Data Center Real Estate & Development Specialist

Job description

Sciforium is an AI infrastructure company developing next-generation multimodal AI models and a proprietary, high-efficiency serving platform. Backed by multi-million-dollar funding and direct sponsorship from AMD with hands-on support from AMD engineers the team is scaling rapidly to build the full stack powering frontier AI models and real-time applications. About the Role We are seeking a Data Center Real Estate & Development Specialist to own our data center capacity end to end, from sourcing space and power to delivering operational facilities. You will source candidate sites through brokers and landlords nationwide, running technical and commercial diligence, negotiating leases, and readying each facility for GPU deployment. You will be the central point of coordination across brokers, landlords, utilities, engineering firms, contractors, OEM partners, and internal stakeholders, keeping acquisition, design, permitting, procurement, and construction on schedule and on budget. This role is ideal for someone who thrives operating with urgency, is comfortable getting on a plane to walk a site anywhere in the United States, can make sound judgment calls under time pressure, and can hold multiple vendors accountable to a shared, aggressive timeline. Key Responsibilities - Site Acquisition & Real Estate - Build and manage a nationwide network of commercial real estate brokers, landlords, and owners to source space-and-power opportunities (powered shell, industrial conversions, existing data center capacity), maintaining a pipeline of on-market and off-market candidate sites. - Travel across the United States to tour candidate facilities and lead on-site diligence, walkthroughs, and inspections through deal close. - Lead commercial negotiations end to end: LOIs, term sheets, and lease agreements with landlords, partnering with legal counsel and finance on rent structure, tenant improvements, power terms, expansion rights, and local incentives. - Build comparative site economics (all-in $/kW, upgrade CapEx, lease terms) and present clear go/no-go recommendations to leadership. - Technical Diligence & Deployment Fit - Run technical diligence on candidate sites: utility capacity and interconnection status, electrical infrastructure (transformers, medium-voltage step-down, switchgear, busways, PDUs, UPS, generators), cooling and water availability, structural and floor loading, fiber connectivity, zoning and permitting posture, and expansion potential. - Coordinate with OEM and hardware partners to validate that target facilities meet future deployment requirements (rack density, power per rack, liquid cooling readiness, floor loading, delivery logistics) before we commit. - Facility Conversion & Build Execution - Coordinate directly with our electrical infrastructure partner on power distribution and cooling build-out scope, including UPS, PDUs, switchgear, ATS, CDUs, chilled water systems, and in-row cooling, ensuring designs align with project timeline and budget. - Scope and manage facility improvement projects with general contractors, engineering firms, utilities, municipalities, and equipment vendors, covering upgrades such as new transformers, switchgear, busways, and cooling infrastructure. - Own permitting and AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction) coordination, securing approvals without delaying the critical path. - Drive design and engineering review cycles, tracking open technical questions, decisions, and dependencies across electrical, mechanical, and structural workstreams. - Coordinate procurement of long-lead equipment, tracking order timing, lead times, and budget against project CapEx. - Manage relationships with server/GPU hardware vendors on rack infrastructure, delivery schedules, and integration with facility infrastructure and deployment plans. - Manage the master project schedule across parallel tracks and sites, identifying critical path items and escalating risks early. - Manage site logistics, including site visits, inspections, and access for partners and contractors. - Stakeholder Management & Reporting - Serve as the primary point of contact for all external partners (brokers, landlords, electrical infrastructure partner, engineering firms, contractors, utilities, hardware vendors) and internal stakeholders (leadership, finance). - Track and report pipeline and project status, risks, and decisions needed to leadership on a regular cadence. Must-Haves - 5+ years in data center development, site selection, or large-scale infrastructure/construction project management, ideally spanning both deal-making and build execution. - Demonstrated experience sourcing industrial or data center properties through broker networks and direct landlord relationships. - Experience negotiating commercial real estate transactions (LOIs, leases), ideally for industrial or mission-critical facilities, working alongside legal counsel. - Willingness to travel extensively across the United States (up to 50%, often on short notice) for tours, diligence, and site oversight. - Working knowledge of data center power and cooling systems (utility service, transformers and step-down distribution, switchgear, busways, PDUs, UPS, CDUs, liquid cooling) sufficient to have informed technical conversations with vendors and engineers. - Experience with permitting and AHJ processes for industrial or commercial construction projects. - Experience coordinating electrical contractors, engineering firms, general contractors, and major equipment vendors. - Strong project scheduling skills (critical path method, MS Project, Smartsheet, or similar tools). - Strong analytical skills for site comparison, deal modeling, and CapEx budgeting. - Ability to manage multiple concurrent workstreams and vendors under aggressive timelines; excellent written and verbal communication across technical and non-technical stakeholders. Nice-to-Haves - Prior experience with AI/HPC data center builds or GPU cluster deployments. - Direct utility coordination experience: capacity studies, interconnection agreements, or tariff discussions. - Familiarity with liquid cooling infrastructure (direct-to-chip, CDUs) and high-density power distribution (480V, 415V step-down systems). - Experience with facility conversions (brownfield) rather than greenfield builds. - Background at a colocation provider, hyperscaler, or data center developer. - Bachelor's degree in engineering, construction management, real estate, or a related field; PMP certification. BENEFITS INCLUDE - Medical, dental, and vision insurance - 401k plan - Daily lunch, snacks, and beverages - Flexible time off - Competitive salary and equity EQUAL OPPORTUNITY Sciforium is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.