Director, Power Strategy & Grid Infrastructure

Cognisant; Dallas (TX); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Cognisant is recruiting a Director, Power Strategy & Grid Infrastructure to lead energy infrastructure for large-scale data centre campuses across the United States. You will own strategy, regulatory oversight, construction, and operations of high-voltage transmission and substations, interfacing with utilities and regulators to deliver critical projects safely and efficiently.

You will guide capital programmes, drive continuous improvement, and coordinate across development, design,

Qualifications

• Experience leading power infrastructure projects in regulated environments.
• Degree in Electrical Engineering, Power Systems, or related discipline.
• Professional Engineering status or equivalent is advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Lead planning, development, construction, operation of high-voltage transmission and substation assets.
• Develop long-term power infrastructure strategies for capacity growth.
• Liaise with utilities, regulators, grid operators, and stakeholders.
• Manage capital programmes, budgets, schedules, procurement, and risk.
• Ensure compliance with reliability, regulatory, environmental, and utility standards.
• Drive lifecycle management, asset optimization, and digital monitoring initiatives.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Regulatory compliance

Strategic planning

Project delivery

Grid operations

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or Power Systems

Tools

SCADA systems

Asset management software

Job description

About the Role

A leading developer and operator of hyperscale and enterprise data centre infrastructure is seeking an experienced Director, Power Strategy & Grid Infrastructure to lead the delivery of critical energy infrastructure supporting large-scale campus developments across the United States.

This is a senior leadership role responsible for the strategy, development, regulatory oversight, construction, and operational performance of high-voltage transmission and substation assets. Working closely with development, design, construction, and operations teams, you will ensure power infrastructure is delivered safely, efficiently, and in alignment with long-term growth objectives.

The successful candidate will act as a key interface with utilities, regulators, grid operators, and industry stakeholders, while providing leadership across major capital projects and infrastructure programmes that support some of the industry's most significant data centre developments.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the planning, development, construction, operation, and maintenance of high-voltage transmission and substation infrastructure supporting large-scale data centre campuses.
• Develop and execute long-term power infrastructure strategies that support future capacity growth and customer requirements.
• Act as the primary liaison with utilities, municipalities, transmission operators, grid authorities, and regulatory bodies.
• Manage major capital programmes, including scope, budgets, schedules, procurement, contractor performance, risk mitigation, and quality assurance.
• Ensure compliance with applicable reliability, regulatory, environmental, and utility standards.
• Support commercial and technical negotiations relating to power delivery, transmission infrastructure, and utility agreements.
• Develop asset management programmes covering inspection, maintenance, testing, reliability, and emergency response planning.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on operational efficiency, digital monitoring technologies, asset optimisation, and lifecycle management.
• Collaborate closely with development, engineering, design, and construction teams through project delivery and commissioning phases.
• Represent the business in stakeholder meetings, regulatory discussions, infrastructure planning activities, and community engagement initiatives.

The Person

You will be an experienced power infrastructure leader with a strong background in high-voltage transmission, substations, utility infrastructure, or large-scale energy projects, alongside significant experience delivering complex capital programmes within highly regulated environments.

You are likely to hold a degree in Electrical Engineering, Power Systems, or a related discipline and will possess a strong understanding of transmission networks, utility operations, regulatory compliance, grid infrastructure, and major project delivery.

The successful candidate will demonstrate a proven ability to manage multidisciplinary teams, engage effectively with utilities and regulators, and provide both strategic and operational leadership across critical infrastructure portfolios.

Professional Engineering status, experience with transmission systems, SCADA technologies, reliability standards, utility-scale development, asset management programmes, or grid operations would be highly advantageous.

For further details, please contact [e-mail].