Sr. Manager, Pre Development, Large Scale Refinery & Manufacturing Project

What to Expect

The Senior Manager, Pre-Development leads the front-end pre-construction and pre-development team for major capital projects in refining, advanced manufacturing, and heavy industrial facilities. This role owns the full pre-development lifecycle—from site search and evaluation through land control, utility feasibility, architectural/power assessments, zoning/entitlement readiness, and site viability confirmation—ensuring selected sites fully meet technical, zoning, power, infrastructure, and operational requirements.

The team acts as Technical Program Managers (TPMs) for the front-end phase, driving cross-functional coordination, stage-gate progress, risk identification, and deliverable quality. The role partners closely with Engineering, Manufacturing/Operations, Real Estate, Finance, Internal Infrastructure Design & Construction, and Project Controls. Responsibilities end with a clean handoff to the execution organization; there is no involvement in project execution.

What You’ll Do

• Lead and manage the pre-development team as TPMs, overseeing end-to-end activities including site identification/selection, land lease/purchase strategy and due diligence, utility/infrastructure feasibility, architectural/civil/layout assessments, zoning/entitlements, and power/energy evaluations
• Orchestrate cross-functional workstreams, maintain integrated schedules and risk registers, drive stage-gate reviews, resolve dependencies, and ensure high-quality deliverables for the pre-development phase
• Translate Manufacturing and Engineering requirements into site selection criteria and feasibility scopes; partner with Real Estate, Finance, Infrastructure Design & Construction, and Project Controls on inputs and preliminary framing
• Identify, document, and mitigate early-stage risks (land, utilities, entitlements, environmental, infrastructure) and ensure clear residual risk transfer at handoff; build external relationships with landowners, utilities, authorities, and consultants
• Seek out and secure development incentives from federal, state, and local agencies; ensure the execution team and supporting organizations have a clear understanding of all requirements necessary to secure or maintain eligibility for those incentives
• Establish pre-development playbooks and processes, provide team leadership and coaching, present recommendations and go/no-go packages to senior leadership, lead structured handoffs with complete documentation, and drive continuous improvement and lessons learned

What You’ll Bring

• Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering (Architectural, Civil, Chemical, Mechanical, Electrical, or related), Construction Management, Real Estate, Urban/Regional Planning) or the equivalent in experience
• 12+ years of progressive experience in pre-development, site selection, project development, technical program management, or front-end roles for large-scale industrial, refining, petrochemical, manufacturing, energy, or heavy infrastructure projects
• Demonstrated success leading site search through land control, utility/architectural feasibility, and zoning readiness for complex, capital-intensive facilities, including TPM/program management for early-stage phases
• Strong knowledge of zoning/land-use entitlements, environmental due diligence, utility interconnection, power systems, industrial site infrastructure, and early constructability; proven ability to partner across engineering, operations, real estate, finance, and project controls
• Excellent analytical, commercial, communication, presentation, and stakeholder-management skills, with a track record of leading teams, managing consultants, and influencing senior stakeholders; willingness to travel as required