Senior Director, Legal - Policy and Regulatory Counsel

About the Role

The Senior Director, Legal - Policy and Regulatory Counsel is Nscale's lead US regulatory and policy lawyer. Reporting to the SVP, General Counsel (US), you will partner with the Policy and Government Relations function to advise on legislative drafting, redlines, and impacts of policy changes to Nscale's business.

You will also work with team members on the regulatory strategy for US campuses from site selection through energization and operation. You will advise on Nscale's engagement with federal and state regulators. You will work hand in hand with our AI infrastructure, energy procurement, real estate, construction and public policy teams, so that every project is regulatory-ready, financeable and on schedule.

This is a player-coach role: you will lead your own highest-stakes matters, manage outside counsel across multiple states, and build a regulatory function that scales with Nscale as an AI infrastructure company.

What You'll Be Doing

Rulemaking and Permitting

• Partner with Policy on advocacy around emerging GPU, large-load, co-location and data center rulemakings at the federal and state level, and translate them into clear site and deal decisions.
• Help determine regulatory strategy for US campuses.
• Manage strategy on n contested permits, in partnership with Public Policy & Government Relations.

Project and transaction support

• Run regulatory due diligence on site acquisitions, power deals, and project-financed sites, and flag risks early in the site lifecycle.
• Partner with infrastructure, energy procurement and construction counsel so that EPC, PPA, interconnection and O&M agreements reflect regulatory requirements and change-in-law risk.
• Support Debt Capital Markets Legal and lenders on regulatory conditions precedent and bankability.

Policy and Government Relations

• Partner closely with the US Policy function to advise on responding to proposed legislation, drafting bills, and understanding impact of pending policy and regulatory developments on Nscale's business
• Advise on engagement with policymakers and government stakeholders, including responses to inquiries, requests for information, and testimony.

Governance and building the function

• eSupport public-company disclosure on regulatory and environmental matters with Finance and Securities counsel.
• Manage outside regulatory counsel across multiple states, including scope, budgets and quality.

About You

• JD from an accredited US law school and active membership in good standing of at least one US state bar.
• 15+ years of energy or data center regulatory experience, gained at a top-tier law firm and/or in-house.
• Experience managing multi-state outside counsel teams and budgets.
• Ability to explain complex regulatory risk clearly to non-lawyers, executives and the Board, and to turn it into practical site and deal decisions.
• A confident advocate with regulators, utilities and communities, with sound judgment and a commercial, schedule-aware approach.

Nice to Have

• In-house experience at a hyperscaler, neocloud, colocation provider, data center developer, utility, IPP or infrastructure investor.
• Experience with behind-the-meter or co-located generation, including gas turbines, reciprocating engines, storage or nuclear/SMR arrangements.
• Experience leading regulatory work in Texas (ERCOT and PUCT) and PJM states.
• Prior government experience at FERC, a state commission, DOE or EPA.
• Project finance and bankability experience.

Additional information

Join Nscale as we build a world-class AI cloud platform. If you're ready to lead the regulatory strategy that powers and permits hyperscale data center campuses across the US, we'd love to hear from you!

Salary Range $240,000 - $420,000 USD

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