Senior Project Manager – Data Center Construction

Description

Chris Preble from Robert Half is working with a data center client of his that is massively growing. This 250MW project is providing for a newly created Sr Project Manager- Data Center Construction (Owners Side) to join the team. The role will involve travel to Texas and other locations in the future. You'll be on site a few days a week and remote other times...depending on what's going on.

Must have - Controls ownership on at least one campus or program of roughly 100 MW or greater.

About the Role

We are hiring a Senior Project Manager to lead our hyperscale data center developments from the owner's side, from site selection and pre-construction through construction, commissioning and turnover. You will join each project on day one and own it to the finish line.

You will be the owner's senior voice on site. You will hold the Owner's Engineer, General Contractor, MEP trades, utilities and other partners accountable to schedule, budget and quality. This role suits a hands-on builder who knows data center construction in detail and who leads by being in the field, not behind a desk.

Key Responsibilities

Owner's Representation

• Serve as the owner's senior leader on site, protecting the company's financial, schedule and operational interests.

• Engage from project inception: site due diligence, design development, procurement strategy and contractor selection.

• Represent Banyan Oak Group with tenants, utilities, municipalities, permitting authorities and community stakeholders.

Partner and Contractor Management

• Direct and challenge the Owner's Engineer, General Contractor, design firms, MEP trades and specialty consultants.

• Lead RFP processes, bid leveling and contract negotiations with the commercial team.

• Enforce contract terms and drive accountability for safety, quality, schedule and cost.

Schedule, Budget and Change Control

• Own the project budget, forecasts and cash flow from approval through closeout.

• Review critical path schedules, identify risks early and drive recovery plans.

• Evaluate, negotiate and approve change orders and claims.

• Manage long-lead equipment procurement (generators, switchgear, transformers, UPS, chillers, CDUs).

Cross-Functional Coordination

• Align design, construction, utilities, operations and tenant teams across multiple concurrent workstreams.

• Manage handoffs between phases and between construction and the operations team.

• Report project health to executive leadership and investors.

Technical Quality and Commissioning

• Lead constructability and design reviews with engineering teams.

• Oversee QA/QC programs tailored to mission-critical electrical and mechanical systems.

• Drive Level 1–5 commissioning through Integrated Systems Testing (IST) to turnover and Ready for Service.

Requirements

Required Qualifications

• Data center experience: 5+ years of progressive construction or project management experience on large-scale, mission-critical data center projects.

• Hyperscale scale: Hands-on leadership of at least one campus or program of roughly 100 MW or greater.

• Owner-side experience: Direct experience working for an owner, developer, hyperscaler or owner's representative firm, not only on the contractor or subcontractor side.

• Construction knowledge: Detailed understanding of data center construction sequencing, constructability reviews and fast-track or phased delivery.

• Power infrastructure: Working knowledge of medium- and high-voltage substations, utility interconnection, switchgear, generator redundancy (N+1, 2N) and UPS topologies.

• Cooling infrastructure: Working knowledge of chilled-water plants, air handling, and liquid cooling (direct-to-chip, CDUs, rear-door heat exchangers).

• Project controls: Proven command of budgets, critical path schedules (Primavera P6 or MS Project), change management and contract administration (AIA, ConsensusDocs or similar).

• Field presence: Willingness to spend the majority of working time on active job sites in Texas and other U.S. states.

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Construction Management, Engineering or a related field, or equivalent experience.

Who Thrives Here

• Builders at heart. You would rather walk the site than read a report about it.

• Owners, not observers. You treat every dollar and every day of schedule as your own.

• Fast and flexible. You are comfortable with ambiguity, quick decisions and a hands-on, entrepreneurial pace.

• Growth-minded. You want to build your career with a growing developer and take on more scope as our portfolio expands.

• Clear communicators. You can hold a GC accountable in the morning and brief executives in the afternoon.

Robert Half is the world’s first and largest specialized talent solutions firm that connects highly qualified job seekers to opportunities at great companies. We offer contract, temporary and permanent placement solutions for finance and accounting, technology, marketing and creative, legal, and administrative and customer support roles.

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