Over the last 20 years, Ares’ success has been driven by our people and our culture. Today, our team is guided by our core values – Collaborative, Responsible, Entrepreneurial, Self-Aware, Trustworthy – and our purpose to be a catalyst for shared prosperity and a better future. Through our recruitment, career development and employee-focused programming, we are committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive work environment where high-performance talent of diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives can build careers within this exciting and growing industry.

Job Description

Summary

The Senior Associate, North American Development leads US data center sites from Letter of Intent through entitlements and permitting, preparing sites for handoff to the delivery team. This role requires strong leadership, project management, and coordination skills to guide internal and external experts, mitigate risks, manage budgets, and maintain schedules. The ideal candidate has a developer background, experience managing BTS and Spec developments, and the ability to navigate multiple customer requests and development pathways at once. They must manage projects with flexible strategies, using input from SME’s to deliver the highest and best value for each site.

Key Responsibilities

Due Diligence, Development, and Entitlement Management

• Lead site development from Letter of Intent through permitting, entitlements, and regulatory approvals.

• Lead site due diligence in both desktop and detailed formats to support site acquisitions.

• Coordinate with municipalities, permitting agencies, utilities, and consultants to secure required approvals.

• Consolidate input from technical experts and stakeholders to track project risks, recommend mitigation strategies, and maintain compliance with schedules and budgets.

• Oversee environmental assessments, land use studies, and utility interconnection requirements.

• Ensure sites meet organizational criteria for power, fiber, water, access, and constructability prior to handoff.

Site Feasibility

• Conduct initial site reviews to assess feasibility, including zoning, land use, infrastructure, and regulatory requirements.

• Provide recommendations on site viability and prioritize development opportunities.

• Support the internal site selection team in conversations with landowners, brokers, and partners during early acquisition phases, providing guidance and assistance as needed.

Leadership and Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Serve as the central point of coordination, gathering information from subject matter experts to maintain alignment across teams.

• Ensure that project schedules, deliverables, budgets, and risks are actively monitored and communicated to senior leadership.

• Partner with legal, site selection, energy, design, sustainability, and delivery teams to ensure smooth project execution.

• Develop standardized processes and tools for consistent North American development practices.

Project Management and Reporting

• Maintain schedules, milestone trackers, release logs, and development summaries, and coordinate information into regional and global dashboards.

• Track permitting and entitlement progress, ensuring documentation of approvals, assumptions, and decisions.

• Prepare executive summaries, status reports, and presentations for senior leadership and investment review.

• Lead teams to make strategic decisions for projects with multiple development pathways, ensuring the highest and best value outcomes for each site based on SME input.

Skills and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Architecture, engineering, planning, development, construction management, or a related field. Advanced degree is a plus.

• 7 to 10 years of experience in North American data center development, real estate development, or equivalent.

• Demonstrated leadership in managing multidisciplinary teams and coordinating input from multiple subject matter experts.

• Strong knowledge of zoning, entitlements, CEQA/NEPA, and permitting processes across multiple jurisdictions in North America.

• Experience with BTS and Spec developments.

• Track record of managing budgets, schedules, and risks for complex development projects.

• Experience coordinating with municipalities, utility providers, and regulatory agencies.

• Ability to manage multiple customer requests and development pathways seamlessly, prioritizing competing needs effectively.

• Ability to manage projects with fungible development strategies and lead teams to the highest and best value.

• Lead comprehensive site due diligence in both desktop and detailed formats to inform acquisition decisions.

• Excellent project management, analytical, organizational, and communication skills.

• Experience project management tools, Excel, PowerPoint, Procore, Dashboards, Outlook.

• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment with shifting priorities.

• Willingness to travel domestically up to 20 percent.

Reporting Relationships

Compensation

There is no set deadline to apply for this job opportunity. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the search is no longer active.