Director of Data Center Certification

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in United States.

📋 Description

• Create an independent certification body for AI data centers from the ground up.

• Define and take ownership of the certification strategy and its parameters.

• Spearhead the creation and dissemination of rigorous, implementable certification criteria in collaboration with technical experts, developers, utilities, and municipalities.

• Develop the business model, incorporating facility-size-based fees, annual recertification, membership tiers, and a practitioner credential.

• Establish a certification business that is financially self-sustaining.

• Create a digital-first certification process, a network of remote auditors, and maintain consistent quality assurance.

• Secure initial adopters among developers and municipalities, and ensure certification is integral to siting, permitting, and procurement decisions.

• Safeguard the independence of certification and manage any conflicts between commercial interests and certification integrity.

• Collaborate with the Director of Data Center Energy Strategy.

• Recruit and expand the certification team and auditor network.

• Forge external partnerships with hyperscalers, developers, utilities, grid operators, municipalities, regulators, standards bodies, and climate funders.

• Partner with the Foundation CEO on budgeting, impact, risk, grants, and impact investing.

• Execute the first-year strategy, Version 1 standard, business model, governance, auditor program, pilot certifications, and strategy-track partnerships.

• Travel as necessary to engage with developers, utilities, municipalities, and the Foundation.

⛳️ Requirements

• Proven experience in establishing a new organization, product, or market from an early stage, ideally where you needed to generate both demand and supply.

• Established credibility in two areas: engaging effectively with data center developers and energy executives, as well as with municipal officials and regulators.

• Proficient understanding of energy and data center fundamentals, including power procurement, interconnection, renewables and storage, and load flexibility.

• Sufficient technical knowledge to guide technical experts and critically assess their work.

• Strong commercial acumen: crafting pricing and revenue models, and selling to discerning buyers.

• Proven leadership capabilities, with a successful track record in hiring top talent.

• Sound judgment regarding independence and conflicts of interest, along with a readiness to maintain standards under commercial pressures.

• Outstanding communication skills, including the ability to present technical standards engagingly to developers, municipalities, and the public.

• A profound personal commitment to providing clean and reliable power for the AI era.

• Experience with standards, certification, ratings, or accreditation is highly preferred.

• Direct experience in data centers, AI infrastructure, utilities, or energy development is strongly preferred.

• Familiarity with working alongside municipalities, permitting authorities, or state energy regulators is strongly preferred.

• Leadership experience in a nonprofit or membership organization, or within or in collaboration with a philanthropic funder is strongly preferred.

• An engineering or technical background, or an advanced degree in a relevant field, is strongly preferred.

• An established network within hyperscalers, developers, utilities, and climate investors is strongly preferred.

🏝️ Benefits

• Competitive Salary & Benefits.

• A founding leadership role in establishing a new institution with initial support from the Sijbrandij Foundation.

• Direct reporting line to the Foundation CEO and a collaborative working relationship with the strategy track.

• Fully remote position within the US.