Director, Energy & Utilities

**This role is full time based in Austin, Tx. Our client will consider candidates with relevant experience who would like to relocate to Austin, Tx from other parts of Texas. The successful candidate must be familiar with Gas Operations in Texas.

Director, Energy & Utilities

Location: Austin, Texas (Site Based)

Reports To: SVP, Commercial

Overview

A leading data center developer and operator is seeking a Director, Energy & Utilities to lead the development and management of its natural gas interface strategy supporting hyperscale and enterprise data center operations.

This role serves as the critical bridge between data center tenants and upstream natural gas suppliers, ensuring reliable, efficient, and transparent gas delivery to support power generation and ongoing operations. While third-party partners will manage commodity sourcing, this position oversees execution, coordination, and performance across all stakeholders.

In the near term, the successful candidate will build the function from the ground up—establishing systems, processes, and tools to support daily gas operations. Over time, the role will evolve into a strategic leadership position managing relationships and operations across a growing portfolio of sites and tenants.

Key Responsibilities

Function Build-Out & Systems Implementation

• Establish internal energy and gas operations capability from inception, including process design, controls, and documentation
• Identify, implement, and manage gas scheduling, nomination, and tracking systems (e.g., EBBs, pipeline portals, internal tools)
• Develop operational frameworks to support approximately 600 MMBtu/day usage, with scalability for future growth
• Partner cross-functionally (operations, finance, IT) to integrate gas operations into broader business systems

Gas Operations & Scheduling

• Oversee daily natural gas nominations, confirmations, and scheduling across relevant pipelines
• Participate in and/or lead daily operational calls with suppliers, schedulers, and tenants
• Monitor pipeline conditions, constraints, and imbalances to ensure continuity of supply
• Provide oversight of third-party providers to ensure execution aligns with operational and commercial expectations

Stakeholder & Relationship Management

• Serve as the primary interface between the company, data center tenants, and gas suppliers
• Act as a trusted advisor to tenants on gas markets, pipeline logistics, and operational considerations
• Build strong relationships with trading desks, schedulers, and pipeline operators
• Exercise sound commercial judgment to identify risks, inefficiencies, or misalignment among counterparties

Market & Infrastructure Expertise

• Maintain deep knowledge of regional pipeline infrastructure, capacity dynamics, and constraints
• Track market conditions and provide insights on pricing, supply availability, and operational risks
• Ensure strong operational positioning across key pipelines and interconnects

Team Development (Future State)

• Recruit, develop, and lead a small team of energy/gas analysts as the function scales
• Establish training programs, procedures, and performance expectations
• Transition from a hands-on role into a player-coach leadership model

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Energy Management, Finance, or a related field
• 8–12 years of experience in natural gas operations, scheduling, trading support, or energy management
• Strong understanding of natural gas pipelines, nominations, and scheduling processes
• Experience working with or alongside energy marketers or trading organizations
• Familiarity with pipeline systems, EBBs, and gas management tools
• Proven ability to operate in high-compliance, high-reliability environments with significant daily volumes
• Experience building processes or standing up new operational functions strongly preferred

Key Competencies

• Relationship Management: Ability to operate effectively between sophisticated commercial stakeholders
• Commercial Acumen: Skilled at identifying misalignment, inefficiencies, and value leakage
• Operational Rigor: High attention to detail with consistent execution accuracy
• Systems Thinking: Ability to design scalable processes and implement supporting tools
• Communication Skills: Confident across technical, operational, and commercial audiences
• Adaptability: Comfortable in a build-phase environment with evolving priorities