Director, Microgrid & Distributed Energy Strategy

Job Description

Job Description

Crusoe is on a mission to accelerate the abundance of energy and intelligence . As the only vertically integrated AI infrastructure company built from the ground up, we own and operate each layer of the stack — from electrons to tokens — to power the world's most ambitious AI workloads. When you join Crusoe, you join a team that is building the future, faster.

We're in the midst of the greatest industrial revolution of our time. The demand for AI compute is boundless, and power is a bottleneck. We're solving that — with an energy-first approach that makes AI infrastructure better for the world and faster for the people innovating with AI.

We're looking for problem-solving, opportunity-finding teammates with a sense of urgency, who believe in the scale of our ambition and thrive on a path not fully paved — people who want to grow their careers alongside a team of experts across energy, manufacturing, data center construction, and cloud services.

If you want to do the most meaningful work of your career, help our customers and partners advance their AI strategies, and be part of a high-performing team that believes in each other, come build with us at Crusoe.

About the Role:

Crusoe is on a mission to accelerate the abundance of energy and intelligence. We build and operate the computing and energy infrastructure that will underpin the AI era. Already known for our market-leading work across power generation, data center infrastructure and cloud computing, Crusoe’s team is tirelessly pushing to hasten the expansion of Crusoe Cloud, develop and commission large-scale AI training and inference data centers, launch edge computing strategies, deploy a diverse portfolio of power generation assets, and accelerate the adoption of frontier energy technologies.

The Director, Microgrid & Distributed Energy Strategy will create strategic advantage for Crusoe by leading the end-to-end development of distributed energy and microgrid projects — evaluating project sites, designing resilient electrical solutions, managing regulatory compliance, and driving financial viability at hyperscale. This position will build and drive an incubation engine that takes promising energy projects from initial identification all the way through to energized, operating infrastructure — owning the full project development lifecycle. The Director role is designed to put Crusoe at the forefront of energy-first AI infrastructure development by turning frontier energy technologies and market mechanisms into real, deployable electrical power that is contractable, financeable, and deliverable on schedule and with bounded risk.

You will work directly with the Chief Strategy Officer in an environment of high intensity and requiring high trust. This is not a research-only role. This is not a deals-only role. It is a full-stack development role — spanning strategy, technical vetting, project incubation — combined with commercial thinking across frontier technologies and early-stage teams. The person in this seat owns projects all the way through: from identifying a promising energy technology or opportunity to the moment it is energized and delivering power to Crusoe’s infrastructure.

The ideal candidate is a hands-on engineer with deep experience designing and executing large-scale microgrid and distributed energy systems — someone who has personally moved projects from technoeconomic concept through to energized, operating infrastructure. This means direct experience conducting site feasibility analyses, creating technical designs that optimize the integration of solar PV, battery storage, and gas generation, navigating local, state, and federal permitting and interconnection processes, and building financial models that translate project economics into bankable investment decisions. Experience with these technologies at the hundreds-of-megawatts scale and above is essential. Candidates must display compelling interpersonal skills and a capability to build relationships, develop partnerships, persuade and drive negotiations — translating complex technical solutions into clear value propositions for internal stakeholders, partners, and regulators alike. The role requires strong leadership, communication, and presentation skills, as well as extremely strong critical thinking, a high degree of agency, a bias toward action, and an ability to think creatively about evolving markets, technologies, and competitive dynamics.

The ideal candidate wants an environment defined by extremely hard work, high ambiguity, high impact, and real-world constraints. Candidates should bring elite skills in technoeconomic modeling, communicating complex engineering concepts simply, stakeholder influence, and commercial judgment. The role requires a strong grasp of microgrid design principles, power markets, energy project development, and what it means to have power that is financeable with bounded risk. Technical depth is not negotiable.

This position offers exposure to the most influential participants in industry and government around the world across energy, infrastructure, capital markets, technology, and policy. The Director will shape the future of how the Artificial Intelligence industry is powered, and will leverage Crusoe’s many billions of dollars of purchasing power to advance new energy solutions to the forefront of the AI industrial revolution. This role has the ability to change the world in the case of success.

What You'll Be Working On:
Reporting to the Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, the Director will collaborate with cross-functional partners to develop and execute energy technology strategies. This role is pivotal in driving Crusoe’s competitive edge through cost efficiencies, operational excellence, supply chain optimization, and the cultivation of new revenue streams and business models.

Work will span the full project lifecycle - owning the outcome, not just the analysis. You will also produce research and thought leadership that shapes the industry and positions Crusoe at the forefront of energy innovation in the AI era.

• Maintain a living Frontier Map across generation, storage, fuels, grid-edge solutions, and interconnection enablers — evaluated with execution realism across feasibility, cost, timeline, and bankability

• Build and own campus-level technoeconomic models across microgrid topologies and solar + storage + gas combinations, translating design choices into $/kW-month, delivered $/MWh, uptime risk, and time-to-energize

• Lead energy project incubation end-to-end — from identification to energized, operating infrastructure

• Drive the full development lifecycle: source → diligence → technoeconomic validation → site selection → permitting → commercial structuring → financing → construction → commissioning → energization

• Own permitting, interconnection, and construction accountability through energization — managing EPCs, OEMs, and internal teams

• Convert successful projects into repeatable deployment playbooks; build partner ecosystems across developers, OEMs, EPCs, utilities, and financiers

• Negotiate and close high-impact commercial agreements — and drive early-stage deal flow aligned to Crusoe's energy roadmap

• Lead negotiation and execution of technology pilots, strategic partnerships, procurement arrangements, and commercial structures that support accelerated power access

• Coordinate internal alignment across engineering, finance, legal, and operations to close and execute on opportunities

• Develop novel market structures that create differentiated access to power

• Design commercial structures that unlock speed and certainty: flexible load constructs, behind-the-meter and private-wire arrangements, and capacity + energy products

• Convert successful structures into repeatable templates and reduce interconnection and schedule risk through proactive development frameworks

• Publish crisp, technically grounded original research and content that strengthens Crusoe's credibility with partners, regulators, and talent

• Partner with Public Affairs to shape enabling conditions across permitting, interconnection, market rules, and incentives — engaging stakeholders when it materially improves time-to-power or project viability

What You'll Bring to the Team:

• 10+ years in energy development, power markets, energy-tech commercialization, or infrastructure strategy — with significant time spent in hands-on project execution roles, not purely advisory or finance

• Demonstrated track record of owning energy projects from identification through energization — including personal accountability for permitting, commercial structuring, and construction delivery at 200 MW scale or greater

• Hands-on technoeconomic modeling expertise: ability to build and own models that translate generation design choices (solar, storage, gas, hybrid topologies) into cost, reliability, and schedule outputs that drive real investment decisions

• Strong understanding of what makes energy solutions deployable and financeable — permitting, interconnection, reliability, operations, and bankability — with direct project experience to back it up

• Exceptional written and verbal communication; ability to produce decision-grade memos and materials quickly

• Engineering degree required; advanced degree in a technical field strongly preferred

Bonus Points

• Experience at a leading large-scale microgrid company (e.g., Scale Microgrids, Enchanted Rock, Swell Energy, Ameresco, or similar) with exposure to both design/engineering and commercial execution

• Direct project experience with gigawatt-scale site planning and the associated generation portfolio design challenges

• Familiarity with large flexible loads (data centers, industrial loads, compute) and their interaction with microgrid economics and power markets

• Network across microgrid developers, OEMs, EPCs, utilities, ISOs/RTOs, financiers, and research institutions

Benefits:

• Competitive compensation and equity packages

• Restricted Stock Units

• Paid time off, paid holidays & leave of absence programs

• Comprehensive health, dental & vision insurance

• Employer contributions to HSA account

• Paid parental leave

• Paid life insurance, short-term and long-term disability

• Professional development & tuition reimbursement

• Mental health & wellness support

• Commuter benefits (parking & transit)

• Cell phone stipend

• 401(k) Retirement plan with company match up to 4% of salary

• Volunteer time off

• Global travel insurance & emergency assistance

• Daily meals allowance

• Additional perks & programs specific to location

Compensation Range

Compensation will be paid in the range of up to $204,000 - $255,000 + Bonus. Restricted Stock Units are included in all offers. Compensation to be determined by the applicants knowledge, education, and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.

Crusoe is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, citizenship, marital status, sex/gender, sexual preference/ orientation, gender identity, age, veteran status, national origin, or any other status protected by law or regulation.