VP Construction & Delivery

Crux AI; Palo Alto (CA); Hybrid; USD 300,000 - 550,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, vision

401(k) with match

Hybrid schedule

Job summary

Crux AI in Palo Alto leads the way in integrated AI infrastructure. The head of data center construction will own multi-site delivery from ground to turnkey capacity, balancing schedule, cost, and evolving hardware requirements.

You will supervise contractor engagement, program controls, and supply chains, building scalable playbooks and standards to support rapid growth and future generations of AI hardware.

Qualifications

• Hyperscale multi-site delivery leadership for data center capacity.
• Groundworks through turnkey project delivery with tenant fit-out.
• Ability to design and sustain a repeatable delivery engine.
• Deep contractor and supply chain management under complex contracts.
• Understanding AI data center realities and cost of ownership.

Responsibilities

• Lead data center construction programs end-to-end from groundbreak to operable facility.
• Own contractor engagement, controls, schedules, and budgets across sites.
• Develop standards and playbooks to scale delivery while controlling cost.

Skills

Hyperscale delivery

Turnkey delivery

Delivery engine

Contractor leadership

Supply chain

Cost of ownership

Job description

Built to set the gold standard for integrated AI infrastructure

Crux AI is a newly formed, U.S.-based integrated AI infrastructure company created to remove the physical and operational constraints on consequential AI ambitions. Crux brings together power, high-density data centers, TPU silicon, networking, orchestration software, and ongoing operations as one integrated system.

Crux is being capitalized to plan every layer together, develop each one to demanding standards, and operate the whole system with efficiency and reliability. That gives hyperscalers, frontier AI labs, sovereign customers, enterprises, and AI-native companies greater freedom to pursue the AI they are here to create.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

Reporting to the Chief Development Officer, you will lead Crux AI's data center construction program with a delivery mandate that runs the full distance from bare earth to a turnkey, operable product, taking in tenant fit-out readiness and the supply chain for next-generation designs. You carry full accountability for getting capacity built on time, on budget, and to standard, across both greenfield builds and fit-out inside partner shells.

You will build and sustain a repeatable delivery engine capable of producing at least 250 MW of incremental capacity every quarter without compromising quality. That requires designing and building for the operational realities of AI data centers, including multiple availability levels across the capacity base rather than defaulting to one redundancy standard, and building capacity that stays fit for purpose as the hardware evolves. Over time the platform intends to deliver one to two gigawatts of AI infrastructure annually, which puts this among the most ambitious single-entity data center delivery programs ever attempted.

You will own contractor engagement, program controls, and construction execution end to end, managing complex supply chains under demanding contract structures. The job is to deliver AI-ready capacity as a product - balancing speed, cost, and the technical demands of the next hardware generation, and building facilities customers will still want years from now. You will do that working hand in hand with development, the technical organization, and operations, and you will be central to converting unprecedented capital commitments into operational AI capacity.

SIGNALS OF SUCCESS

After 60 days in this role:

• You have your own assessment of every project in flight - schedule, budget, GMP quality, contractor performance.
• The basis of design and construction standards are locked for the first wave of sites, including the availability tiering that shapes redundancy and cost.
• Your construction leadership bench, program controls function, and commissioning approach are defined, and hiring is underway.

After 6 months:

• The delivery engine is realized: standard playbooks, program controls, reporting, and a construction schedule the whole company plans against.
• GC and trade partner relationships are in place in every active market, contracted under structures that hold on price and schedule and hold contractors to both.
• Long-lead equipment and the supply chain for next-generation designs are mapped, with orders placed or escalated where they gate energization.
• The commissioning program is built and staffed through Level 5 and integrated systems testing, with the handover standard defined so operations inherits a proven facility.
• Fit-out execution inside partner shells is running in parallel with greenfield, and you can move capacity between the two paths as schedules shift.
• Cost forecasting is credible, with a view on where modern methods of construction take cost out rather than move margin around.

After 1 year:

• The first building is energized and turned over on schedule, commissioned to standard, and operations accepted it without a punch list argument.
• You are delivering turnkey operable capacity. Tenant fit-out and next-generation design standards are integrated into the standard product.

Cost per MW is trending down as the program scales, with prefabrication and reduced field labor doing the work.

EXPERIENCES, ATTRIBUTES AND MINDSET THAT INDICATE A GOOD MATCH

Experiences

• Hyperscale multi-site delivery. Senior experience leading construction of hyperscale or AI data center capacity, with direct accountability for large-scale, multi-site delivery.
• Groundworks to turnkey. Track record delivering from groundworks through to a fully operable turnkey product including tenant fit-out.
• A repeatable delivery engine. Command of construction execution at pace, with the ability to build and sustain an engine that produces significant incremental capacity on a rolling basis.
• Contractor and supply chain leadership. Deep experience managing contractors and complex supply chains under demanding contract structures.
• AI data center realities. Genuine understanding of the multiple availability levels that shape design, redundancy, and cost, and familiarity with next-generation design standards and what they mean for construction and the supply chain.
• Cost and TCO fluency. Commercial command of cost management and total cost of ownership, with a clear view on where modern methods of construction genuinely reduce cost rather than simply adding margin.

Attributes

• Hands-on with real construction depth. Commands respect across contractors, engineers, and specialist delivery teams because the technical depth is there.
• Decisive under pressure. Makes high-quality construction decisions quickly and at scale.
• Cost-conscious and commercially minded. Delivers capacity efficiently without trading away reliability.
• Builds for operations, not for handover. Treats commissioning and operational readiness as the finish line rather than a closeout activity.

Mindset

• Capacity as a product. Thinks in terms of a standard, repeatable, improving product rather than a series of bespoke projects.
• Comfortable in a capital-intensive, fast-moving environment. Entrepreneurial, without the scaffolding of an established program.
• Resilient and composed. Sustains pace and quality across a long-running, demanding program.
• Motivated by the build. Drawn to helping define a category rather than administering an existing one.

Salary Range Information

The annual salary range for this position has been estimated based on market data and other factors. However, a salary higher or lower than this range may be appropriate for a candidate whose qualifications differ meaningfully from those listed in the job description.

About Crux

• We offer generous base, bonus and additional incentive based compensation
• Health, dental, and vision coverage for you and your dependents
• Company-paid life insurance and disability
• Full suite of other optional benefits
• 401(k) Plan with 4% company match
• Hybrid schedule offering four days in-office collaboration paired with one remote workday for focused, individual work