SrVP Director of Data Centers- Philadelphia

About the role

We are seeking an accomplished Senior Vice President of Data Center Construction to lead all major capital projects across the Mid-Atlantic region. This executive will serve as the owner's representative on all construction initiatives and will be fully embedded within our client's organization. This is a permanent, high-impact leadership role with long-term strategic responsibility for mission-critical infrastructure delivery.

Key Responsibilities

• Oversee all phases of construction for new builds, expansions, and major retrofits across multiple sites.
• Serve as the primary liaison between the owner, design partners, contractors, and commissioning teams.
• Ensure alignment between scope, budget, schedule, and long-term operational performance.
• Lead planning, design coordination, procurement, construction execution, and project turnover.
• Manage general contractors, EPC partners, design-build teams, and specialty trades.
• Drive rigorous quality control, safety management, and risk mitigation practices.
• Direct the delivery of mission-critical infrastructure, including:
• High-density electrical systems
• Redundant power distribution (UPS, switchgear, generators)
• Advanced cooling systems (CRAC/CRAH, liquid cooling, chilled water, economizers)
• Fire suppression and life-safety systems
• Structural and envelope systems engineered for high-security, high-reliability environments
• Protect the owner's interests across all contractual, financial, and technical dimensions.
• Provide executive-level reporting, forecasting, and strategic decision support.
• Ensure all facilities meet stringent performance, uptime, and scalability requirements.

About Data Center Construction (Context for Candidates)

Data center construction involves delivering high-security, mission-critical facilities that support global IT and cloud infrastructure. These projects demand:

• Immense and redundant power capacity
• Sophisticated cooling and thermal management
• Robust structural integrity and blast-resistant design
• Specialized MEP trades and commissioning protocols
• Modular, scalable layouts for rapid expansion
• Uptime expectations approaching 99.999% reliability

Professionals in this field collaborate closely with architects, engineers, commissioning agents, and technology teams to ensure every system meets exacting performance, security, and operational standards.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of progressive leadership in construction, with significant experience in data centers or mission-critical facilities.
• Proven track record delivering $100M+ projects with a general contractor, construction manager, EPC firm, design-build firm, or as an owner's representative.
• Deep understanding of MEP systems, commissioning, and mission-critical infrastructure.
• Demonstrated ability to lead multi-disciplinary teams across multiple concurrent projects.
• Stable career history with long-term tenure in prior roles.

Company Description

Hornberger Management Company Holdings is the leading executive construction recruiter and construction executive search firm for construction president placement. For C-level construction staffing and construction recruitment, Hornberger Management Holdings is the construction search firm and construction management recruiter to fill any construction executive job, or confidential construction jobs (construction executive jobs, construction management jobs or construction manager jobs) with construction salaries over $200k. Hornberger Management Holdings is also known as a boutique construction recruiting firm (construction search firm, construction recruitment, construction recruiting services, construction executive recruiter, construction recruiters, construction head hunter or construction headhunter).