Data Center Construction Manager Jobs in North Carolina

INTRODUCTION

Imagine what you could do here. At Apple, new ideas have a way of becoming great products, services, and customer experiences very quickly. Bring passion and dedication to your job and there's no telling what you could accomplish. In Places, we don't sit back and let things happen, we make things happen, and we do this in service to all Apple employees and customers. We develop and manage Apple's global real estate portfolio, lead all related capital construction projects, provide outstanding facilities and site services, develop and lead sustainability initiatives to reduce the environmental impact of all Apple facilities, including commute and renewable energy programs, and do everything we can to ensure the health and safety of all Apple personnel, facilities, and customers in our facilities around the world.

The Global Design and Construction team is a collaborative, program-wide organization responsible for delivering mission-critical data center construction projects. Working alongside fellow project managers, engineers, and program leaders, we contribute to a broad portfolio of new data center construction and major capital upgrades.

As the Data Center East Region Construction Manager, you will lead a team of Construction Project Managers responsible for delivering some of the most innovative and energy-efficient data centers in the world. You will oversee Apple-owned data center (AODC) construction programs across the Eastern United States and some of our Global team in Europe, managing capital construction portfolios with budgets exceeding $750 million. This is a leadership role at the forefront of the owner-operator data center market, where your decisions directly shape Apple's infrastructure for generations to come.

DESCRIPTION

As the Data Center East Region Construction Manager, you will provide strategic leadership and day-to-day management oversight for a team of Construction Project Managers executing ground-up, expansion, and retrofit projects across Apple's East Region AODC campuses and Global portfolio in Europe. You will be accountable for the full lifecycle of large-scale construction programs, from initial planning and design through commissioning and closeout, while ensuring projects are delivered on schedule, within budget, and to Apple's quality standards. This position requires expertise in the owner-operator data center market, including an understanding of hyperscale infrastructure delivery, owner-controlled procurement models, and long-term campus master planning. You will serve as the primary construction leadership interface for East Region & Global executive stakeholders and cross-functional partners.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of Construction Project Managers supporting AODC campuses across the Eastern US & Europe, providing ongoing mentorship, performance feedback, workload balancing, and career development support.

• Own the regional construction portfolio, managing concurrent programs with total capital budgets exceeding $750M, ensuring rigorous financial discipline, forecast accuracy, and executive-level reporting.

• Drive program delivery across new ground-up data center campus construction, building expansions, critical infrastructure upgrades, and modifications within live production environments.

• Act as Apple's senior owner representative at all project meetings with General Contractors, Design Consultants, specialty subcontractors, and utility providers, setting expectations and holding partners accountable to Apple's standards.

• Partner cross-functionally with Real Estate, Legal, Design & Engineering, Environment, Health & Safety (EH&S), Energy, Network Infrastructure, and Data Center Operations & Engineering teams to align construction delivery with business objectives.

• Lead procurement strategy for major construction contracts, including competitive bidding, contractor prequalification, contract negotiation, and ongoing commercial oversight.

• Review and approve all major proposals, change order requests, and claims from General Contractors, Consultants, Suppliers, and Subcontractors; direct your PM team in preparing and presenting comparative cost analyses.

• Establish and maintain master program schedules, identifying critical path risks and driving mitigation strategies in collaboration with project teams and partners.

• Oversee commissioning programs, ensuring appropriate commissioning agent oversight, review of sequence of operations, test script development, and integrated systems testing across all projects.

• Champion safety and sustainability across all East Region & Global construction activities, upholding Apple's EH&S standards and supporting Apple's environmental goals on every project.

• Continuously improve construction delivery methodologies, tools, and workflows, fostering a culture of innovation, efficiency, and accountability within the PM team.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Construction Management, Engineering, or Architecture degree (B.S. or equivalent).

• 15+ years of progressive experience in data center or large-scale mission-critical construction, including a minimum of 5 years in a people management role directly overseeing construction project managers or a comparable construction leadership team.

• Experience managing construction programs with total capital budgets of $500M or greater.

• Expertise in the owner-operator data center market, including hyperscale and enterprise AODC delivery models, owner-controlled insurance programs (OCIP), and owner-direct procurement strategies.

• Experience across data center construction disciplines including critical mechanical systems (cooling, computer room air conditioning/air handling [CRAC/CRAH], chilled water), electrical systems (medium-voltage switchgear, uninterruptible power supply [UPS], generators, data center infrastructure management [DCIM]), process piping, plumbing, civil/site work, and structural systems.

• Experience leading construction in live, operating data center environments, coordinating work within energized facilities without impacting production uptime.

• Experience leading the full contract lifecycle, from request for proposal (RFP) and bidding through negotiation, execution, change order management, and final closeout, for large general contractor and major subcontractor agreements.

• Experience presenting construction program updates, financial forecasts, and executive-level risk summaries to senior and executive leadership.

• Ability to travel internationally and across the US portfolio 25-40%.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Advanced degree or professional licensure, such as Professional Engineer (PE), Certified Construction Manager (CCM), or Project Management Professional (PMP).

• Experience managing construction portfolios with total capital budgets exceeding $1B.

• Experience as an owner's representative for hyperscale, co-location, or enterprise data center campus development programs, with knowledge of owner's project delivery standards.

• Experience with utility infrastructure coordination, including high-voltage transmission interconnects, substation construction, and municipal utility negotiations supporting large-scale data center campuses.

• Knowledge of data center commissioning frameworks (e.g., ASHRAE 90.4, Uptime Institute Tier standards, TIA-942) and experience leading commissioning programs on Tier III/IV equivalent facilities.

• Experience managing and developing geographically distributed teams of construction professionals, including hiring, onboarding, and performance management.

• Ability to build consensus and influence outcomes across cross-functional teams and stakeholders without direct authority.

• Experience building diverse, inclusive teams and fostering a culture of collaboration and psychological safety.