Johnny Beverton
In this episode, Sean Mulligan, industry consultant and veteran data center builder, joins Empiric’s Data Centers Lead Michael Christodoulides to discuss how large-scale data center projects are delivered today, the realities of power and land constraints and what hiring managers and professionals need to understand about careers in the space.
Sean brings more than five decades of experience across construction, contracting and hyperscale delivery, from laborer to C-suite roles before pivoting into consultancy.
Watch the full interview and read the full recap below.
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TLDR: Key Takeaways from the Conversation
- Modern data center delivery is increasingly shaped by digital delivery methods, with BIM, digital twins and automation now part of how large-scale projects are planned and executed.
- Power availability has become a defining constraint on where data centers can be built, driving greater reliance on on-site gas generation and influencing site selection decisions.
- Labor shortages remain a consistent challenge, particularly across electrical, mechanical, controls and experienced delivery leadership roles.
- Professionals who perform well in this environment tend to bring adaptability and the ability to work at pace, with broad construction experience often translating effectively into data center delivery roles.
- Supply chain delays are now expected, pushing owners and contractors toward earlier procurement, longer planning horizons and owner-furnished equipment models.
- Hiring expectations do not always reflect delivery realities, with narrowly defined job specifications slowing progress and overlooking candidates capable of growing into the role.
A Career Built From The Ground Up
Sean's career is certainly not a traditional construction path, "I didn't set out to be a construction guy. I'm college educated with a background in environmental science and science journalism... I've always made my money building things; I guess because I know how to put things together. I’ve had a 50-year career in the trade, starting as a laborer all the way through carpentry, subcontractor, contractor, C-suite…"
He credits that longevity to hands-on learning. "I grew up on a farm… we learned how to do by ripping things apart and rebuilding them and just picked up skills all the way along the way. You could say that my career has been continuous on-the-job training.”
The Digital Transformation of Data Center Delivery
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Sean details how data center complexity has increased dramatically. "They've become much more complex and we've gone from the earlier days, there wasn't all the digital tools that we have today. Everything was laid out on paper... now everything has become digital. We start with digital models, BIM and Revit. We do a construction model all the way through that becomes a digital twin, where we work out all the differences, clash detection."
His advice to construction and delivery leaders is clear. "I'd say learn everything you can, not just about construction, but about digital technology and how that can assist in these projects. This is the way of the future. More automation, more software, probably less people, less bodies. We're trying to automate as much as we can."
The Reality Check: Who Succeeds in Data Center Construction
Sean pulls no punches when describing what separates successful data center professionals from those who struggle, "You have to want it. You have to go in there knowing that it's going to be challenging, it's going to be tough, but that you have the attitude, some say the grit to make it through the challenging and tough situations."
Regarding the work itself, "It requires that someone has broad knowledge of construction in general. Knows how to speak to all the different trades and the lingo and the language thereof because you're going to find it in the documents. You need to be able to read and comprehend a set of drawings and the big thick construction documents that lay out all the specs and what is expected."
The pace is relentless. "A lot of people say it's drinking from a fire hose because there's so much information and challenges coming at every moment. The schedule is all important. You're always trying to meet the milestone dates... dealing with weather, equipment delays... maybe your subcontractors don't have enough manpower on the job... change orders come through... you have to work through the change management process while continuing the schedule."
But for those willing to take it on the opportunity is real. Sean has spent decades building careers alongside projects and has seen first-hand how people progress when they step into responsibility.
Contractor Versus Owner: Different Seats, Same Table
Having worked on both sides of data center delivery, Sean is clear that accountability shifts depending on where you sit even though everyone is working towards the same outcome, “We’re all one big team. Everybody’s working for the client. They’re paying the bill but as the builder, as the GC, it’s your responsibility to deliver the project.”
That responsibility is all-encompassing and does not stop at scope or schedule, “When you’re the general contractor you’re responsible for everything. You tell people what to do and you have to resolve issues and if somebody’s underperforming or not performing you’re required to replace them or find a way to augment them.”
Despite those differences, Sean stresses that delivery only works when collaboration holds across the full project ecosystem, “You have to work with everybody in the project, the owner’s team, the authorities having jurisdiction, third party inspectors, all the suppliers and subcontractors. It all needs to work together as a team.”
When that alignment breaks down the consequences are immediate and damaging, “The worst situation is when contractors and clients come to disagreements that lead to money not being paid and bad blood and email bombs being lobbed between trailers and a breakdown in communications. I’ve seen it happen and it’s disheartening.”
For Sean, the way through is simple if not always easy, “Stay upbeat stay positive and work towards the best end.”
Power, Land and the Changing Site Selection Equation
Power and land availability now sit at the center of every major data center decision and Sean is clear that these constraints are anything but temporary, “Power has not kept up with the demand over the last few years for gigawatts and gigawatts of AI data centers.”
That imbalance has real delivery consequences, “It takes 10 or so years to permit and build generating facilities transmission lines to the point where you can land a substation at a new facility… most of the low hanging fruit in terms of easily available power is gone at this point… there’s very little what we call stranded power anywhere in this country or North America.”
As a result, hyperscalers have been forced to change approach, “The answer for these new projects that are being announced or starting to be built is to bring your own power meaning that we’re going to tap into the natural gas pipelines and build gas powered engines power plants ourselves to power our own data centers. That has become the new modality.”
This shift is now shaping site selection timelines and delivery strategies across the market.
Bottlenecks: Skills, Supply Chain and Schedule Pressure
Sean points first to supply shortages as an ongoing constraint across the data center market, “We went through the pandemic with supply shortages which are still short. The lead times for equipment can be a year two years or more.”
That pressure has not eased and requires advance planning to mitigate, “The organizations that have been prepared for that by pre-purchasing big pieces of equipment what we call owner furnished contractor installed equipment are better prepared.”
Labor issues compound those challenges, “On the labor side we are short. Skilled trades in the country, skilled electricians, mechanical engineers and controls engineers and they’re not being trained fast enough to replace those who are retiring.”
The demand for experienced delivery talent remains high and progression is available for those willing to step into it, “I get calls all the time to go back to the field… there’s a huge demand for talent out there… there are some people that could become very good middle management superintendents and project managers… but they’re in comfortable trade positions foremam, they don’t want to take on the additional responsibility of being responsible for everything. They like just being responsible for their little piece of the puzzle.”
Where the Data Center Market Is Heading
Looking ahead Sean sees no slowdown in pace or ambition across the sector, “We’re going to keep building, building, building... from what we see with all the announcements and the money flooding in bigger and bigger sites the rollout of Nvidia super clusters more advances in liquid cooling and many more gas engines running.”
Energy strategy continues to shape how quickly projects can move, “It’s much easier to build power plants right next to your site… eventually we’ll get these small modular reactors that people are talking about sited alongside to power the data centers but you’re talking more years away before we start seeing them significantly.”
In the meantime, scale continues to increase, “You’re just going to see these larger and larger projects. I saw one announced the other day - project Jupiter in Southern New Mexico… it’s 144,000 acres, $165 billion of revenue bonds being sold to finance this massive project.”
That level of investment reflects a broader global shift in how infrastructure is being planned, “This is happening around the world as different countries want their data sovereignty. They want their internal data to stay within the country borders.”
For Sean, the direction of travel is clear, “It’s an amazing expansion of our communications driven by AI which requires vastly more compute than the old standard cloud services.”
Texas, Gas and Geographic Expansion
As that growth accelerates, Sean points to Texas as the clearest example of how geography power and policy are shaping where data center investment is flowing, “Texas has its own electric grid. It has vast resources in terms of natural gas. It has the land and fairly easy permitting to basically build what you want.”
That combination has already translated into scale, “Dallas is the number two region after Northern Virginia.” Momentum is not confined to one metro area and Sean sees expansion across the state as power access and land availability align, “Austin, San Antonio, Western Texas out by El Paso… these are all big growth areas.”
For large-scale programs, the equation is becoming increasingly clear - where power, land and permitting align, capital follows.
What Hiring Managers Should Understand
For Sean, the biggest challenge facing hiring managers is not demand but expectation, with roles often defined by rigid criteria rather than the realities of how data center teams are built and developed, “The type of person they’re looking for has good construction knowledge but also the ability to learn to adapt to grow to accept new ways of doing things and to figure it out.”
Experience still matters but mindset matters more and Sean is clear that overly narrow definitions of what qualifies as relevant background can become self-limiting, “Everyone starts out not being a data center person until they’ve been on a data center… you have to have the ability to learn to take in a large amount of information and not be overwhelmed and not shut down but step back breathe and do the work.”
He also cautions against how senior roles are often designed particularly on large programs, “I get job descriptions that are pages and pages of bullet points… those are all the tasks that need to be done in the sector but you’re putting them all on one person. That’s the work of an entire team.”
For hiring managers building at scale Sean’s message is consistent. Sustainable delivery depends on hiring for capability adaptability and shared responsibility rather than searching for a single all-encompassing profile.
Closing Thoughts and Looking Ahead
Across power constraints talent shortages and delivery pressure Sean’s message is consistent. Data center delivery at scale demands realism adaptability and teams built for shared responsibility rather than perfection on paper. For those willing to learn step up and absorb complexity the opportunity to build meaningful long-term careers remains very real.
Our dedicated recruitment team works closely with organizations delivering large-scale data center programs and with professionals building careers in this space. If you are looking to strengthen your delivery teams or explore your next role within data center construction and infrastructure, get in touch with our team today: XXXXX
Be sure to connect with Michael Christodoulides and Sean Mulligan on LinkedIn to continue the conversation and follow Empiric to stay up to date with future Empiric Insights.
