Project Development Associate (Pre-Construction)

What you’ll do

As a Project Development Associate, you will play a critical role in helping Giga scale new sites from concept to construction. You’ll work cross-functionally with procurement, engineering, operations, and field teams to support vendor sourcing, streamline cost tracking, and ensure our projects launch efficiently and on schedule. This is an exciting opportunity for someone early in their career who wants to take ownership, build systems, and gain hands-on experience across construction, operations, and IT-enabled workflows.

Where you’ll work

This role will be based in our Houston offices. You must be willing to work in the office full-time, outside of our bi-weekly WFH Fridays. 

Responsibilities

• Support permitting and design of data center sites, collaborating with designers to drive civil and electrical design for aggressive permitting timelines
• Support land procurement, researching key site attributes and driving purchase recommendations 
• Support pre-construction planning, including drafting and maintaining schedules and budgets and tracking deliverables
• Assist with project cost tracking and financial reporting to improve visibility, accuracy, and decision-making
• Coordinate cross-functional communication between engineering, operations, and external partners to keep projects moving on schedule
• Support project managers with documentation, regulatory requirements, scheduling updates, and site readiness tasks
• Identify process gaps and contribute to building scalable operational systems for project development

Requirements

• 1+ years of experience in operations, project development, real estate development, construction, or a related field
• Strong analytical and organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple workstreams in a fast-paced environment
• Proficiency with Excel or Google Sheets
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively with vendors and internal teams

Bonus points 

• Experience permitting and managing regulatory requirements
• Experience with real estate investment and development
• Familiarity with cost-tracking tools, project management software, or ERP systems
• Background in energy, electrical infrastructure, modular construction, or related industries
• Experience working at a fast-growing startup or similarly dynamic environment

Benefits

• Subsidized health, dental, and vision insurance
• Equity (options) in a rapidly growing startup
• 401(k) with 4% employer match
• Unlimited PTO
• Parental leave
• Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) or Health Savings Account (HSA)
• Commuter benefits
• Monthly team onsites where all offices come in–person to collaborate