Vice President, Site Selection

Who We Are

Core Scientific is a leading provider of infrastructure for high-performance compute in North America. Our mission is to accelerate digital innovation by scaling high-value compute rapidly, efficiently, and responsibly. We transform energy into high-value compute with unmatched efficiency at scale. The company is a $5 billion publicly traded company (NASDAQ: CORZ).

We power AI, HPC, and other next-generation data center workloads demanding exceptional computing power, in addition to our digital asset mining operations. We own and operate nine data centers in seven states, housing advanced infrastructure for our customers.

What sets us apart? We have an entrepreneurial culture, a "can-do" and collaborative attitude, and we own and control our infrastructure. These strategic advantages enable us to maintain operational excellence, increase efficiency, and rapidly deploy cutting-edge innovations developed by our team of experts.

Join us and accelerate your career alongside our groundbreaking journey. We seek smart, creative, and collaborative professionals who thrive in a fast-paced, result-driven environment. Ready to be part of something exceptional? Apply today and make an impact at Core Scientific.

Title
Vice President, Site Selection

Reports To
Head of Power

The Job

The Vice President, Site Selection is the company’s senior leader responsible for driving the global strategy for identifying, securing, and entitling new data center sites—with a concentrated focus on the long‑term power and energy needs of hyperscale infrastructure. This role ensures that every new site is selected with optimal access to reliable, scalable, cost‑efficient power and that utility partnerships, grid capacity, and energy resilience are foundational to the site development process. The VP will be a key interface between internal technical teams, external utilities, regulators, and local jurisdictions, ensuring each development meets the company’s power roadmap, sustainability objectives, and long‑term energy strategy.

Responsibilities

• Lead the global site selection strategy for new data center development, incorporating power markets, fiber availability, land constraints, and infrastructure scalability

• Direct market assessments to identify high-potential regions, evaluating risk, cost, entitlement complexity, and competitive dynamics

• Partner with executive leadership to align site strategy with company growth targets and infrastructure needs

• Oversee all pre-construction and due diligence activities, including environmental, civil, geotechnical, and land use analysis

• Direct and review Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs) and manage Phase II investigations as required

• Oversee procurement, review, and interpretation of ALTA/NSPS Land Title Surveys, title commitments, and easement constraints

• Lead coordination of civil engineering design activities, including:

• Site grading and earthwork

• Stormwater management and drainage

• Utility routing and infrastructure planning

• Access, transportation, and constructability considerations

• Review geotechnical reports, environmental constraints, wetlands, floodplain impacts, and subsurface conditions to inform site viability

• Ensure integration of site design, constructability, and cost considerations into early-stage decision-making

• Identify and mitigate risks related to entitlements, environmental conditions, and site constraints

• Evaluate power availability, interconnection timelines, grid capacity, cooling feasibility, and network infrastructure across target markets with support of internal power professionals

• Serve as the senior point of contact with utilities, transmission operators, and critical infrastructure partners

• Secure long-term power capacity and guide interconnection strategy and infrastructure planning to support hyperscale growth

• Integrate energy resilience, redundancy, and sustainability objectives into site and design strategy

• Lead entitlement and permitting strategies, including zoning, land use approvals, and jurisdictional coordination

• Ensure compliance with local, state, and federal regulations, including environmental and development requirements

• Engage with municipalities, agencies, and community stakeholders to advance project approvals

• Lead the company’s colocation strategy, including provider evaluations, portfolio optimization, and long-term planning

• Oversee negotiations for leases, SLAs, and expansion agreements with colocation vendors

• Ensure colocation environments meet power, cooling, security, and network requirements

• Partner with Engineering, Operations, Construction, Energy Procurement, Legal, and Finance to validate site feasibility and transition projects into development

• Guide early project planning by establishing pre-construction schedules, budgets, scopes, and risk mitigation strategies

• Provide executive-level reporting on market analyses, site pipeline, due diligence findings, risks, and investment recommendations

• Build and lead a high-performing team responsible for site selection, due diligence, and early-stage development

• Develop scalable processes, standards, and governance frameworks across regions

• Manage and coordinate external consultants, including civil engineers, surveyors, environmental and geotechnical firms

• Cultivate relationships with brokers, developers, utilities, regulators, and community stakeholders

• Foster open, respectful, and professional communication across teams and leadership

• Perform other duties as assigned

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in real estate, Engineering, Business, Geography, Planning, or a related field.

• 10–15+ years of experience in site selection, data center development, real estate strategy, or mission‑critical infrastructure; 5+ years in senior leadership.

• Deep understanding of data center power, cooling, fiber networks, and utility infrastructure.

• Experience negotiating complex real estate acquisitions, colocation contracts, and SLAs.

• Proven ability to lead multi‑region, multi‑project pipelines in a fast‑growing environment.

• Strong executive communication, vendor management, financial modeling, and strategic planning skills.

Preferred

• Master’s degree (MBA, MS in Engineering, Energy, or Real Estate).

• Experience working across regulated and deregulated power markets.

• Prior leadership experience within hyperscale, cloud, or mission‑critical environments.

Location

To be considered for the role you must reside near Miami, FL or Austin, TX.

Travel

Frequent travel is required, approximately 30%.

Work Environment

This job operates in a data center, office, and shop environment. The role routinely uses standard maintenance equipment, including ladders, scissor lifts, forklifts, power tools, and voltmeters. While performing these duties, the employee will be exposed to both hot and cold environments.

Physical Demands

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit, stand, walk, use hands, and lift up to 25 pounds.

Position Type/ Expected Hours of Work

This is a full-time position. General hours and days of work are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Some nights and weekends may be required.

Supervisory Experience (Yes or No)

Yes