Data Center Procurement and Operations Director at Orion Placement in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

Job description

• Own the end-to-end data center strategy supporting high-performance GPU and AI infrastructure deployments.
• Play a critical role in selecting and securing the facilities that enable enterprise-scale compute growth.
• Combine technical site evaluation, commercial negotiation, vendor management, and operational execution in one highly visible leadership role.
• Influence major colocation decisions involving power, cooling, connectivity, capacity, cost, and service-level commitments.
• Work directly with senior leadership and strategic partners while helping bring complex infrastructure deployments online.
• Join a fast-moving environment where your decisions directly impact deployment speed, customer commitments, and company growth.
• Competitive bonus and equity opportunity in addition to base compensation.
• Location: Remote nationwide, with preference for candidates based in the US. Travel to data center partner sites is required.
• Note: Must have 8+ years of directly relevant experience in data center site selection, colocation procurement, facilities/infrastructure operations, or a closely related environment. Candidates must have real experience with colocation contract and SLA negotiation as well as technical data center site vetting, including power, cooling, connectivity, and physical infrastructure. Generic procurement experience without meaningful data center exposure will not meet the requirements.
• High-visibility role at the intersection of data centers, AI infrastructure, and enterprise technology.
• Significant ownership over the facilities and commercial partnerships that enable company growth.
• Opportunity to work on complex, high-density compute deployments rather than routine facilities projects.
• Direct exposure to senior leadership and strategic infrastructure partners.
• Remote flexibility with meaningful travel and hands-on involvement in major deployments.
• Opportunity to build scalable processes for site selection, procurement, vendor management, and facility readiness.
• Competitive base compensation plus bonus and equity.
• Join a fast-growing organization where infrastructure decisions have immediate and measurable business impact.

Responsibilities

• Lead data center site selection, sourcing, technical vetting, contracting, and readiness across active and prospective deployments.
• Identify and evaluate colocation facilities based on power capacity, cooling architecture, connectivity, geographic requirements, security, cost, and deployment timelines.
• Conduct site tours and technical due diligence to determine whether facilities can support high-density compute requirements.
• Develop and manage competitive RFP processes for new data center and colocation requirements.
• Negotiate colocation and service agreements, including pricing, SLAs, uptime commitments, remedies, escalation provisions, and termination terms.
• Partner with Legal and executive leadership to finalize commercially and operationally sound agreements.
• Oversee power, cooling, rack, and facility fit-out activities required to bring sites to deployment readiness.
• Coordinate with data center operators, construction teams, engineering teams, and internal stakeholders to keep deployments on schedule.
• Track fit-out milestones, scope changes, readiness requirements, and potential delays, escalating issues proactively.
• Align site selection and buildout priorities with capacity planning, sales demand, deployment schedules, and customer requirements.
• Maintain visibility into available and committed capacity across contracted facilities.
• Negotiate colocation, power, non-recurring, and other facility costs while managing vendor performance.
• Monitor spend against budget and identify opportunities to control costs and improve commercial outcomes.
• Maintain accurate reporting on site status, contract terms, capacity, fit-out progress, costs, and key risks for senior leadership.

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience in data center site selection, colocation procurement, facilities operations, strategic sourcing, or related data center infrastructure roles.
• Proven experience negotiating colocation contracts, pricing, SLAs, uptime commitments, and remedies.
• Strong technical understanding of data center power, cooling, connectivity, physical infrastructure, and facility readiness.
• Experience leading RFPs and competitive vendor selection processes.
• Experience evaluating and negotiating with data center or colocation operators.
• Ability to manage multiple sites, vendors, contracts, and deployment timelines simultaneously.
• Strong commercial judgment, negotiation skills, and vendor management capabilities.
• Excellent communication and executive reporting skills.
• Experience with hyperscale, neocloud, GPU, AI infrastructure, or high-density compute is highly desirable.
• Experience with 20+ MW data center environments is a strong plus.
• Data center fit-out, construction management, or deployment experience is preferred.
• International experience with colocation operators in North America, Europe, or Asia is a plus.
• Bachelor's degree preferred but not required; relevant experience and technical knowledge are valued most.

Skills

Required

• Data center site selection
• Colocation procurement
• Facilities operations
• Strategic sourcing
• Contract negotiation
• SLA negotiation
• RFP management
• Vendor selection
• Vendor management
• Commercial judgment
• Negotiation skills
• Communication

Benefits

• Dental insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance