Head of Site Acquisition

Valor Front; New York (NY); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Significant equity

Bonus potential

Comprehensive benefits

Job summary

Valor Front is seeking a Head of Site Acquisition for AI data center infrastructure in the United States. The role leads a team of 6–10 to source, negotiate, and close land options, ground leases, PSAs, and co-development JVs for gigawatt-scale portfolios.

You will own the sourcing model, deal bar, and end-to-end process from first conversation to signature, with direct access to executive leadership and a fast-paced, high-capital growth environment.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of real estate experience with a focus on data centers.
• Experience leading a land or site acquisition team.
• Proven ability to source and close site deals and negotiate land options, leases, PSAs, and JVs.
• Active broker, landowner, and developer network across U.S. markets.

Responsibilities

• Lead, hire, and develop the site acquisition team and set targets for gigawatt-scale growth.
• Oversee pipeline reviews, deal approvals, and ensure every live site has an owner, status, and decision date.
• Build direct origination coverage with brokers, landowners, and developers in target markets.

Skills

Real estate

Site acquisition

Team leadership

Negotiations

Job description

Head of Site Acquisition - AI Data Center Infrastructure

Well-Capitalized, Vertically Integrated AI Cloud and Data Center Developer

Valor Front has been retained by a fast-growing, vertically integrated AI cloud and data center developer to identify a Head of Site Acquisition. Our client acquires power, designs and builds data centers, and operates them, with hardware and software teams under one roof. Its advantage is speed.

Our client's partners and customers include some of the most recognized names in AI and technology. With signed demand and institutional capital already in place, it is a well‑funded platform executing a contracted growth plan rather than a startup chasing its next round.

About the Role

Reporting directly to a Hiring Principal who has built and exited a hyperscale powered‑land platform, the Head of Site Acquisition will lead all site acquisition efforts and a team of roughly 6-10 people, covering both front‑of‑meter and behind‑the‑meter work. This is a hands‑on leadership role, not a pure people‑management seat.

It suits someone who wants to originate and close deals personally while building the team, sourcing model, and deal bar that take our client's portfolio from multiple gigawatts to tens of gigawatts. The role owns sites end to end, from sourcing through lease execution, with no hand‑off to another group after the LOI. The interview panel includes our client's Chief Investment Officer: no layers, no committee.

What You Will Do

• Lead, hire, and develop the site acquisition team, setting the sourcing targets, coverage model, and deal bar for gigawatt-scale growth
• Run the team's operating rhythm through pipeline reviews, deal approvals, and escalations so that every live site has a named owner, a current status, and a decision date
• Build direct origination coverage across brokers, landowners, and developers in every target market, and hold the team accountable for working it directly rather than waiting on inbound referrals
• Personally own the largest and most complex negotiations, taking land options, ground leases, PSAs, and co‑development JVs from first conversation to signature at gigawatt scale
• Lead front‑of‑meter and behind‑the‑meter (on‑site generation) siting under one function
• Hand every site to the pre‑construction team with power, buildability, title, environmental, and permitting diligence closed out

What You Bring

• 8+ years of real estate experience with a focus on data centers, including building and leading a land or site acquisition team
• Track record of personally sourcing sites, with the ability to speak to the specific deals found, how they were found, and what they became
• Preference for continuing to originate alongside the team rather than only reviewing its work
• Demonstrated ability to set a deal bar and hold a team to it, killing weak sites early
• Experience closing land options, ground leases, PSAs, and co‑development JVs with counterparties ranging from family landowners to institutional holders
• An active broker, landowner, and developer network across U.S. markets that a team can inherit rather than rebuild
• The ability to keep deal terms straight across many live threads run by different people on the team

Bonus Qualifications

• Familiarity with interconnection and large‑load processes, including queue position and financial security postings
• Experience structuring co‑development JVs (equity contribution, earn‑outs, security packages)
• Experience with land programs at gigawatt scale

Our client treats this profile as a starting point and makes space for exceptional candidates who don't match it exactly.

Compensation and Benefits

Competitive base salary, bonus potential, a significant equity component, and a comprehensive benefits package.