DC Procurement Manager

Fermi America is seeking a Data Center Procurement Manager to own preconstruction strategy and execution for the data center program, together with owner-side procurement. The role takes each building package from scope definition through commercial structuring, contractor and vendor award, and construction readiness, and it owns what Fermi buys directly across the life of the program. 

The defining boundary of this role is the handoff. Preconstruction owns the package until construction begins. At construction start the package transfers to the Director of DC Construction, or to the assigned DC Project Manager once tenant accounts are established, through a defined handoff that includes the executed contract, the scope basis, the budget, the schedule, the risk register, and every open item with a named owner. A package handed over incomplete becomes a change order six months later, so the handoff is a gate rather than an email. 

Procurement responsibility continues past that gate. Long-lead critical equipment, owner-furnished equipment, and the commitment record remain with this role through fabrication, delivery, and transfer of care, custody, and control, because the commercial relationship with those suppliers was established here. 

This role reports to the Director of Procurement, which sets category strategy, sourcing standards, and supplier relationships across Fermi, and carries a dotted line to the Head of DC Service & Delivery, who sets data center program priorities. It works closely with the Director of DC Construction, the DC Sr Design Integration Manager, the DC Sr Technical Specialist on technical specification and vendor qualification, and the DC Project Controls Manager and cost team on commitments and budget. 

Key Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end preconstruction process for all data center building packages, from initial scope definition through contract execution and construction mobilization 
• Lead contracting strategy for each building package, including delivery model selection, contract structure, risk allocation, incentive mechanisms, and pricing approach, aligning commercial terms with execution goals and Fermi’s financial objectives 
• Lead guaranteed maximum price and lump-sum development and negotiation with delivery partners and trade contractors, ensuring competitive pricing, clear scope definition, and appropriate risk allocation 
• Develop and maintain preconstruction schedules that align design milestones, procurement lead times, permitting, and construction start dates across concurrent building packages 
• Manage preconstruction budgets and cost estimates, maintaining alignment between target budget, contract value, and committed cost as packages progress 
• Drive construction readiness reviews to verify that design packages, permits, long-lead equipment, and contractor commitments are in place before construction is authorized 
• Own the formal handoff of each package at construction start to the Director of DC Construction, or to the assigned DC Project Manager, including executed contract, scope basis, budget, schedule, risk register, and open items with named owners and dates 
• Identify, assess, and mitigate preconstruction risk across scope, cost, schedule, permitting, and contractor capacity, maintaining risk registers and building mitigation into every package before authorization 
• Coordinate with the DC Sr Design Integration Manager so that design deliverables support preconstruction timelines and scope gaps are identified and resolved before pricing 
• Own owner-side procurement execution, including purchase order issuance, commitment management, and contract administration for directly procured scope 
• Manage long-lead critical equipment procurement, including medium-voltage switchgear, transformers, UPS systems, generators, chillers, and cooling distribution units, tracking each against the dates the construction schedule requires rather than the dates the vendor prefers 
• Own owner-furnished contractor-installed equipment from award through delivery sequencing, site receipt, storage, preservation, and transfer of care, custody, and control 
• Lead bid package development, commercial evaluation, bid leveling, and award recommendation, partnering with the DC Sr Technical Specialist, who owns technical specification and vendor qualification 
• Maintain commitment and purchase order data integrity in Oracle Unifier so that project controls and finance work from an accurate committed position 
• Monitor supplier financial health, production capacity, and delivery performance, escalating risk to the program before it becomes a schedule impact, and coordinate expediting and factory surveillance 
• Administer commercial change on directly procured scope, including price adjustments, escalation provisions, delivery date changes, and back charges 
• Apply enterprise framework agreements, master service agreements, and category strategies to data center scope, and identify where data center volume justifies establishing a new framework 
• Support sourcing and award of the operations and maintenance services agreement, transferring contract administration to the DC Facility Operations Manager at execution 
• Establish standardized preconstruction and procurement workflows, templates, and checklists that can be replicated across successive building packages to reduce cycle time and improve predictability 

AI-Enabled Execution Philosophy 

Fermi America integrates artificial intelligence and advanced analytics into its core project delivery workflows. The DC Procurement Manager will be expected to embrace and champion this philosophy, including: 

• Leveraging AI-driven cost benchmarking and estimating tools to validate contractor proposals, identify pricing outliers, and improve bid leveling accuracy 
• Using AI-driven supplier risk models to monitor financial health, capacity, and delivery reliability across the critical equipment supply chain 
• Applying predictive analysis of production and logistics data to identify delivery risk before it consumes schedule float 
• Championing AI-assisted document analysis for scope review, specification gap identification, and contract clause comparison to accelerate preconstruction decision-making 
• Supporting automated tracking of purchase orders, commitments, and delivery milestones so that the committed position is current rather than reconstructed monthly 
• Contributing pricing outcomes, supplier performance, and lessons learned into Fermi’s estimating basis, prequalification criteria, and category strategies 

Relevant Experience 

• 15+ years in preconstruction, procurement, or commercial management on large capital or construction programs, with at least 8 years on data center, mission-critical, or large-scale industrial projects 
• Demonstrated experience leading guaranteed maximum price or lump-sum development, bid management, and contractor negotiation on major construction programs 
• Experience owning contracting strategy, including delivery model selection and risk allocation, rather than administering a structure someone else chose 
• Demonstrated experience procuring long-lead critical equipment and managing it through fabrication, factory acceptance testing, delivery, and site receipt 
• Experience managing owner-furnished contractor-installed equipment, including transfer of care, custody, and control 
• Strong command of purchase order and commitment administration in an enterprise system, preferably Oracle Unifier, and of how commitment data feeds cost reporting 
• Experience with cost estimating methodologies, value engineering, and constructability review 
• Working knowledge of supplier risk assessment, including financial health, capacity, and delivery performance monitoring 
• Track record of establishing preconstruction and procurement processes in a scaling or greenfield program environment 
• Ability to work alongside a technical authority who owns specification and vendor qualification, without duplicating or overriding that role 
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with proven ability to operate in a matrix organization where influence and partnership matter as much as direct authority 
• Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management, Engineering, Supply Chain, Business, or related field, or equivalent experience; advanced degree or professional certification preferred 

Preferred Qualifications

• Preconstruction or procurement leadership on hyperscale data center programs for major technology companies or leading data center developers 
• Experience with more than one delivery model, including lump-sum turnkey, design-build, construction management at risk, and multiple prime 
• Experience procuring high-density and liquid cooling equipment, including cooling distribution units and facility water systems 
• Experience with modular construction and prefabricated systems and their effect on preconstruction planning and procurement sequencing 
• Familiarity with Oracle Unifier and Oracle Fusion in an owner-side environment 
• Experience sourcing operations and maintenance service agreements 
• Comfort operating in a high-growth organization where the role will help define preconstruction and procurement standards as the campus scales 

Work Requirements 

• Fermi’s strong preference is a candidate based in or relocating to Amarillo, TX. For an exceptional candidate, Fermi will consider a remote arrangement with up to 75 percent travel to the campus, plus travel to vendor facilities and fabrication shops as required 
• Ability to work on active construction sites, including walking job sites, climbing ladders, and navigating unfinished structures in varying weather conditions 
• Willingness to wear required personal protective equipment (PPE) including hard hat, safety glasses, high-visibility vest, steel-toe boots, and hearing protection when on-site 
• Flexibility to work extended hours during bid periods, negotiation windows, critical delivery milestones, and factory acceptance testing