Senior Permitting & Environmental Manager – Data Center & Gas Generation

Savion; United States; On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/Dental/Vision insurance

Short-term & long-term disability

Life insurance

401(k)

Flex-time schedule

Job summary

Savion, a Shell Group portfolio company, is at the forefront of renewable energy project development in the United States. The Senior Permitting & Environmental Manager will lead permitting, environmental and cultural resource programs across data center and gas-fired generation projects, coordinating with multiple teams to advance milestones and manage regulatory risk.

The role emphasizes strong communication, public engagement, and scalable permitting practices to support Savion’s expanding

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required in Environmental Science, Planning, Engineering, or related field.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including presenting to agencies, officials, and communities.
• Demonstrated project management across multiple concurrent projects, consultants, and budgets.

Responsibilities

• Lead permitting, environmental and cultural resource programs across a portfolio of data center and gas-fired generation projects.
• Identify required permits, approvals, and environmental reviews and develop integrated permitting strategies.
• Work with federal/state environmental permitting programs including water, wastewater, stormwater, wetlands, and cultural resources.
• Lead preparation and submission of permit applications and supporting documentation.
• Track permit status, maintain documentation, and ensure regulatory compliance.
• Coordinate with consultants on scoping, budgets, and deliverables quality.
• Maintain trackers, schedules, and risk registers; communicate mitigation plans.
• Represent projects in public and agency forums and engage with tribal and community stakeholders.
• Coordinate with Development, Engineering, Interconnection, Land, and Legal to align permitting milestones with schedules.
• Support the Emerging Technologies dept with standardized processes and reporting.

Skills

Communication skills

Public engagement

Regulatory knowledge

Project management

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science, Planning, Engineering, or related field

Job description

Savion, a Shell Group portfolio company, is one of the largest, most technologically advanced utility-scale solar and energy storage project development companies in the United States. With a growing portfolio of more than 40.8 GW, Savion’s diverse team provides comprehensive services at each phase of renewable energy project development, from conception through construction. As part of this full-service model, Savion manages all aspects of development for customers, partners, and project host communities. Savion is committed to helping decarbonize the energy grid by replacing electric power generation with renewable sources and delivering cost-competitive electricity to the marketplace.

Our workplace culture attracts competitive, smart, and fun people. We are committed to the health, fitness, and work-life balance of our employees. Our employees are highly motivated, technically proficient, team-oriented, and committed to renewable energy. We recognize that our employees are our most valuable asset and offer highly competitive pay as well as exceptional above-market employee benefits. Balancing work and play are met with generous PTO allowances and 14.5 paid holidays per year.

Position Summary

Success in this Senior Permitting & Environmental Manager role includes advancing complex data center and gas-fired generation projects through permitting milestones, building trusted relationships with agencies and stakeholders, proactively managing regulatory risks, and helping establish scalable permitting practices supporting Savion’s expanding data center and gas generation portfolio while maintaining project schedules. This role partners closely with Development, Engineering, Legal and other Land Stewardship SMEs and leads project permitting, environmental and cultural resource programs from early-stage site diligence through construction readiness. Strong communication, negotiation, and public engagement skills are essential. This role also supports Savion’s commitment to responsible land stewardship by ensuring environmental and cultural resource considerations are integrated early and consistently throughout project development.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead permitting, environmental and cultural resource programs across a portfolio of data center and gas-fired generation projects, including site due diligence, entitlement strategy, environmental review, agency coordination, and permit execution.
• Identify required permits, approvals, and environmental reviews and develop integrated permitting strategies that align with project development objectives, scheduling requirements, and regulatory constraints.
• Working knowledge of federal and state environmental permitting programs, including water, wastewater, stormwater, wetlands, and cultural resources.
• Lead preparation and submission of permit applications and supporting documentation
• Track permit status, maintain documentation, and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements
• Manage day-to-day coordination with consultants, including scoping, budget management, and quality review of deliverables
• Maintain detailed trackers, schedules, and risk registers; proactively identify risks or delays and communicate mitigation strategies to team
• Represent projects in public and agency forums, including federal, state, county and township meetings, public hearings, as well as tribal and community engagement; ensuring communications are clear, credible, and responsive to inquiries
• Coordinate cross-functionally with Development, Engineering, Interconnection, Land, and Legal to integrate permitting needs and milestones into overall project schedules
• Support the buildout of an expanding Emerging Technologies department, including standardized processes, templates, and portfolio-level reporting

Qualifications

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science, Planning, Engineering, or related field
• 5+ years (Manager) or 7+ years (Senior Manager) of experience
• Significant familiarity with land use, environmental regulations, and permitting processes
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including comfort and experience presenting projects to regulatory agencies, elected officials, planning commissions and other community stakeholders.
• Demonstrated project management skills across multiple concurrent projects, consultants, and budgets

Preferred:

• Experience supporting large complex industrial, utility infrastructure, energy, or data center projects
• Experience supporting tribal consultation, cultural resource permitting, and stakeholder engagement related to environmental or cultural resource compliance.
• Direct permitting experience in ERCOT, PJM, or BPA/Pacific Northwest markets
• Experience successfully presenting projects in contested or high-visibility permitting settings
• Title and compensation commensurate with experience
• Benefits: Medical/Dental/Vision insurance; short-term and long-term disability; life insurance; 401(k)
• Savion offers a culture that embraces a "flex-time" schedule to maximize both productivity and work-life balance