Public Affairs Subject Matter Expert, Data Center Operations

Google; Reston (VA); On-site; USD 176,000 - 256,000; Full time

Job summary

Google's Data Center Strategic Negotiator role is part of the Strategic Negotiation team, focusing on securing cost-effective infrastructure deals to support Google's growth. You will combine market knowledge with tech insight to negotiate, manage vendor relationships, and present recommendations to Tech leadership.

You will work with project teams on site development, utility infrastructure, and engagement with local officials and utilities, travel up to 50% as needed.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical data center operations experience.
• 10 years of experience with technical infrastructure projects, including hyperscale data center operations, facility design, or site development.
• Experience in stakeholder management, strategy development, and cross-functional collaboration.
• Experience in public speaking and communicating data center operations to varied audiences.
• Ability to travel up to 50% of the time, often on short notice for municipal hearings and community forums.

Responsibilities

• Deploy on short notice to contested municipal hearings, planning commissions, and community town halls to counter misinformation and address local concerns.
• Deliver formal and sworn expert witness testimony before local regulatory dockets, zoning boards, and legislative committees.
• Author standardized operational playbooks and rapid-response one-pagers for regional public affairs teams.
• Lead Data Center education translating physical systems into accessible narratives.
• Partner with site selection, planning, data center operations, and internal teams to drive data center market efforts.

Skills

Public policy communication

Stakeholder management

Public speaking

Cross-functional collaboration

Negotiation

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering, construction management, public policy, or equivalent practical data center operations experience

Job description

Note: By applying to this position you will have an opportunity to share your preferred working location from the following: Reston, VA, USA; Atlanta, GA, USA.

Minimum qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, construction management, public policy, or equivalent practical data center operations experience.
• 10 years of experience working with technical infrastructure projects, including hyperscale data center operations, facility design, or site development.
• Experience in stakeholder management, strategy development, and cross-functional collaboration.
• Experience in public speaking and communicating data center operations to varied audiences.
• Ability to travel up to 50% of the time, often on short notice for municipal hearings and community forums.

Preferred qualifications

• Experience testifying, presenting, or serving as a subject matter expert before public officials, planning commissions, regulatory agencies, or community groups.
• Experience partnering with public policy, legal, communications, and cross-functional engineering teams.
• Experience in developing community strategy and creating campaigns for public affairs.
• Demonstrated experience with process improvement within data center management.
• Proven ability to bridge technical reality with public perception, translating complex physical engineering systems into clear, credible narratives for neighbors and local officials.

About The Job

Google's infrastructure needs go far beyond server computers. As Google's products and services scale the globe, the Strategic Negotiation team works behind the scenes to secure infrastructure for Google's future -- everything from underwater cables to physical data center space. As a Strategic Negotiator, you combine your deep market knowledge of a given sector with tech industry savvy to negotiate cost-effective solutions to support Google's infrastructure growth. You'll work with specific project teams on negotiating deals, managing vendor and partner relationships and presenting deal recommendations to our Tech leadership. Your successful negotiations have the potential to save Google millions of dollars in operating costs and impact every part of the business.

The Data Center team designs and operates some of the most sophisticated electrical and HVAC systems in the world. We are a creative, team-oriented group of engineers committed to building and operating powerful data centers.

As a Data Center Strategic Negotiator, you will combine your deep real estate development knowledge with tech industry savvy to ensure we have a healthy portfolio of sites ready for development to support Google's growth. You'll work with specific project teams on site development, delivering off-site utility infrastructure, managing relationships with local officials, utilities, and AHJ’s (Authority Having Jurisdiction), and presenting portfolio recommendations to our Tech leadership.

Google Cloud accelerates every organization’s ability to digitally transform its business and industry. We deliver enterprise-grade solutions that leverage Google’s cutting-edge technology, and tools that help developers build more sustainably. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted partner to enable growth and solve their most critical business problems. Individual pay is determined by factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

US: $176000 - $256000 (USD) + 20% bonus target + equity + benefits

Responsibilities

Learn more about benefits at Google .

• Deploy on short notice to contested municipal hearings, planning commissions, and community town halls to counter misinformation, field technical cross-examinations, and address local concerns directly.
• Deliver formal and sworn expert witness testimony before local regulatory dockets, zoning boards, administrative bodies, and legislative committees.
• Author standardized operational playbooks, technical FAQs, and rapid-response one-pagers for regional public affairs teams to deploy locally.
• Lead \"Data Center 101\" education to translate physical systems—such as thermal cooling architectures, acoustic dampening, backup generation, and physical security—into accessible, fact-based narratives.
• Partner directly with site selection, planning, data center operations, and other internal teams to drive data center market efforts seamlessly from concept to completion.

Google is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. See also Google's EEO Policy and EEO is the Law. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know by completing our Accommodations for Applicants form .