AI Factory Development Director Full Time

ROLE OVERVIEW:

The AI Factory Development Director is the founding program lead for Magna AI’s physical AI infrastructure build. Reporting directly to the AI Factory Partner, this individual owns end-to-end delivery of MDC deployments from real estate origination through to operational handover — running simultaneously across GCC/UAE, Africa, and SEA markets. The role is the commercial and operational heartbeat of the AI Factories department, accountable for ensuring every site progresses through Magna AI’s milestone sequencing on time, on budget, and to specification.

This is a senior founding position within a lean, high-performance team of three FTEs. The Director carries the full program lifecycle — LOI progression, EPC contract governance, capex control, and PMO gate compliance — while maintaining tight commercial acumen across a $12–$600M+ infrastructure capex range. The role demands an operator who can simultaneously manage multiple deployments at different stages while driving anchor tenant relationships from day one.

ROLE DETAILS:

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Program Delivery

• Lead end-to-end program management across all AI Factory and MDC deployments — real estate, procurement, design, build, and operational handover
• Own milestone tracking and stage-gate progression from pre-seed through to construction and stabilization phases
• Manage program baseline, variation orders, and cost-to-complete forecasting across all active sites
• Drive PMO gate compliance — Capex Control and Technical Governance domains — ensuring no site proceeds without proper gate clearance

Commercial & Contract Management

• Lead LOI progression with anchor tenants, negotiating Heads of Terms and progressing to EPC and long-term agreements
• Manage EPC contracts, operator agreements, and vendor negotiations across hardware, civil, and MEP workstreams
• Maintain commercial oversight of power pre-applications, land option agreements, and grid connection contracts
• Coordinate capex commitments and variation orders; produce budget vs. actual reporting for PMO and Steering Committee

Stakeholder & Partner Management

• Interface daily with the Hardware Deployment Lead and Commercial Lead; co-own weekly WSR reporting to PMO
• Represent Magna AI in all EPC, design, and land negotiations — acting as the primary counterparty for site delivery
• Manage platform partner engagement (Magnaverse, Wistron, TSMC GCC/UAE supply chain) at the program level
• Escalate technical deviations, budget overruns (>5%), and HSEQ events per the PMO escalation protocol within defined timeframes

Strategy & Market Entry

• Shortlist 3–5 sites per deployment cycle based on anchor tenant LOI demand — customer-led, not site-led
• Support market prioritization across GCC/UAE, sub-Saharan Africa (Technova JV), and SEA based on power availability, connectivity, and customer verticals
• Contribute to the divestiture data room packaging at the 30–36 month full AI Factory stage

CANDIDATE PROFILE:

Essential Experience

• 8–12+ years in data center, infrastructure, or large-scale construction program management
• Proven track record delivering 10MW+ data center or mission-critical infrastructure projects end-to-end
• Deep experience with EPC contract structures, LOI/HoT negotiations, and stage-gate project governance
• Demonstrable capex management across $50M–$500M+ infrastructure programs
• Prior experience in GCC, Africa, or SEA markets — regional regulatory and procurement knowledge essential

Desired Skills

• Familiarity with DCIM, BMS, and MDC/containerized data center deployment models is a plus
• Exposure to NVIDIA GPU infrastructure, liquid-cooling, or AI compute facility design
• Experience interfacing with PE/infrastructure fund investors and SPV structuring processes
• Strong project management skills

Personal Attributes

• Commercially sharp — able to read a contract, hold a vendor, support LOI discussions
• High ownership mentality — operates without a playbook and builds the process while delivering
• Collaborative and direct — works at pace with a small team across multiple time zones
• Clear communicator — capable of presenting program status to board-level stakeholders and SPV investors

Growth Mindset

• Embraces ambiguity as opportunity — thrives in a founding-team environment where the structure, process, and playbook are built in real time alongside delivery
• Actively seeks feedback — treats Steering Committee reviews, PMO gate challenges, and investor scrutiny as inputs for continuous improvement, not obstacles
• Learns across disciplines — invests time in understanding the wider ecosystem
• Resilient under setbacks — treats issues as problems to iterate around, not reasons to stall
• Draws on diverse experience — applies lessons from other sectors, geographies, and project types to solve novel AI infrastructure challenges where no direct precedent exists