Environmental Permitting Manager

The Microsoft Datacenter Development Land Development and Community (LDC) team supports the development and delivery of Microsoft’s datacenter portfolio from site selection through design, construction and operation. The MS datacenter development portfolio consists of complex, multi-disciplinary, large scale, multi-year datacenter construction and lease projects. Within LDC the Cloud Infrastructure Environmental Permitting team is responsible for the development and on-time delivery of environmental permits to support construction of Data Centers needed to build out Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure. The Environmental Permitting Manager will manage environmental due diligence, environmental permitting acquisition and approvals, and support compliance activities during site acquisition, design, and construction for datacenter development throughout Americas. This role requires regular engagement with key Microsoft stakeholders, including legal, design, construction, and operations teams, regulatory agencies, and outside consultants and contractors.  The Environmental Permitting Manager is responsible for leading cross-functional coordination related to environmental reviews, due diligence, permit acquisition, and compliance activities for data center development. This role plays a key part in both shaping permitting strategies and executing them, helping ensure projects are delivered on schedule while meeting regulatory requirements and environmental commitments. Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.

Own regional environmental permitting strategy from new region/site diligence through Go/No-Go, design, permit acquisition, Early Works, construction readiness, compliance handoff, and operational turnover. Serve as the regional air-permitting lead in partnership with the AMERS Air SME, including emission calculations, permit applicability assessments, New Source Review, emissions modeling, agency engagement, draft/final permit review, operating permits, and air compliance readiness. Develop and maintain environmental permit registers, permit matrices, risk/action logs, permitting schedules, and turnover documentation to support construction compliance and migration to operational compliance systems. Translate permit conditions into actionable requirements for construction and operations, including monitoring, reporting, inspections, notifications, permit modifications, and construction restrictions. Develop and manage environmental consultant scopes, RFP/SOS packages, pricing workbook alignment, technical reviews, contract inputs, and vendor onboarding for permitting, post-SDD studies, surveys, mitigation, and compliance support. Drive proactive agency strategy, including pre-application meetings, response-to-comment coordination, public comment strategy, regulatory negotiations, and escalation of permitting risks to leadership. Partner with Environmental Compliance Managers to define roles and responsibilities for permit implementation, GC/EC onboarding, compliance plan development, incident escalation, and operational turnover. Integrate permitting strategy with sustainability, biodiversity, compensatory mitigation, ecosystem enhancement, and community engagement opportunities where those measures reduce risk, improve AHJ alignment, or support Microsoft’s community commitments. Provide executive-ready reporting on permitting status, risk, schedule exposure, mitigation plans, decision points, and portfolio health for LT reviews and regional planning forums.

Required Qualification: Bachelor's degree in Business Management, Real Estate, Project