Senior leader in wind-energy development, you own the strategy and execution for a portfolio of wind projects in development — site origination, landowner relations, permitting, interconnection, financing, and the team that moves megawatts toward NTP.
A typical week often involves portfolio strategy, deal pursuit, executive engagement, and team leadership — sitting with originators on new sites, prepping pipeline reviews for executives, working through complex permitting or interconnection issues, fielding capital-partner questions. You're often the senior voice when development-pipeline decisions involve material capital commitment. Megawatts permitted, projects to NTP, and pipeline IRR are the visible measures.
The harder part is often the high attrition rate of development sites — many sites die during permitting, interconnection, or financing, and the senior leader manages a pipeline knowing only a portion will materialize. Variance across employers is sharp: at major renewable developers you have deep infrastructure; at smaller or growing developers you're building the team and processes as you go.
People who tend to thrive here have commercial real-estate fluency, deep regulatory and interconnection patience, and the financial literacy to lead capital conversations. The trade-off is the multi-year development arc and the strategic risk that policy, technology, or market shifts can move the ground under projects in progress.
Remember “your permanent record”?
This time it works for you.
Where this role sits in the broader career landscape — and where it can take you.
Turn your career record
into a springboard for growth.
Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
Roles with similar work and overlapping career paths
View all Business Operations roles →Senior leader in wind-energy development, you own the strategy and execution for a portfolio of wind projects in development — site origination, landowner relations, permitting, interconnection, financing, and the team that moves megawatts toward NTP.
Median pay for a Wind Development Leader is about $137K nationally, with the field ranging roughly from $69K to $228K depending on experience, employer, and metro (BLS).
Core skills for this role include Critical Thinking, Speaking, Writing, Reading Comprehension, and Active Listening.
Most people in this role hold a bachelor's degree.
Employment in this field is projected to grow about 4.5% through 2034, with roughly 630,980 people working in it today (BLS).
Closely related roles include Development Director, Wind Operations Manager, and Energy Operations Manager.
Don't do Truest if you aren't ready
to invest in yourself and your career.