Director, Pre-Development & Site Strategy

QTS Realty Trust; United States; On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

QTS Realty Trust is seeking a Director of Pre-Development to lead all regions' development efforts for data center projects. You will coordinate with Corporate Real Estate, Investment, Development, Technology, and Operations to align readiness with business goals.

The role requires deep expertise in site selection, permitting, environmental and technical due diligence, design, and construction planning, with strong stakeholder influence and executive communication.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Science, Engineering, Finance, Real Estate, or related field or equivalent experience.
• 8+ years in commercial development, including due diligence, entitlements, permitting, and project delivery.
• 8+ years with progressive leadership and talent development.
• Advanced knowledge of MS Office, especially PowerPoint for exec updates and Excel for budgets.
• Willingness to travel up to 50%.

Responsibilities

• Lead enterprise-level real estate due diligence for land banks and properties with cross-functional teams.
• Develop and execute planning and permitting strategies for new sites.
• Establish and manage preliminary investment budgets for design and construction.
• Direct regional teams and external consultants through design, zoning, and permitting.
• Ensure designs meet QTS standards and optimize for efficiency and innovation.
• Provide strategic leadership to internal design teams and governance processes.
• Drive design standards, workflows, and executive progress updates.

Skills

Real estate due diligence

Site selection

Zoning & entitlement

Budgeting & cost forecasting

Stakeholder management

Project leadership

Regulatory coordination

Civil engineering basics

Travel readiness

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Science/Engineering/Finance/Real Estate or equivalent

MBA or Master’s in related field (preferred)

Tools

PowerPoint

Excel

Job description

QTS Realty Trust is seeking a Director of Pre-Development to lead all regions' development efforts for data center projects. You will coordinate with Corporate Real Estate, Investment, Development, Technology, and Operations to align readiness with business goals.

The role requires deep expertise in site selection, permitting, environmental and technical due diligence, design, and construction planning, with strong stakeholder influence and executive communication.