Director of Project Development
Role Summary
The Director of Project Development will own the end-to-end progression of identified project sites - from initial screening and land diligence through permitting, interconnection, and pre-construction readiness. This leader will establish a clear, data-driven process for project advancement and manage a growing team of developers to deliver measurable results across the site pipeline.
Key Responsibilities
Own the site development lifecycle: lead diligence, negotiation, execution, and active management of permits and agreements related to land rights, state and local permitting, interconnection – from initial screening to financial close and construction start – for multiple nuclear project sites.
Lead site acquisition: Drive identification, screening, and acquisition of new sites, including land diligence, negotiations, execution of land rights, and early-stage evaluation to expand Blue Energy’s portfolio of nuclear project sites.
Own the Project Cost and Schedule: Establish and execute process to define clear workflows, metrics, and decision gates to track site progression de-risking and identify and manage risks early across multiple sites.
Align with Commercial Coordination: Closely align with commercial and leadership teams to ensure project meets internal project development and commercial requirements.
Partner with Finance: partner with the finance organization to ensure cost, schedule, and risk inputs are accurately reflected in financial models, forecasts, and investment decisions.
Collaborate with Engineering & Manufacturing: collaborate closely with engineering, product, and manufacturing teams to ensure site-specific technical requirements are clearly defined, coordinated, and integrated into project scope, design, and delivery plans; provide site-driven inputs that support manufacturability, module design, and engineering assumptions.
Manage and mentor developers: build and oversee a small, high-performing pod of project developers, ensuring consistent execution and alignment with company objectives.
Engage stakeholders: build credibility and trust with landowners, regulators, and data center and industrial clients.
Provide leadership updates: synthesize progress and risks into actionable insights for senior leadership, ensuring visibility and accountability.
Drive external partnerships: coordinate with utilities, permitting agencies, consultants, and engineering partners to accelerate project readiness.
Continuously improve: refine processes and tools to scale site development efforts as the company’s project pipeline expands.
Qualifications
15+ years’ experience in utility-scale project development, ideally within energy, infrastructure, or data center projects.
Proven project and process management skills with experience establishing frameworks for complex, multi-stakeholder programs.
Demonstrated ability to execute - track record of driving projects from concept to financial close and construction start meeting critical de-risking milestones under tight timelines.
Excellent communication and presentation skills; able to translate technical and regulatory work into concise leadership updates.
Credibility working with both engineering and commercial stakeholders, including landowners, vendors, OEMs, RTOs/ISOs, transmission operators, utilities, and customers.
Preferred Qualifications
Prior experience in nuclear, renewable, or large-scale energy project development.
Blend of consulting and engineering background, with the ability to bring structure and strategy to ambiguous project landscapes.
Familiarity with U.S. permitting, siting, and interconnection processes, including recent developments in federal or state clean energy policy and federal/state/local tax credits and abatements.
Experience building and leading small teams or pods within a fast-paced, scaling organization.