Grid Origination Services Jobs (NOW HIRING)

About the Role
CBRE Energy is seeking a Senior Director to lead engagements for our Data Centers & Powered Land practice, advising hyperscale, colocation, and other energy-intensive clients on powered land and energy-related transactions. The role pairs deep technical command of grid infrastructure and interconnection with the commercial judgment to negotiate complex utility agreements, source generation, and structure creative power solutions in a market where conventional supply pathways are increasingly constrained.
This is a senior practitioner role on a growing team operating with a start-up culture. You will originate and execute projects, partner closely with CBRE's Data Center Solutions broker network to win and deliver powered land transactions, and serve as a primary external face of the practice with utilities, RTOs/ISOs, developers, and clients. You will also help shape the strategic direction of the practice, mentor junior team members, and contribute to new service development as the data center energy market evolves.
What You'll Do
• Lead Site Feasibility & Powered Land Diligence: Direct technical and commercial evaluation of prospective data center sites against hyperscale and colocation requirements, including grid power availability across transmission and generation, timing of energization, delivered cost of power, buildable acreage, zoning, tax status and incentives, fiber routes, water access, and proximity to load centers.
• Win & Execute Mandates with Data Center Solutions Brokers: Lead pitch meetings with CBRE's Data Center Solutions brokers and their clients to secure exclusive listing representation for powered land assignments; develop site strategy with broker teams; and respond to client and counterparty diligence questions.
• Negotiate Utility Interconnection & Service Agreements: Advise clients across the full sequence of utility contracts required to bring a grid-connected data center online - funding letters for system impact and facility studies, interconnection agreements, facilities construction agreements, and energy service agreements - with particular focus on credit and deposit provisions, minimum demand obligations, take-or-pay structures, exit fees, and special contract terms.
• Source Grid Power for Data Centers: In areas that permit buyers to bring their own capacity through grid contracts, originate and evaluate generation projects in coordination with the broader CBRE Energy team, negotiate buyer-generator agreements, and structure capacity, energy, and ancillary service products to sleeve through to the data center and meet its resource adequacy and cost objectives.
• Evaluate Onsite & Behind-the-Meter Generation: Assess the viability of onsite generation solutions where power timing and quantity demand it, weighing pipeline proximity and transport capacity, gas supply availability, air permitting timelines, generation and medium/low-voltage equipment availability, EPC capability, counterparty operating experience, creditworthiness, and seller financing structures; provide clear-eyed recommendations on which paths warrant pursuit.
• Engage Utilities, RTOs, & Regulators: Build and maintain senior relationships with utility planning, transmission, and economic development teams, RTO/ISO staff, and state regulators; conduct direct outreach to source intelligence on queue dynamics, reserve margins, large load policies, and evolving interconnection processes.
• Author Reports, Proposals, & Client Memos: Own the writing and delivery of board-ready reports, proposals, and decision memos that translate complex technical and commercial findings into clear recommendations for senior client audiences; set the quality bar for written work product across the practice.
• Develop New Services & Products: Identify emerging opportunities in the data center energy space - including innovative hedging structures, gas supply and transport solutions, hybrid generation arrangements, and capacity products - and partner with practice leadership to scope and launch new offerings.
• Mentor & Support Development of the Team: Manage and develop junior team members supporting data center engagements, including analysts and senior analysts; foster their professional growth, set work standards, and contribute to hiring as the practice scales.
What You'll Need
• 10+ years of experience in energy markets, utility operations, interconnection, data center development, project finance, or powered land transactions, with demonstrated leadership on complex deals.
• Deep technical fluency in electric infrastructure, including transmission and substation analysis, interconnection processes, utility tariff interpretation, and the commercial terms underpinning large-load service agreements.
• Working command of one or more major US energy markets (PJM, ERCOT, MISO, SPP, NYISO, WECC, SERC), including how capacity, energy, and ancillary services markets affect data center procurement strategy.
• Demonstrated experience negotiating commercial agreements with utilities, developers, and counterparties on behalf of corporate energy buyers or developers.
• Established network of relationships across utilities, RTOs/ISOs, generation developers, data center operators, and the data center brokerage and advisory community.
• Exceptional business writing skills, with the discipline to produce polished, persuasive prose for reports, proposals, and senior-audience client deliverables; equally strong verbal communication for client meetings, pitches, and external speaking engagements.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with comfort in ambiguity, a willingness to operate across the full life cycle of a mandate, and the judgment to take ownership of outcomes in a fast-moving practice.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills and high proficiency in PowerPoint and Word for client-ready deliverables.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Energy, Economics, Business, Real Estate, or a related field; advanced degree or MBA preferred.
• Authorized to work in the United States without visa sponsorship now or in the future.
Location: New York City, NY, or Remote
Travel: Travel requirement up to 25%
CBRE carefully considers multiple factors to determine compensation, including a candidate's education, training, and experience. The minimum salary for the Sr. Director position is $160,000 annually and the maximum salary for the position is $200,000 annually. The compensation offered to a successful candidate will depend on their skills, qualifications, and experience. Successful candidates will also be eligible for a discretionary bonus based on CBRE's applicable benefit program. This role will provide the following benefits: 401(K), Dental insurance, Health insurance, Life insurance, and Vision insurance.
Equal Employment Opportunity: CBRE has a long-standing commitment to providing equal employment opportunity to all qualified applicants regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, veteran status, political belief, or any other basis protected by applicable law.
Candidate Accommodations: CBRE values the differences of all current and prospective employees and recognizes how every employee contributes to our company's success. CBRE provides reasonable accommodations in job application procedures for individuals with disabilities. If you require assistance due to a disability in the application or recruitment process, please submit a request via email at recruitingaccommodations@cbre.com or via telephone at +1 866 225 3099 (U.S.) and +1 866 388 4346 (Canada).
CBRE GWS
CBRE Global Workplace Solutions (GWS) works with clients to make real estate a meaningful contributor to organizational productivity and performance. Our account management model is at the heart of our client-centric approach to delivering integrated real estate solutions. Each client is entrusted with a dedicated leader and is supported by regional and global resources, leveraging the industry's most robust platform. CBRE GWS delivers consistent, measurably superior outcomes for our clients at every stage of the lifecycle, and across industries and geographies.
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