynamic needs of local energy markets.

Hanwha Energy USA is actively advancing strategic initiatives in natural gas generation and data center development, including hyperscaler solutions on both sides of the meter. We are proud to serve as the parent company of:

• Hanwha Renewables – specializing in utility-scale solar and battery energy storage systems (BESS)
• Chariot Energy – providing retail electricity services for residential, commercial, and industrial customers in deregulated markets

POSITION OVERVIEW

We’reseekinga highly motivatedDirector of Developmentto helpidentify, evaluate, and deliver new data center sites across the U.S. This person will play a critical role in expanding our platform — driving the process fromsite identification through acquisition and early-stage development.

The ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced environment, is comfortable navigating ambiguity, and brings a blend of strategic negotiation skills & thinking, real estate acumen, and project execution skills. You’ll work cross-functionally with internal teams and external partners to advance our data center pipeline and ensure each site meets the company’s long‑term growth objectives.

The employee may be required to perform other job‑related duties as requested by management. All duties will be assigned in accordance with applicable laws and company policies

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Technical Collaboration and Site Selection:Collaborate with internal and external teams toidentifyand pursue site selection opportunities, including the provisioning of utilities (e.g., power, water, fiber).
• Complex Contract Negotiation:Supportnegotiations and agreements with local governments, economic development agencies, and landowners, ensuring favorable terms and compliance with regulatory requirements.
• Lead site acquisition effortsfor new data center projects, including market analysis, site sourcing, due diligence, and transaction execution.
• Evaluate potential sitesbased on power availability, connectivity, zoning, permitting, and other development factors.
• Develop andmaintainrelationshipswith brokers, utilities, landowners, and localjurisdictionsto support siteselectionand development.
• Coordinate due diligence and entitlement processes, including environmental studies, title review, and permitting.
• Partner closely with internal teams(strategy, engineering, finance, and legal) to align site development with companyobjectives.
• Prepare business cases and investment memosto support site acquisitions and strategic growth decisions.
• Track and report pipeline progress, ensuring leadership visibility on key milestones and challenges.
• Drive process improvementsthat make site evaluation and development more efficient and scalable as the company grows.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Real Estate, Engineering, ora relatedfield. Advanced degree (MBA or equivalent) is preferred.
• 7+years of experience inreal estate development, site acquisition, or infrastructure project management, ideally withindata centers, energy, or industrial development.
• Strong understanding ofland development fundamentals, utilities, permitting, and entitlement processes.
• Excellent analytical and negotiation skills; ability to evaluate complexsiteand transaction data.
• Proven ability to manage multiple projects simultaneouslyand work cross-functionally in a fast-moving environment.
• Entrepreneurial mindset — proactive, resourceful, andcomfortable owningoutcomes end‑to‑end.
• Exceptional communication and relationship management skills.
• Ability to travel as needed to meet with clients and stakeholders (up to 50% of the time).

Hanwha Energy USA provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics.

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in Hanwha Data Centers’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.