The Principal Development Manager will serve as a strategic leader within the NA Ops Real Estate Team, responsible for driving the most complex and high-impact real estate transactions supporting the continued expansion of Amazon's North America Customer Fulfillment (NACF) network. Operating with complete independence, this individual will define transaction strategy for significantly complex deals, influence senior leaders (VP+) across organizations, and establish the frameworks and mechanisms that enable the broader team to scale effectively. This role demands exceptional commercial real estate expertise, sophisticated financial and analytical capabilities, and the ability to drive clarity and alignment across ambiguous, high-stakes situations.
The Principal Development Manager will own build-to-suit (BTS) transactions end-to-end, lead a high volume of high-profile transaction activities, and serve as the team's escalation point for the most challenging deals. Beyond individual transaction execution, this role is responsible for delivering a vision for process improvement, creating cross-organizational structures that accelerate progress, and mentoring the next generation of transaction professionals.
Key job responsibilities
- Own and execute complex, high-profile real estate transactions for the NACF network, including build-to-suit developments, large-scale acquisitions, and strategic portfolio transactions that have multi-organizational impact
- Define transaction strategy in ambiguous environments where the business problem may not be clearly articulated, driving clarity and creating actionable plans that align with Amazon's long-term network vision
- Influence and align senior leaders across multiple organizations to drive coherent approaches to site selection, investment decisions, and portfolio strategy
- Lead deep-dive analyses into due diligence reports, evaluate whether further investigation is required, and drive sound decision-making on significantly complex environmental, zoning, entitlement, and infrastructure issues
- Drive cash flow preparations and key transaction steps for the most complex deals, applying sound knowledge of real estate law to mitigate complexity risks
- Establish and manage strategic relationships with senior brokers, developers, investors, landlords, municipalities, and government authorities to define strategic objectives and secure competitive advantages
- Deliver a vision for process improvement that transforms how organizations align and interact to achieve goals, creating or optimizing cross-organizational structures and mechanisms that accelerate progress
- Serve as the escalation point for the team on the most challenging transactions, deconstructing complexity into appropriate simplicity and making trade-offs between opportunity, resources, and sustainability
- Drive portfolio-wide strategy that considers network optimization, MSA positioning, and long-term optionality for Amazon's evolving fulfillment needs
- Travel throughout North America up to 30% of the time to evaluate sites, oversee transaction activities, and maintain senior stakeholder relationships
A day in the life
The NA Ops Real Estate Team secures real estate for Amazon operations across the continent. As a Principal Development Manager, you will operate at the intersection of strategy and execution, shaping Amazon's NACF network through the most complex and impactful transactions. Your day might include aligning VP-level stakeholders on a multi-site portfolio strategy, driving a build-to-suit negotiation to close, mentoring a team member through a challenging deal, or establishing a new cross-organizational mechanism that improves how the entire team delivers. You bring clarity to ambiguity, turn complex problems into simple solutions, and influence outcomes that shape Amazon's fulfillment capacity for years to come.
About the team
Our North American Operations Real Estate Team secures real estate for Amazon operations across the continent. In this role, you'll directly influence current business requirements while helping shape and forecast future capacity needs that aren't yet published. As a Principal-level contributor, you'll set the strategic direction for how the team approaches the most complex transactions and build the mechanisms that enable scalable, repeatable success.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Management, Real Estate, or another related field
- 7+ years of managing stakeholders in cross-functional project experience
- 10+ years of commercial real estate transaction management experience, including complex lease negotiations, build-to-suit developments, and purchase agreements
- Experience leading significantly complex transactions with demonstrated ability to operate independently in ambiguous environments
- 5+ years of experience demonstrating financial acumen with experience building and evaluating investment models, cash flow analyses, and comparative site evaluations for large scale projects
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Master's degree in Business Administration, Real Estate, Finance, or related field
- 12+ years of commercial real estate transactions experience in an industrial, logistics, or data center environment
- Demonstrated experience owning build-to-suit (BTS) transactions end-to-end
- Experience influencing senior leaders (VP+) and aligning multiple organizations toward coherent strategic approaches
- Deep expertise with entitlements, zoning, permitting processes, and government authority engagement for large-scale industrial facilities
- Familiarity with Amazon's fulfillment network or large-scale logistics real estate portfolios
- Track record of delivering process improvement vision and creating cross-organizational mechanisms that improve efficiency and scalability
- Experience mentoring and developing real estate professionals
- Sound working knowledge of real estate law and complex deal structuring
The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.
USA, NY, New York - 170,000.00 - 230,000.00 USD annually
USA, WA, Bellevue - 154,600.00 - 209,100.00 USD annually
