Vice President Project Development

Thor; Town of Florida (NY); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

Thor is seeking a Vice President, Project Development & Preconstruction to lead early-stage development for a growing portfolio of mission-critical data center projects in the Miami area. The role emphasizes land, utilities, permitting, and constructability to position projects for execution.

The candidate will collaborate across Development, Engineering, Construction, Commercial, Legal and utilities, and will relocate to the Miami region as the platform expands.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of progressive experience in project development, preconstruction, or related fields.
• Experience with data centers, digital infrastructure, or mission-critical facilities.
• Strong knowledge of land development, permitting, and site feasibility.

Responsibilities

• Lead early-stage development and preconstruction for data center projects from site evaluation to development readiness.
• Establish development strategies integrating land, utilities, permitting, civil infrastructure, schedule and cost.
• Coordinate with Development, Engineering, Construction, and external consultants to identify risks and opportunities.
• Partner with Utilities and municipalities to define permitting and entitlements strategy.
• Oversee cross-functional teams to validate site feasibility and development timelines.

Skills

Project development

Preconstruction

Data centers

Land development

Permitting

Cross-functional leadership

Stakeholder management

Constructability

Cost & schedule awareness

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering/Construction/Real Estate Development

Job description

Vice President, Project Development & Preconstruction

Location: Miami, FL | Initially Hybrid / Relocation Required

Industry: Digital Infrastructure / Mission-Critical / Data Centers

Reports to: [CEO / President / Chief Development Officer]

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced Vice President of Project Development & Preconstruction to lead the early-stage development and preconstruction strategy for a growing portfolio of mission-critical digital infrastructure and data center projects.

This is a highly strategic role focused on taking projects from initial site identification and feasibility through development readiness, with particular emphasis on topography, utility/interconnectivity, permitting, land development, and early-stage constructability.

The ideal candidate will bring a strong background in data centers, digital infrastructure, mission-critical facilities, or similarly complex infrastructure environments, combined with a deep understanding of how land, utilities, permitting, civil/site conditions, and construction considerations come together to determine project viability.

This individual will work cross-functionally with Development, Engineering, Construction, Commercial, Legal, Utilities, and external consultants and authorities to identify risks and opportunities early, establish realistic development strategies, and position projects for successful execution.

The role will initially operate on a hybrid basis. The successful candidate will be expected to relocate to the Miami area as the platform and project portfolio develop.

Key Responsibilities

Project Development & Early-Stage Strategy

• Lead the early-stage development and preconstruction process for data center and digital infrastructure projects, from site evaluation through development readiness.
• Establish project development strategies that integrate land, topography, utilities, interconnection, permitting, civil infrastructure, schedule, cost, and constructability considerations.
• Evaluate prospective sites and development opportunities, identifying critical constraints and opportunities before significant capital is committed.
• Establish and manage early-stage development milestones, deliverables, decision gates, and risk registers.
• Coordinate multidisciplinary technical due diligence and translate findings into clear recommendations for senior leadership.
• Work closely with the Development team to assess site feasibility, development timelines, infrastructure requirements, and project risk.

Topography, Civil & Land Development

• Lead early assessment of site topography, grading, drainage, geotechnical conditions, floodplain considerations, access, easements, and other physical site constraints.
• Oversee preliminary civil/site development strategies, including grading concepts, mass earthwork, stormwater, roadways, utilities, and site infrastructure.
• Partner with civil engineers, surveyors, geotechnical consultants, and land development teams to validate site assumptions.
• Identify potential constructability challenges and infrastructure requirements early in the development process.
• Support development of preliminary site plans, development concepts, and project execution strategies.

Utility Interconnectivity & Infrastructure

• Lead the early-stage assessment of power availability, utility interconnection, transmission/distribution infrastructure, fiber connectivity, and other critical infrastructure requirements.
• Develop and maintain relationships with utilities, power providers, transmission entities, fiber providers, and other infrastructure stakeholders.
• Evaluate interconnection pathways, required upgrades, timelines, dependencies, and associated risks.
• Coordinate with internal and external engineering teams to ensure utility assumptions are incorporated into project planning.
• Identify potential infrastructure constraints that could affect project schedule, capacity, cost, or overall site viability.
• Establish and lead the permitting and entitlement strategy for projects from the earliest stages of development.
• Coordinate with local, regional, and state authorities, municipalities, permitting agencies, and other stakeholders.
• Identify critical permits, approvals, entitlements, environmental requirements, development conditions, and potential regulatory constraints.
• Develop realistic permitting schedules and incorporate permitting dependencies into overall project development timelines.
• Work closely with consultants and internal teams to proactively resolve permitting and entitlement issues.
• Establish the early preconstruction framework for projects well before formal construction procurement.
• Partner with Construction and Engineering leadership to evaluate constructability, logistics, sequencing, site access, temporary facilities, infrastructure requirements, and major execution risks.
• Develop preliminary project schedules and identify critical-path development activities.
• Provide input into early cost planning, conceptual estimates, value engineering, and development budgets.
• Support decisions around delivery strategy, contracting approach, procurement requirements, and long-lead infrastructure.
• Ensure that development-stage decisions are made with a clear understanding of downstream construction implications.

Leadership & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Build and lead a high-performing Project Development & Preconstruction function as the portfolio expands.
• Serve as the key bridge between Development and Construction, ensuring projects transition into execution with clear scope, validated assumptions, and manageable risk.
• Manage external engineering, environmental, civil, permitting, surveying, utility, and other specialist consultants.
• Present project status, risks, development strategies, schedules, and key decisions to executive leadership and investment stakeholders.
• Establish consistent processes, standards, and best practices for early-stage project development across the portfolio.

Ideal Candidate Profile

The successful candidate will have a demonstrated track record of developing large-scale, technically complex infrastructure projects, ideally within the data center, digital infrastructure, mission-critical, hyperscale, colocation, or similarly infrastructure-intensive sectors.

Required / Preferred Experience

• 12+ years of progressive experience in project development, preconstruction, construction, engineering, infrastructure development, or a related field.
• Significant experience with data centers, digital infrastructure, mission-critical facilities, or comparable large-scale infrastructure projects.
• Strong understanding of land development and site feasibility, including topography, grading, drainage, geotechnical conditions, access, and civil infrastructure.
• Demonstrated experience with utility infrastructure and power interconnection, ideally involving large-load or mission-critical facilities.
• Strong knowledge of permitting, entitlements, environmental requirements, and municipal approval processes.
• Experience taking projects from greenfield / early-stage feasibility through development and into construction.
• Proven ability to manage multiple technical disciplines and external consultants simultaneously.
• Strong understanding of construction methodologies, project schedules, cost drivers, and constructability.
• Experience working directly with utilities, municipalities, engineering firms, contractors, landowners, and other external stakeholders.
• Strong commercial and financial awareness, with the ability to understand how technical development decisions affect project economics.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Architecture, Real Estate Development, or a related discipline preferred.

Leadership Characteristics

We are looking for a strategic, hands-on leader who can operate effectively in an entrepreneurial and rapidly growing environment.

The successful candidate will be:

• Development-minded and commercially astute, with the ability to connect technical decisions to project economics.
• Highly proactive, identifying risks and constraints before they become project issues.
• Comfortable operating in ambiguous, early-stage environments where information is incomplete and decisions must be made quickly.
• A strong communicator who can move seamlessly between technical teams, executives, utilities, government authorities, consultants, and construction partners.
• Detail-oriented without losing sight of the broader project strategy.
• Comfortable building processes and teams while simultaneously remaining close to individual projects.
• A collaborative leader who understands that successful data center development requires alignment across land, power, fiber, permitting, engineering, and construction.

Location & Travel

This position will be initially hybrid, with flexibility for the successful candidate to work remotely while establishing themselves within the organization.

Relocation to the Miami, Florida area will be expected over time. Regular travel to project sites, utility partners, municipalities, consultants, and other project stakeholders should be anticipated.