Senior Director, Site Selection & Acquisition

A Snapshot 

At AirTrunk, we’ve all come together to deliver data centres that meet and grow with the needs of our large cloud, content, and enterprise customers. 

As the Senior Director, Japan Real Estate, you will play a key leadership role in shaping and executing AirTrunk’s growth strategy in Japan, leading a team of real estate professionals and consultants in support of our ambitious expansion plans. You will oversee the origination and execution of the real estate pipeline and provide commercial leadership to maximise deal certainty and closure while optimising value and managing risk. 

You will be part of a dynamic team driving rapid platform growth across APAC, advancing AirTrunk’s continued expansion through acquisitions, partnerships, and market development. In this role, you will collaborate closely with AirTrunk leadership, internal stakeholders, and external partners to enable the delivery of hyperscale capacity across Japan. 

Your Job Scope 

• Lead AirTrunk’s real estate strategy, market expansion, and acquisition activity across Japan, managing a team of real estate professionals and consultants to deliver on the company’s ambitious growth targets. 
• Partner with ELS / AirTrunk leadership to shape Japan’s expansion strategy, including capacity targets, priority markets and products, and acquisition approaches. 
• Maintain and manage a strategic pipeline of acquisition opportunities to support AirTrunk’s long-term capacity growth across Japan. 
• Oversee the origination and execution of complex real estate transactions, including acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic partnerships. 
• Provide commercial leadership across the Japan real estate function, guiding transaction strategy, structuring, and negotiations to maximise deal certainty and closure while optimising value and managing risk. 
• Partner closely with the Power & Utilities team to originate and execute new market opportunities, ensuring alignment between land acquisition, power availability, and development strategy. 
• Develop and maintain relationships with key industry stakeholders, including landowners, property developers, government agencies, and real estate advisors. 
• Lead due diligence and feasibility processes, coordinating cross-functional teams to evaluate technical, legal, commercial, and regulatory considerations. 
• Develop compelling investment proposals and support internal approval processes, including preparation of materials for executive leadership and investment committee review. 
• Collaborate cross-functionally with teams including master planning, development, and investment to align site acquisition with delivery timelines and customer requirements. 
• Mentor and develop team members, fostering knowledge transfer and building organisational capability to support future growth. 
• Monitor industry trends, market dynamics, and regulatory developments, providing strategic insight on emerging opportunities across Japan. 

Requirements 

• 10+ years experience in real estate / digital infrastructure sectors, with significant exposure to transactions and business development in Japan. 
• Strong relationships across Japan’s real estate landscape, including landowners, developers, advisors, and public sector stakeholders. 
• Fluency in Japanese (JLPT N1 or equivalent) and at least intermediate English communication skills. 
• Demonstrated track record leading site selection, land acquisition, real estate development & partnerships. 
• Experience negotiating related agreements, such as economic incentives, colocation agreements, utility agreements, construction contracts etc. will be advantageous. 
• Strong analytical capability and comfort working with financial and commercial analysis. 
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills. 
• Deep familiarity with Japanese real estate markets and regulatory environments. 
• Ability to thrive in a matrixed organization, adapt quickly, and foster an open, collaborative workplace.