Director, Planning & Development

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Director, Planning & Development

Does the thought of joining one of the fastest-growing, privately held data center companies sound exciting to you? Do you enjoy collaborating with team members to drive and operate some of the industry's leading and most innovative infrastructure solutions?

At Aligned Data Centers, not only do we celebrate success across our platform, we celebrate the very teams that drive and support that success! Our culture is founded in passion, engineered from innovation, and driven by the pursuit of operational excellence. We are a company dedicated to driving positive change in the industry through continuous data center innovation, diversity and inclusion, and corporate sustainability.

We realize not only is providing a comprehensive benefits package important, but we also provide a generous 401k match with immediate vesting, free membership to Gympass which provides our employees a rich health and wellness benefit and competitive time off plan. Giving back and having fun is important to our team whether it be serving our communities or employee and customer events. Our Aligned DNA is what makes us unique and successful!

As part of our exciting growth, we are currently searching for aDirector, Planning & Development.

The Director of Planning & Development serves as the cross-functional integrator for Aligned Data Centers' front-end planning and development lifecycle-from project intake and feasibility through design readiness, procurement alignment, logistics strategy, and Ready-to-Build (R2B) handoff. This leader coordinates activities across internal teams and external partners, drives alignment around priorities, risks, and dependencies, and ensures inputs are brought together into a cohesive, constructible, cost-aligned, and risk-managed execution plan that supports speed-to-market, repeatability, and predictable delivery across regions and product offerings.

The role combines four core capabilities: (1) feasibility and constructability diligence to validate sites and enabling infrastructure; (2) planning and integration to coordinate design, permitting, utilities, procurement, and commissioning readiness; (3) productization and deployment planning to standardize modular/OSM solutions, scope boundaries, and feedback loops with vendors and integrators; and (4) development and standardization of workflows, processes, and procedures that support scalability and consistency.

The Director ensures programs entering construction are fully prepared-complete documentation, validated budgets and schedules, closed governance trails, and clearly defined responsibilities-then transitions the package to Construction Delivery for execution.

1. Program Strategy, Intake, and Early Development

• Lead project intake through feasibility, concept, and funding gates; orchestrate stage-gate reviews with executive-ready readouts and decision memos.
• Translate customer and business requirements into executable deployment plans that balance schedule, cost, risk, and ROI.
• Establish and maintain the program roadmap and Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) with defined readiness gates (Intake → Feasibility → Design → Procurement → R2B → Handoff).
• Maintain program risk registers, decision logs, and action trackers; drive mitigation with clear owners and due dates.
• Develop and publish executive one-pagers and dashboards summarizing scope, cost, schedule, risk, and gating status.

2. Feasibility, Site Readiness, and Constructability

• Drive front-end due diligence across candidate sites, evaluating utilities (power, water, fiber), geotechnical conditions, zoning/entitlements, permitting pathways, and community engagement factors.
• Develop structured site evaluation scorecards that quantify readiness, risk, and cost to enable data-driven go/no-go and site prioritization decisions.
• Coordinate and integrate third-party studies (geotech, hydrology, environmental, ALTA, traffic, cultural/historic) to inform constructability and schedule risk.
• Validate design standards against site realities (geotech, climate, codes/AHJs, utility lead times, environmental constraints) and recommend adaptations as needed.
• Partner with Delivery teams to validate construction sequencing logic, float, and parallel-path opportunities; identify early enabling works and temporary works requirements.

3. Design Integration and Technical Readiness

• Lead coordination across engineering disciplines (civil, structural, electrical, mechanical, controls) to ensure design aligns with Aligned product templates, DFMA/OSM (Design for Manufacturing Assembly/Off-Site Manufacturing) standards, and modular assembly philosophy.
• Conduct design readiness reviews (30/60/90/IFC) to confirm constructability, scope completeness, interface clarity, and schedule alignment.
• Translate productized design intent into field execution requirements-defining constructability parameters, sequencing strategies, and safe access/egress during build.
• Drive interface definition and tolerance management for modular assemblies and skids; ensure scope splits, handoffs, and test criteria are documented and understood.
• Integrate lessons learned, value engineering, and reliability improvements into future design iterations in partnership with Platform Engineering and Delivery.

4. Productization, Modularization, and Vendor/Integrator Enablement

• Define and map Aligned product offerings (including AI/accelerated compute solutions where applicable) and maintain scenario models (cost/schedule/risk) to select optimal paths by market, product, and vendor mix.
• Standardize repeatable builds (modules/skids/assemblies), bills of materials, and scope boundaries so multiple vendors can execute interchangeably.
• Create intake forms and requirements checklists that prompt stakeholders to assess offerings and confirm the optimal solution while balancing ROI and delivery commitments.
• Establish closed-loop feedback mechanisms with vendors, integrators, and site teams; capture field learnings, drive corrective actions, and feed improvements back into standards.
• Partner with Procurement to develop vendor scorecards, capacity management mechanisms, and make/buy/mix strategies for modular assemblies.

5. Commissioning, Quality, and Factory-First Testing

• Embed commissioning readiness (L1-L5/IST) into early planning and design deliverables to support factory-first testing and accelerated start-up.
• Lead or support efforts to maximize commissioning scope completed before skids and equipment arrive on site; coordinate with Commissioning & Quality and installation teams.
• Push verification and testing upstream to integrators and vendors where practical; align progression plans culminating in Integrated Systems Testing (IST).
• Develop mechanisms to capture, track, and resolve defects discovered post-shipment but prior to installation; ensure lessons learned inform design and vendor Corrective And Preventive Action(CAPA).

6. Schedule, Cost, and Risk Governance

• Create and maintain Level 2/3 schedules and milestone plans (permits, utilities, long-lead PO dates, manufacturing, delivery, installation, commissioning).
• Build, or lead efforts to build and maintain Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) in Primavera P6 or MS Project capturing cross-functional dependencies across design, procurement, permitting, utilities, manufacturing, and logistics.
• Maintain cost models, ROM estimates, and variance logs; partner with Commercial/Pre-Construction and Finance to align estimates with scope evolution and market conditions.
• Quantify and manage schedule/cost/delivery risks; provide leadership with actionable mitigation plans and early-warning metrics (lead-time drift, vendor capacity, permit pacing).
• Facilitate cost/design/schedule validation workshops; document outcomes and ensure follow-through.

7. Procurement, Logistics, and Site Readiness

• Partner with Procurement to identify long-lead equipment, validate factory capacity and slotting, and protect critical path dates.
• Support pre-purchase and early-release packages for long-lead equipment (switchgear, transformers, UPS, chillers, busway, controls) and ensure contractual dates are reflected in schedules.
• Define logistics strategy for shipping, receiving, storage, and environmental controls; validate packaging and preservation standards (shock, tilt, humidity, temperature) to protect warranties and product integrity.
• Coordinate heavy-haul and multimodal planning (road/rail/barge) including OS/OW permitting and route validation as needed.
• Validate site readiness-including access, laydown, temporary works, enabling works, and safety planning-prior to R2B and mobilization.

8. Permitting, Utilities, and External Stakeholder Alignment

• Track and assist in managing permitting, utility interconnection, and entitlement milestones; coordinate permit matrices and socialization with stakeholders.
• Engage with AHJs, utilities, and external partners as needed to maintain transparency, pace, and alignment on requirements and inspections.
• Coordinate community engagement plans and key stakeholder communications, ensuring requirements and due dates are reflected in planning schedules.
• Build and maintain relationships with general contractors, trade partners, integrators, and design partners aligned with Aligned's culture and delivery standards.

9. Ready-to-Build (R2B) Handoff and Continuous Improvement

• Lead the formal R2B process, confirming closure of all open items before construction mobilization.
• Deliver a complete handoff package to Construction Delivery including: IFC design set and revision log; baseline schedule and cost model; risk register and mitigation plan; commissioning and quality plan; logistics and warranty documentation; governance trail and lessons learned summary.
• Conduct structured handoff meetings to confirm scope continuity, accountability, and execution readiness.
• Capture lessons learned and incorporate them into Platform Delivery playbooks; drive continuous improvement in planning governance, documentation consistency, and process efficiency.
• Mentor project controls and delivery staff on early-phase integration, schedule management, and stakeholder communication.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Construction Management, Engineering, Architecture, or related field (or equivalent experience).
• 10-12+ years of experience in mission-critical or industrial delivery (data centers strongly preferred), including 5+ years leading feasibility, design integration, pre-construction, and/or multi-site program portfolios.
• Strong knowledge of MEP systems and constructability (MV/LV powertrain, UPS/energy storage, switchgear/transformers, busway, cooling/CRAH/CRAC/liquid cooling, BMS/EPMS) and ability to interpret drawings/specifications.
• Proficiency across commissioning levels L1-L5 with IST concepts; ability to integrate commissioning requirements early and drive defect/CAPA closure mechanisms - (Corrective And Preventive Action)
• Demonstrated capability building cost models/ROMs, budgets, variance analysis, and business cases (TCO/ROI).
• Expertise with project controls and delivery tools: Primavera P6 or MS Project; Excel; Procore/BIM 360; Bluebeam; Smartsheet; analytics tools (Power BI/Tableau); familiarity with ERP/PLM - (Enterprise Resource Planning) and (Product Lifecycle Management) environments.
• Proven ability to integrate cost, schedule, design, procurement, and logistics into a cohesive, risk-managed execution plan.
• Exceptional leadership, stakeholder management, and communication skills; ability to influence decisions at the executive level.
• Expertise with project delivery models (Design-Build, Design-Assist, EPC, CM at Risk, IPD).
• Ability to travel up to 50% to manufacturers, integrators, and project sites.

Preferred Qualifications

• Masters degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Project Management, Business or Finance.
• Mechanical or Electrical engineering background; PE, CxA, PMP, Six Sigma, LEED, or advanced degree (MS/MBA) a plus.
• Demonstrated success with DFMA/OSM/prefab and modular skids/assemblies that drive measurable schedule and quality gains.
• Supply chain leadership experience: multi-sourcing strategies, vendor scorecards, commercial negotiation, and capacity management.
• Heavy-haul and multimodal logistics planning experience including OS/OW permitting, route validation, Incoterms, and customs processes.
• Experience with regional zoning, entitlement strategies, and AHJ coordination across multiple jurisdictions.
• Track record of building programs from the ground up and leading organizational change.

Physical Demands and Work Environment

• Frequently required to stand, walk, and sit; occasionally required to bend and climb.
• Frequently required to use hand and finger dexterity and operate standard office and field technology.
• Occasionally works near moving mechanical parts and within active construction environments.

COMPENSATION:

• $200,000 - $235,000 + Bonus

BENEFITS & PERKS:

Aligned Data Centers is proud to offer a comprehensive benefits package to support the health, well-being, and financial security of our team members. Eligible employees have access to:

• Health Coverage: Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Health Savings and Flexible Spending Accounts: HSA with employer contribution for eligible participants. FSAs offered for health and dependent care to increase tax savings.
• Retirement Savings: 401(k) plan with company match
• Paid Time Off and Holiday Pay
• Company-Sponsored Insurance: Short-Term Disability, Life Insurance, and Long-Term Disability (with medical election)
• Optional Benefits: Voluntary life, critical illness, legal, and additional disability coverage
• Wellness Programs: Employee assistance program (EAP), Wellhub gym membership, and other wellness initiatives

The above is intended to describe the general content of and requirements for the performance of this job. It is not to be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties, responsibilities or physical requirements. Nothing in this job description restricts management's right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.

At Aligned, we are committed to transparency and fostering a positive employee experience from your very first interaction with us. In compliance with Illinois pay disclosure requirements, when you join Aligned, you'll have access to the following benefits: medical, dental, vision, short and long disability, life insurance and other voluntary benefits, 401k with employer match, bonus opportunities, paid time off, wellness benefits and professional development opportunities, all designed to support your well-being and career growth. We want you to have a clear understanding of what we offer, so you can make informed decisions about your future with us.

Aligned is equally committed to fostering an inclusive workplace and providing equal employment opportunities for all employees. We ensure that all applicants and team members are considered for employment, advancement, and all other employment-related matters without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), national origin, age, physical or mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

If you require a reasonable accommodation to perform the essential functions of your job due to a disability or medical condition, please contact our People & Culture team. Accommodation requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis in accordance with applicable laws. Aligned will make reasonable accommodations where necessary to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their role.