Associate Director, Corporate Development & Investments

Who we are:

Digital Edge is a trusted and forward-looking data center platform company, established to transform digital infrastructure in Asia. Backed by Stonepeak, a leading alternative investment firm specializing in infrastructure and real assets, Digital Edge has more than US$1.6 billion in committed equity capital with investors including some of the world’s largest institutional investors and sovereign wealth funds.

Digital Edge’s vision is to be the leading provider of sustainable, next generation digital infrastructure in Asia. Our mission is to build the foundation for the world’s digital future, helping organizations to grow sustainably and empowering populations they serve.

Founded in 2020, the company has grown rapidly across multiple markets in the region and currently provides data center and fiber services across Japan, South Korea, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh and China. The Company now has 31 data centers with over 1.8GW of total power in operation and under development, with another GW-scale development pipelines held for future developments.

This role is an exciting opportunity to join our fast-growing team as we further expand our footprint across Asia.

Our values:

• Respect: We embrace diversity and collaboration.
• Innovation: We share ideas and solve problems.
• Strive: We are driven and determined.
• Excellence: We seek to deliver the best.
• Responsibility: We do what’s right for our people and the planet.

What we need:

We are seeking an experienced investment professional with experience in data center or real estate M&A, strategic transactions, joint ventures and strategy / management consulting in related sectors to join as Associate Director, Investments in our Investments and Corporate Development team based in Japan.

This is a high impact role responsible for end-to-end ownership of several ongoing projects across an extensive portfolio of operating, under construction and pipeline data centre projects in Japan.

Reporting to Head of Corporate Development, Japan, the Associate Director will partner closely with local and regional Design, Engineering, Customer Sales, Finance teams and provide investment direction and align communications with internal and external stakeholders in a fast paced and regionally distributed environment.

This role, based in Tokyo, will also drive pipeline development and partnership opportunities across the country and explore new targets for growth and expansion.

The role requires both strong investment judgement and hands-on execution capability in a complex, multi-stakeholder environment. The successful candidate will work closely with Japan leadership as well as regional and global functions to support and lead selected greenfield development, investment and partnership opportunities.

Key responsibilities:

Transaction Execution and Deal Management

• Lead the end-to-end transaction process – from target identification, due diligence, valuation, structuring, negotiation, and closing.
• Manage internal and external advisors (banks, legal, technical, tax, and environmental consultants)
• Drive comprehensive analysis including financial modelling, tax structuring, commercial evaluation, and business plan development (including customer dependencies).
• Drive debt financing discussions with lenders to procure funding for development projects.
• Present investment recommendations and insights to senior stakeholders and prepare investment committee materials and board papers
• Ensure alignment of transaction structures with long-term operational and financial goals.
• Coordinate multidisciplinary due diligence workstreams across legal, technical, tax, financial, environmental and commercial dimensions.
• Support negotiation of term sheets, SPAs, JV agreements and other commercial agreements.

Cost and Schedule Control and Executive Reporting

• Oversee investment plans, cost and schedule control, and risk management processes across active and planned projects.
• Provide actionable insights to support capital planning, resource allocation, and strategic decision-making
• Ensure compliance with internal governance, audit standards, and relevant regulatory frameworks
• Monitor post-acquisition performance, manage advisors, and resolve operational or contractual issues.
• Work with Construction, Design, Finance and other teams to track project cost, timing and key assumptions across active development projects.
• Support executive reporting and escalation of material issues to leadership and relevant stakeholders.

New Opportunity Sourcing and Market Intelligence

• Build and maintain a pipeline of greenfield and partnership opportunities, with a particular focus on Japan and other growth markets.
• Manage the full investment lifecycle — from site identification and acquisition to transaction structuring and development execution.
• Maintain an informed perspective on industry trends, competitor moves, and market demand drivers to guide strategic expansion.
• Build and maintain relationships with developers, brokers, landowners, financial institutions, advisors, utilities and other market participants in Japan.
• Monitor land availability, power availability, customer demand and regulatory or policy developments to guide site selection and pipeline prioritization.
• Support site screening and early-stage feasibility assessment for new opportunities.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with design, operations, and finance teams to validate assumptions and assess feasibility and align development programs with business goals, customer requirements, and long-term capacity planning
• Lead post-project reviews and continuous-improvement initiatives to enhance efficiency, transparency, and execution consistency.
• Collaborate closely with Japan and regional / global teams across Design, Engineering, Construction, Legal, Finance, Sales and Operations.
• Act as a bridge between Japanese counterparties and English-speaking regional / global stakeholders across the deal lifecycle.
• Support JV governance, Steering Committee preparation, and Board-level materials and decision-making processes.
• Help ensure smooth transition from transaction or development stage to execution and operations where relevant.

Actively champion and implement the organization’s policies on health & safety, environment, energy, quality, information security, and business continuity, ensuring adherence to incident reporting, legal, and regulatory requirements 

Candidate Profile

• 5+ years of relevant experience preferred, with exceptional candidates also considered. Background in corporate development, infrastructure investment, real estate investment, private equity, investment banking, management consulting, strategic investment, project development, renewables, logistics, energy or data centers, with a strong track record of successful investment, advisory or development outcomes.
• Deep financial modelling and valuation skills; comfort with regulatory and technical aspects of large-scale developments.
• Proven track record in greenfield project origination and execution, including due diligence and JV structuring.
• Experience with Japan-based transactions, development projects, real estate, infrastructure or strategic partnerships.
• Experience coordinating due diligence and managing external advisors across multiple workstreams.
• Familiarity with JV structuring, partnership governance, term sheets, SPAs or JV agreements is highly preferred.
• Strong stakeholder management skills and ability to engage with senior internal and external counterparties.
• Ability to own complex workstreams end-to-end with limited supervision, comfortable working through ambiguity in a fast-paced environment.
• Data center experience preferred but not mandatory.
• Bachelor’s degree in finance, Economics, Engineering, or a related field; MBA or CFA preferred
• Bilingual communicator – English and Japanese - with the ability to effectively collaborate with internal and external stakeholders.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage and align a wide range of internal and external stakeholders — Japanese counterparties, regional and global teams, advisors and senior decision-makers.
• Strong information synthesis and organizational skills, with the ability to consolidate diverse inputs across legal, technical, financial, commercial and operational workstreams into clear, decision-ready analysis and materials.

Join us to shape the future of Digital Infrastructure in Asia. Apply now for a confidential career discussion.