Senior Director - Data Centers & Powered Land, Energy

About the Role

CBRE Energy is seeking a Senior Director to lead engagements for our Data Centers & Powered Land practice, advising hyperscale, colocation, and other energy‑intensive clients on powered land and energy‑related transactions. The role pairs deep technical command of grid infrastructure and interconnection with the commercial judgment to negotiate complex utility agreements, source generation, and structure creative power solutions in a market where conventional supply pathways are increasingly constrained.

This is a senior practitioner role on a growing team operating with a start‑up culture. You will originate and execute projects, partner closely with CBRE's Data Center Solutions broker network to win and deliver powered land transactions, and serve as a primary external face of the practice with utilities, RTOs/ISOs, developers, and clients. You will also help shape the strategic direction of the practice, mentor junior team members, and contribute to new service development as the data center energy market evolves.

• Lead Site Feasibility & Powered Land Diligence: Direct technical and commercial evaluation of prospective data center sites against hyperscale and colocation requirements, including grid power availability across transmission and generation, timing of energization, delivered cost of power, buildable acreage, zoning, tax status and incentives, fiber routes, water access, and proximity to load centers.
• Win & Execute Mandates with Data Center Solutions Brokers: Lead pitch meetings with CBRE's Data Center Solutions brokers and their clients to secure exclusive listing representation for powered land assignments; develop site strategy with broker teams; and respond to client and counter party diligence questions.
• Negotiate Utility Interconnection & Service Agreements: Advise clients across the full sequence of utility contracts required to bring a grid‑connected data center online — funding letters for system impact and facility studies, interconnection agreements, facilities construction agreements, and energy‑service agreements — with particular focus on credit and deposit provisions, minimum demand obligations, take‑or‑pay structures, exit fees, and special contract terms.
• Source Grid Power for Data Centers: In areas that permit buyers to bring their own capacity through grid contracts, originate and evaluate generation projects in coordination with the broader CBRE Energy team, negotiate buyer‑generator agreements, and structure capacity, energy, and ancillary service products to sleeve through to the data center and meet its resource adequacy and cost objectives.
• Evaluate Onsite & Behind‑the‑Meter Generation: Assess the viability of onsite generation solutions where power timing and quantity demand it, weighing pipeline proximity and transport capacity, gas supply availability, air‑permitting timelines, generation and medium/low‑voltage equipment availability, EPC capability, counter party operating experience, creditworthiness, and seller‑financing structures; provide clear‑eyed recommendations on which paths warrant pursuit.
• Engage Utilities, RTOs, & Regulators: Build and maintain senior relationships with utility planning, transmission, and economic development teams, RTO/ISO staff, and state regulators; conduct direct outreach to source intelligence on queue dynamics, reserve margins, large load policies, and evolving interconnection processes.
• Author Reports, Proposals, & Client Memos: Own the writing and delivery of board‑ready reports, proposals, and decision memos that translate complex technical and commercial findings into clear recommendations for senior client audiences; set the quality bar for written work product across the practice.
• Develop New Services & Products: Identify emerging opportunities in the data center energy space — including innovative hedging structures, gas supply and transport solutions, hybrid generation arrangements, and capacity products — and partner with practice leadership to scope and launch new offerings.
• Mentor & Support Development of the Team: Manage and develop junior team members supporting data center engagements,…