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Director of preconstruction

Alexandria, Virginia, United States; Austin, Texas, United States; Denver, Colorado, United States; Remote US; Seattle, Washington, United States

Overview
Fleet Data Centers designs, builds and operates mega-scale data center campuses. Fleet provides its customers flexibility and predictability to meet their upside demand forecasts, addressing a key need in the market as traditional leased models are struggling to keep pace with the demand for new Cloud and AI infrastructure. Fleet is led by a team of industry veterans that have already made a lasting imprint on the evolution of global digital infrastructure and are committed and uniquely capable of upleveling data center development scale and operations in the face of rising demand. Fleet is well positioned to bring in-house design, engineering and operational capabilities to collaborate with customers on tailored solutions for campuses of 500MW+. This unique model enables Fleet to provide the world’s largest and most sophisticated customers a seamless extension of their own data center fleets with constant access to design innovation.

Position Overview

The Preconstruction Director is the senior owner-side leader accountable for the preconstruction outcome of a Fleet data center campus — carrying it from concept and design development through estimating, procurement strategy, buyout, and Notice to Proceed (NTP), then handing a bought-out, de-risked project to the Director of Construction. Reporting to the VP, Construction as a peer to the Director of Construction, this role owns budget confidence, contracting strategy, and procurement readiness for the campus, and leads the two site-assigned Preconstruction Managers.

This is a partnership-oriented leadership role that sets Fleet’s preconstruction standards and serves as the bridge between development intent and construction execution, ensuring what the construction team receives at NTP is realistic, bought-out, and aligned to Fleet’s cost, schedule, and reliability goals.

Key Responsibilities

Preconstruction Leadership & Governance

  • Own Campus Preconstruction: Hold owner-side accountability for the full preconstruction effort — design management, estimating, procurement strategy, and buyout — through NTP.
  • Lead the Preconstruction Team: Lead and develop the site-assigned Preconstruction Managers; set priorities, balance workload across campuses, resolve conflicts, and ensure consistent, high-quality preconstruction output.
  • Set Standards & Governance: Establish preconstruction standards — estimate formats, milestone gates, benchmarking, decision logs, and risk registers — so preconstruction is predictable and repeatable across campuses.
  • Design-to-Budget Alignment: Partner with in-house design/engineering and development to keep design aligned to budget and Fleet’s high-availability, mission-critical resiliency requirements.

Budget, Commercial & Procurement Strategy

  • Campus Budget Confidence: Own the development, accuracy, and progression of the campus preconstruction budget across design milestones, with clear basis, assumptions, and contingency strategy.
  • Contracting Strategy: Set delivery-method and contract-structure strategy (e.g., GMP, lump sum, design-build, EPC) across scopes, in partnership with legal, Supply Chain, and the Director of Construction.
  • Procurement & Long-Lead Roadmap: Own the campus procurement roadmap, prioritizing long-lead OFCI equipment (transformers, switchgear, generators, chillers, UPS, BESS) with Supply Chain to protect the energization critical path.
  • Buyout Leadership: Drive competitive procurement, bid leveling, and award recommendations, delivering a bought-out scope at NTP.

Stakeholder, Risk & Handoff

  • Executive Interface: Serve as the preconstruction point of contact to corporate leadership, development, finance, Supply Chain, and joint-venture partners; provide budget, procurement, and risk reporting.
  • Utility & Entitlements Alignment: Ensure interconnection, entitlements, and permitting strategies are integrated into the preconstruction schedule.
  • Risk Ownership: Maintain the campus preconstruction risk register; identify cost, schedule, supply-chain, and scope risks early and drive mitigation.
  • Construction Handoff: Own a disciplined transition to the Director of Construction at NTP — bought-out scope, budget basis, procurement status, and open risks — so construction begins with clarity and confidence.

Basic Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management, Engineering, Architecture, or a related technical field, OR equivalent practical preconstruction leadership experience.
  • 15+ years of preconstruction, estimating, and/or delivery experience on large-scale, mission-critical, or hyperscale projects, including significant time leading campus-level preconstruction; 7+ years owner-side preferred, though a strong general contractor preconstruction leadership background is also considered.
  • Demonstrated ownership of campus-level budgets, contracting strategy, and long-lead procurement across CSA and MEP/Power scopes.
  • Proven ability to lead and develop a preconstruction team and to partner effectively with design, development, Supply Chain, and construction leadership.
  • Advanced proficiency with estimating systems, Procore (or equivalent), Microsoft Office Suite, and scheduling software.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Executive-level leader with strong commercial acumen, contractual fluency, and cost discipline.
  • Experience across data center, utility-scale power, or mission-critical facilities.
  • Strong leadership and communication skills, with a partnership-oriented, problem-solving approach.

About Fleet

Fleet Data Centers designs, builds, and operates mega-scale data center campuses. Fleet provides its customers flexibility and predictability to meet their upside demand forecasts, addressing a key need in the market as traditional leased models struggle to keep pace with demand for new Cloud and AI infrastructure.

Fleet is led by a team of industry veterans who have already made a lasting imprint on the evolution of global digital infrastructure and are uniquely capable of upleveling data center development scale and operations in the face of rising demand. Fleet brings in-house design, engineering, and operational capabilities to collaborate with customers on tailored solutions for campuses of 500MW+, enabling the world’s largest and most sophisticated customers a seamless extension of their own data center fleets with constant access to design innovation.

Fleet is headquartered in Denver, Colorado, with satellite offices in Seattle, WA and Arlington, VA. These positions are located in the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center north of Sparks, NV and require the candidate to be on-site (senior field roles on-site five days per week), located within a commutable distance to the project site.

Employment & Benefits

Fleet Data Centers employees enjoy comprehensive benefits, including 100% employer-covered medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401K program, standard paid holidays, and unlimited PTO. As these are on-site positions, there is limited travel associated with the roles.

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