Operations Development Manager Jobs in Cypress, TX

Certarus is North America’s leading supplier of mobile gas solutions. The company safely delivers natural gas over the road as a fully integrated solution to a wide range of end-use energy customers.

With the most extensive network of natural gas distribution facilities, the largest fleet of specialized natural gas mobile storage units (MSU), and the industry’s best personnel in North America, Certarus helps customers lower operating costs, reduce emissions, and improve operational reliability to their facilities. 

Summary:

Reporting to the Senior Business Development Manager within the Data Center sales team, the Business Development Manager is a key member of Certarus’ growth strategy in the data center and industrial energy markets. This role is responsible for identifying, developing, and closing new business opportunities for compressed natural gas solutions that help data center customers address energy reliability, speed-to-power, emissions reduction, and operating cost objectives.

The successful candidate will demonstrate strong outside sales and strategic account development skills, with the ability to engage hyperscalers, data center developers, power-as-a-service providers, utilities, EPCs, and other key stakeholders across the data center ecosystem. This individual will also monitor market conditions, supply chain constraints, utility service timelines, energy infrastructure bottlenecks, and relevant legislative or regulatory developments to help inform Certarus’ commercial strategy and priority growth areas.

This role will be based in Houston and will maintain normal business hours, with travel to Certarus offices, customer locations, project sites, conferences, and industry events as required.

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Engage new clients across the data center ecosystem, including hyperscalers, developers, colocation providers, EPCs, utilities, power-as-a-service companies, and other strategic partners.
• Achieve volume, revenue, and margin sales targets for compressed natural gas solutions serving data center, commercial, and industrial customers.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with decision makers and influencers at key accounts to increase market share, support long-term partnerships, and maintain a high level of customer service and client loyalty.
• Identify customer challenges related to power availability, utility interconnection delays, temporary or bridge power requirements, backup fuel strategy, reliability needs, emissions goals, and operating cost reduction.
• Recommend CNG solutions that best fit customer requirements, including near-term project needs, bridge-to-grid applications, resiliency planning, and future energy demand growth.
• Cultivate repeatable opportunities through strategic partnerships, preferred supplier relationships, commercial frameworks, and agreement terms with key accounts.
• Work closely with operations, engineering, logistics, supply, and support functions to develop customer solutions, including logistics planning, project execution, gas supply strategy, transportation planning, and sourcing of new natural gas supply.
• Maintain a strong pulse on natural gas supply availability, transportation capacity, equipment availability, supply chain constraints, and infrastructure limitations that may impact Certarus’ ability to serve data center customers.
• Monitor utility wait times, interconnection timelines, grid constraints, power availability challenges, and regional infrastructure bottlenecks in key data center markets to help identify high-priority commercial opportunities.
• Track industry legislation, regulatory developments, energy policy, emissions requirements, permitting trends, and incentive programs that may impact data center development, natural gas usage, distributed energy solutions, and low-carbon fuel adoption.
• Provide market intelligence and strategic recommendations to internal stakeholders regarding target regions, customer segments, emerging demand signals, competitive activity, and infrastructure-driven growth opportunities.
• Support strategic focus areas by translating market trends, customer feedback, supply chain developments, utility constraints, and policy changes into actionable business development priorities.
• Maintain a robust pipeline of opportunities within Salesforce CRM to ensure proper coordination between Sales, Operations, Supply, Finance, and leadership teams.
• Lead customer-facing commercial discussions, including pricing, contract terms, profitability analysis, T&Cs, NDAs, Master Service Agreements, Supply Agreements, and related negotiations.
• Attend industry-specific meetings, conferences, trade shows, utility forums, data center events, and energy infrastructure events to network, understand industry challenges, identify opportunities, and support low-carbon fuel solutions.
• Collaborate with internal teams to evaluate project feasibility, customer economics, operational requirements, delivery models, risk factors, and long-term account potential.
• Maintain awareness of competitor offerings, alternative fuel options, distributed generation trends, grid reliability challenges, and customer procurement strategies.
• Travel to customer locations, Certarus offices, project sites, and industry events as required, including some overnight travel.
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or related field
• 3-5 years of experience in a related Outside Sales role
• Experience selling energy, fuel, infrastructure, temporary power, distributed generation, or reliability solutions to data centers or other large-load customers is strongly preferred.
• Candidates with strong industry network with key target accounts is an asset
• Demonstrated ability in identifying and qualifying new customer opportunities
• Strong ability to manage relationship at all levels
• Strong communication skills and innovative and entrepreneurial mindset
• Salesforce or similar CRM software would be an advantage
• Experience in negotiating contract terms, i.e., T&Cs, NDAs, Master Service Agreements, Supply Agreements, etc.
• Understanding of data center power requirements, utility interconnection processes, bridge power needs, backup fuel strategies, and energy reliability considerations is an asset.
• Ability to interpret market trends related to natural gas supply, transportation, utility capacity, power availability, permitting, legislation, and regulatory developments.
• Strong commercial acumen with the ability to connect customer needs, market constraints, operational capabilities, and profitability analysis.
• Experience working cross-functionally with operations, engineering, supply, logistics, finance, legal, and executive leadership teams.
• Existing network within data centers, energy infrastructure, utilities, EPCs, power generation, or industrial fuel markets is an asset.

Certarus embraces diversity and equal opportunity in the way it impacts our continuous business success. As a Core Value of our Winning Team, we believe in surrounding ourselves with passionate and talented people, and consider all experiences, backgrounds, qualifications, and merits to create stronger teams with a diverse and inclusive culture. Certarus is and will remain an equal opportunity employer.

Certarus offers a competitive compensation package, including benefits and retirement plans. Above all, we offer unlimited career advancement opportunities with a dynamic, rapidly growing organization.