Sales Director – Data Center & AI Infrastructure
United States | Remote
Industry: Data Center Infrastructure / Mission-Critical Power / Lithium Battery & Energy Storage
About the Opportunity
Our client is a fast-growing global provider of lithium battery and energy storage solutions that is strategically expanding into the AI Data Center (AIDC) and mission-critical power infrastructure market.
With the rapid growth of AI workloads and hyperscale data center investment across North America, the company is looking for a senior commercial leader to build and scale its presence in the region.
The Head of North America – Data Center & AI Infrastructure will be responsible for developing strategic relationships with hyperscalers, colocation providers, consultants, EPCs, OEMs and other key players across the data center ecosystem.
A major focus of the role will be securing Approved Vendor List (AVL), shortlist and design-in status with strategic customers, creating the foundation for long-term commercial growth.
Key Responsibilities
1. Data Center Market Development & Strategic Accounts
- Develop and execute the North American go-to-market strategy for data center and AI infrastructure customers.
- Build relationships with hyperscale data center operators, colocation providers, OEMs, EPCs, consultants and infrastructure partners.
- Identify key decision-makers across engineering, procurement, supply chain and infrastructure teams.
- Develop strategic account plans and convert customer relationships into qualified commercial opportunities.
- Represent the company at relevant industry events, customer meetings and ecosystem activities across North America.
2. AVL, Vendor Qualification & Design-In
- Lead the end-to-end process of securing Approved Vendor List (AVL), preferred supplier and shortlist status with major data center customers.
- Navigate complex RFI, RFP and RFQ processes involving commercial, technical, compliance and supply-chain requirements.
- Work closely with customer engineering teams to achieve product validation, specification approval and design-in.
- Understand customer qualification criteria and coordinate internal resources to close technical or commercial gaps.
- Build long-term supplier relationships rather than focusing solely on transactional sales.
3. Technical & Commercial Solution Development
- Understand customer requirements relating to mission-critical power, backup power, battery systems and energy storage applications.
- Translate technical requirements into commercially viable solutions in collaboration with global engineering and product teams.
- Support technical presentations, commercial proposals, pricing discussions and contract negotiations.
- Monitor competitor activity, technology trends and evolving customer requirements within the North American data center market.
4. Compliance & Cross-Functional Coordination
- Act as the key interface between North American customers and global headquarters across engineering, product, compliance, manufacturing and operations.
- Coordinate customer requirements relating to relevant North American standards and certifications, including UL, NFPA and other applicable frameworks.
- Support customer discussions around supply-chain security, cybersecurity, product qualification and critical-infrastructure compliance.
- Ensure customer feedback and market intelligence are effectively communicated to global headquarters.
Must-Have Requirements
- 10+ years of experience in data center infrastructure, critical power, energy storage, electrical infrastructure or related industries in North America.
- Strong existing relationships within the North American data center ecosystem, ideally across hyperscalers, colocation operators, consultants, EPCs, OEMs or major infrastructure customers.
- Proven experience working with complex enterprise customers and navigating vendor qualification, AVL, specification or design-in processes.
- Strong commercial track record in strategic account development, business development or enterprise sales.
- Sufficient technical understanding to engage credibly with engineering, procurement and infrastructure stakeholders.
- Excellent business English and strong executive-level communication and negotiation skills.
- Ability to operate independently in a remote, highly entrepreneurial environment with significant ownership of the North American market.
Cross-Cultural Leadership & Working Style
This position works closely with a China-based global headquarters, so the successful candidate should be comfortable operating in a highly dynamic, fast-moving and cross-cultural organization.
The ideal candidate will:
- Be comfortable working directly with senior executives and global headquarters.
- Communicate proactively and transparently across different cultures and time zones.
- Be highly hands-on and execution-oriented, particularly during the early stages of market development.
- Be able to work effectively with evolving priorities and a relatively lean local organization.
- Demonstrate strong ownership, responsiveness and follow-through.
- Balance the expectations of North American customers with the working style and decision-making processes of an international headquarters.
Preferred Qualifications
- Previous experience helping an international or Asia-headquartered company expand in North America.
- Experience launching a new product, supplier or technology into the North American data center market.
- Background in electrical engineering, power systems, energy storage or a related technical discipline.
- Experience in UPS, BESS, lithium battery, backup power, switchgear, power distribution or other mission-critical infrastructure solutions.
- Familiarity with North American regulatory, certification and product-compliance requirements.
Why Join?
- Build the market: Take ownership of the North American data center strategy from an early stage.
- Executive visibility: Work directly with senior leadership and influence global market strategy.
- High-growth sector: Participate in the rapid expansion of AI data centers and mission-critical power infrastructure.
- Strategic impact: Success will be measured not only by revenue, but also by AVL approvals, design-ins and long-term strategic customer relationships.
- Global support: Leverage engineering, manufacturing, compliance and operational resources from an established global organization.
- Competitive package: Attractive base salary plus performance incentives linked to strategic and commercial milestones.
