Data Center Construction Lead

Duration:
12 Months (Potential Extension)

Travel:
Approximately 50% across North America

About the Opportunity
Our client is seeking an experienced Lead Lease Construction Manager to serve as the owner's representative for the delivery of large-scale leased data center projects across North America. This is a senior leadership position responsible for driving construction execution, cost and schedule certainty, contractor performance, commissioning, and project turnover across multiple mission-critical facilities.
The successful candidate will operate with a high degree of autonomy, providing leadership to construction teams, contractors, consultants, and cross-functional stakeholders while ensuring successful delivery of hyperscale data center infrastructure.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the client's owner's representative for the construction, commissioning, and turnover of leased data center fit-out projects across multiple locations.
• Lead construction delivery from preconstruction through project closeout while making independent field decisions with minimal oversight.
• Own cost, schedule, quality, and execution across multiple projects while serving as the escalation point for construction teams and field personnel.
• Manage construction activities for new build-outs, retrofits, and expansion projects within leased data center facilities.
• Lead and mentor Construction Managers, field teams, vendors, and contractors while establishing clear performance expectations.
• Build and maintain strong working relationships with General Contractors, Landlords, Designers, Consultants, Commissioning Teams, and internal stakeholders.
• Drive contractor accountability through regular site meetings, progress reviews, and executive reporting.
• Lead complex change order negotiations while protecting project budgets and schedule.
• Develop recovery plans for delayed projects by identifying root causes and implementing corrective actions.
• Identify opportunities to improve construction processes, standardize best practices, and enhance project delivery across the portfolio.
• Partner with cross-functional teams during project planning, scope development, sequencing, and execution planning.
• Own project schedules in partnership with Project Controls and Scheduling teams while proactively managing schedule risks.
• Support capital budget development, ROM estimating, cost forecasting, and monthly CapEx reporting.
• Review weekly project reports and develop action plans related to financial performance, schedule, quality, and construction progress.
• Conduct monthly work-in-place (WIP) reviews and regular construction site inspections.
• Oversee Method of Procedures (MOPs) for retrofit work within live data center environments.
• Lead project closeout activities, turnover documentation, punch-list completion, and final handover.
• Foster a culture centered around safety, accountability, continuous improvement, and operational excellence.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Construction Management, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related discipline (or equivalent experience).
• 15+ years of experience managing mission-critical or hyperscale construction projects.
• Proven experience leading construction delivery for large-scale data center or critical infrastructure projects.
• Experience acting as an Owner's Representative or Senior Construction Manager on complex capital programs.
• Demonstrated experience managing projects valued between $300M and $1.5B+, with exposure to larger campus-scale developments preferred.
• Strong knowledge of construction management, contractor oversight, commissioning, and project turnover.
• Experience managing multiple concurrent projects across different phases of construction.
• Strong understanding of:
  • Electrical distribution systems
  • Mechanical infrastructure
  • Critical cooling systems
  • Building Management Systems (BMS)
  • Commissioning processes
  • Mission-critical facility operations
• Experience with cost controls, forecasting, change management, and schedule management.
• Working knowledge of Primavera P6, CPM scheduling methodologies, and Microsoft Office Suite.
• Ability to travel approximately 50% across North America.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience delivering hyperscale or mission-critical data center campuses.
• Previous experience with leased facilities, colocation environments, or tenant improvement projects.
• Experience leading multi-site construction portfolios.
• Strong understanding of constructability reviews and design-build project delivery.
• Experience reviewing phasing plans, logistics strategies, and identifying design conflicts.
• Prior experience mentoring Construction Managers or field leadership teams.
• Familiarity with Procore, Smartsheet, Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC), CxAlloy, or similar construction management platforms.
• Professional certifications such as:
  • PMP
  • OSHA 30
  • RMP
  • PBA
  • Other advanced construction or project management certifications.