Senior Manager, Water Infrastructure

Title: Senior Manager, Water Infrastructure

The Senior Manager will lead EdgeConneX’s water and wastewater strategy across the full data center lifecycle, from site selection and due diligence through design, and support other teams, as needed. The role secures the water supply, wastewater discharge, and utility agreements needed to deliver capacity on schedule, while advancing water-efficient design and responsible water stewardship in the communities where we build. The Senior Manager, Water Infrastructure is responsible for building an internal water strategy/story to support cross functional decision making based on timelines, costs/ROI, and risks. This position reports to VP Site Development.

Primary Responsibilities

• Lead water and wastewater due diligence for prospective sites, including utility capacity and condition assessments, supply-risk and watershed analysis, water rights, discharge limits, and permitting requirements; advise Real Estate and Site Development on how water and sewer constraints affect site viability, cost, and schedule
• Develop water infrastructure strategies for each site in the development pipeline with: water-related risks, mitigations, dependencies, and decision points to leadership.
• Direct engineering consultants, general contractors, and water treatment vendors on the planning, design, estimating, and construction of domestic, fire, process/cooling water, treatment, and wastewater infrastructure; review and approve related cost estimates, schedules, and budgets
• Work with peers and consultants to negotiate and manage water, sewer, and reclaimed-water service agreements, development and connection agreements, capacity reservations, and cost-sharing arrangements with municipal utilities and water districts, from initial term sheets through execution and renegotiation
• Build water and wastewater enablement schedules and execution plans for each campus, aligning on-site and off-site wet utility delivery with entitlement, construction, commissioning, and customer delivery milestones based on consultant deliverables, local discussions, permitting schedules, etc.
• Represent EdgeConneX with utilities, Authorities Having Jurisdiction, regulatory agencies, and community stakeholders; support rezoning, entitlement, and site permit applications and public hearings
• Partner with Design & Engineering, Construction, Operations, Sustainability, EHS, and Legal to establish water-efficient cooling design standards and evaluate alternative sources such as reclaimed, non-potable, and harvested rainwater

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Deep working knowledge of municipal water and wastewater systems, utility rate and connection-fee structures, and the review and approval processes of utilities and jurisdictional authorities (e.g., groundwater conservation districts, municipal utility districts, etc.)
• Understanding of data center cooling technologies (evaporative, adiabatic, closed-loop, and liquid cooling) and their implications for water quality, treatment, and discharge
• Ability to translate complex technical and regulatory water issues into clear recommendations for executives and non-technical stakeholders
• Strong communications, both written and verbal, in leading teams and coordinating with peers and other disciplines on driving projects/issues to closure
• Commitment to organizational excellence and constant awareness to seek opportunities to improve processes/quality of deliverables
• Superb ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects/responsibilities and manage consultants
• Superb ability to meet committed timelines, leveraging assistance/input from peers and consultants
• Strong and effective team player in working with various disciplines and peer groups; can cover all gamut of tasks required to ‘getting a job done’
• Strong attention to detail

Experience/Education

• 10+ years of experience in water and wastewater infrastructure planning, design, permitting, and construction, including at least 3 years leading projects, consultants, or teams
• Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, or a related field; Master’s degree and/or Professional Engineer (PE) license preferred
• Strong knowledge and experience in negotiating utility service and development agreements, water supply planning and water rights, and industrial pretreatment and discharge permitting
• Experience with mission-critical facilities, large industrial water users, or water utilities or consulting firms serving data center clients is a plus
• Ability to travel up to 30% to sites, utility meetings, and public hearings
• Candidates with experience in the Data Center industry, Corporate/Industrial Water/Wastewater, Construction, or Real Estate environments are strongly encouraged to apply