Full-Time

Director – Global Construction Site Physical Security

Updated on 6/13/2026

Digital Realty

Digital Realty

5,001-10,000 employees

Global data center REIT with interconnection

No salary listed

Boston, MA, USA + 2 more

More locations: Dallas, TX, USA | Ashburn, VA, USA

In Person

Travel internationally 25-50%.

Category
Security & Protective Services
Required Skills
Risk Management
Requirements
  • 12–15+ years of progressive physical security experience, including large-scale construction sites or capital development environments
  • Demonstrated experience building, operating, or governing global physical security or critical infrastructure security programs
  • Strong understanding of construction workflows, general contractor operations, phased project delivery, and associated risk profiles
  • Proven ability to operate as a senior individual contributor with independent judgment and decision authority, without direct reports
  • Experience working across multiple global regions and diverse threat environments
  • Ability to assess, quantify, and communicate security risk and financial impact to senior stakeholders
  • Experience partnering with engineering, construction, and delivery organizations while maintaining independent security governance
  • Strong risk-based decision-making skills during elevated threat or disruption scenarios
  • Ability to develop standards, tools, metrics, and reference materials that enable consistent global execution
  • Willingness and ability to travel extensively, including internationally 25%-50%
Responsibilities
  • Own and maintain Digital Realty’s global construction site physical security program, including standards, guidelines, and lifecycle-aligned implementation frameworks
  • Define risk-based physical security requirements by construction phase, site profile, and geographic threat environment, with enterprise-wide visibility across the global portfolio
  • Partner with DE&C leadership, project managers, and construction teams to embed physical security requirements into project design, procurement, mobilization, and site operations
  • Participate in design reviews and mobilization discussions to proactively mitigate risk, reduce rework, and prevent security-related disruption or change orders
  • Drive cost-conscious security solutions, evaluating investments using a return-on-investment lens and promoting standardized, scalable controls
  • Partner with general contractors to ensure clear understanding, implementation, and accountability for construction site physical security requirements
  • Lead construction site security risk assessments and coordinate responses to incidents or credible threats in partnership with regional security teams, DE&C, and contractors
  • Conduct physical security assessments and control testing, track remediation actions, and confirm closure to defined standards
  • Develop and maintain a standardized metrics and reporting framework measuring prevention effectiveness, loss trends, control performance, and program maturity
  • Produce executive-level reporting translating operational performance into clear risk- and cost-based insights that inform governance and funding decisions

Digital Realty Trust owns and operates a global portfolio of data centers that it leases to cloud providers, enterprises, and service firms. It makes money mainly from long-term leases of space, ranging from wholesale and hyperscale capacity to retail colocation, plus growing interconnection services that link customers to clouds and networks inside its facilities. The company differentiates itself with a large global footprint, a history of strategic acquisitions, and a strong focus on sustainability and renewable energy to fund its projects. Its goal is to provide a scalable, interconnected digital infrastructure platform that supports customers’ multi‑cloud needs and data workloads while expanding its own portfolio and services.

Company Size

5,001-10,000

Company Stage

IPO

Headquarters

Austin, Texas

Founded

2004

Your Connections

People at Digital Realty who can refer or advise you

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Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • AI partnerships with NVIDIA and Lumen drive high-density workload demand.
  • 2025 lease bookings reached $1.2 billion, 70% above prior five-year average.
  • New campuses in Malaysia, France, and De Soto capture AI and hybrid cloud growth.

What critics are saying

  • Hyperscalers may shift to self-built campuses, cutting lease-up by 35-55% in 12-24 months.
  • Power grid delays could stall De Soto’s 600MW campus with 45-65% probability in 6-18 months.
  • AI capex slowdown would hit growth since 2025 expansion relies on AI-driven demand.

What makes Digital Realty unique

  • PlatformDIGITAL® spans 300+ data centers across 55+ metros with 5,000+ customers.
  • ServiceFabric MCP adds AI-native control to 800+ data centers globally.
  • Interconnection services enable high-margin private links between customers and cloud providers.

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Benefits

Professional Development Budget

Wellness Program

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

-1%

1 year growth

-1%

2 year growth

-1%
Colt Technology Services
Jun 4th, 2026
Colt becomes the first telecoms operator to connect to Digital Realty's strategic BCN1 data centre in Barcelona.

Colt becomes the first telecoms operator to connect to Digital Realty's strategic BCN1 data centre in Barcelona. Colt secures early access at Digital Realty's new Mediterranean hub, empowering enterprises, service providers, and global content networks with high-bandwidth optical and IP connectivity before official site launch Contributors. Colt Technology Services Solutions. London, 4th June 2026 - Colt Technology Services (Colt), the global digital infrastructure company, today announced it has established a new Point of Presence (PoP) at Digital Realty's highly anticipated BCN1 data centre in Barcelona. Colt is the first telecoms operator to connect to the site, delivering immediate, pre-launch connectivity to this critical digital hub. The early activation strengthens Colt's ability to support Global Content Networks (GCN), enterprises, and Strategic Alliances (SA) customers with high-performance connectivity across Spain and beyond. Located in one of Europe's fastest-growing digital hubs, the new PoP expands Colt's trans-European and global network footprint, enabling secure, high-bandwidth services to a broad range of organisations as they scale their digital operations. The new PoP at BCN1 provides customers with immediate access to Colt's network, delivering a robust suite of Optical and IP services with bandwidths scaling up to 400G. This early connectivity is crucial for businesses requiring high-capacity data transmission, low latency, and secure cloud access. The location itself is strategically vital. BCN1 serves as a convergence point for major subsea cable systems, offering a direct, high-speed bridge between the Mediterranean and the FLAP (Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris) markets. By integrating BCN1 into its trans-European and global backbone, Colt enables customers to bypass legacy congestion points, ensuring seamless, redundant connectivity across the Iberian Peninsula and beyond. Joan Monraba, Country Manager of Colt Technology Services Spain, said: "Barcelona is rapidly evolving into one of Europe's most critical digital hubs, and our early connection to Digital Realty's BCN1 facility underscores our commitment to staying ahead of the demand curve. Being the first telecoms operator to light up at BCN1 is a strong reflection of our commitment to Spain's digital future. By delivering our full 400G-capable portfolio from day one, we're giving customers in Barcelona immediate access to world-class connectivity that fuels growth, innovation and international reach in a location that links the subsea cables of the Mediterranean with the digital heart of Europe. We are not just connecting a building. We are accelerating the digital ecosystem of the entire region." Fabrice Coquio, Senior Vice President, Managing Director, Europe Med, Digital Realty, added: "We are thrilled to welcome Colt as the first telecoms operator at BCN1. Their presence pre-launch is a strong vote of confidence in the strategic importance of this facility and the Barcelona market. BCN1 is designed to be a cornerstone of connectivity for the Mediterranean, and having a partner like Colt, with their extensive trans-European footprint and 400G capabilities, ensures that our mutual customers, from hyperscalers to local enterprises, have the world-class infrastructure they need to innovate and grow from the moment they cross our threshold."

Swiss Datacenter Efficiency Association (SDEA)
May 11th, 2026
Digital Realty achieves first-ever PLATINUM certification.

Digital Realty achieves first-ever PLATINUM certification. Digital Realty's ZUR2 datacenter in Zurich has been awarded the first-ever PLATINUM Plus certification by the Swiss Datacenter Efficiency Association (SDEA). SDEA is dedicated to enhancing the environmental impact of datacenters by recognizing organizations that demonstrate exceptional sustainability and ecological standards. This milestone marks not only a first for Digital Realty, but also the first "PLATINUM Plus" certification issued by the SDEA, underscoring the company's continued leadership in environmental performance and innovation across its global platform. With outstanding operational performance metrics - including a PUE[+] of 1.10, CUE[+] of 0.02, and WUE[+] of 0.00 - ZUR2 sets a new benchmark for sustainable datacenter operations by qualifying for the highest distinction under SDEA's independent, measurement-based certification framework. "ZUR2 exemplifies how operational excellence and environmental responsibility can go hand in hand." Yves Zischek, Managing Director of Digital Realty in Switzerland "Achieving the first-ever PLATINUM Plus certification is a significant milestone for Digital Realty and a testament to our commitment to sustainability-driven innovation," said Yves Zischek, Managing Director of Digital Realty in Switzerland. "ZUR2 exemplifies how operational excellence and environmental responsibility can go hand in hand, delivering measurable impact for our customers and communities." The SDEA certification is based on independently verified performance data and evaluates datacenters across key sustainability indicators, including energy efficiency (PUE[+]), carbon efficiency (CUE[+]), and water usage efficiency (WUE[+]). Unlike design-based certifications, SDEA focuses on real operational performance, providing a transparent and credible benchmark for the industry. "This level represents the highest standard of datacenter efficiency currently achievable." Babak Falsafi, SDEA President "PLATINUM Plus is a first - not just for Digital Realty, but for SDEA," said SDEA President Babak Falsafi. "This level of performance represents the highest standard of datacenter efficiency currently achievable and demonstrates what is possible through rigorous measurement and continuous optimization."

City Journal
Apr 30th, 2026
Loudoun County, Virginia: The Heart of the Data-Center Boom

Garry Tan (YC CEO) shared: $425B spent building US data centers in 2025 = ~1.5% of GDP. Loudoun County, Virginia is the epicenter of the data center boom, home to major facilities from Equinix, Digital Realty, AWS, and others.

Bloomberg L.P.
Apr 14th, 2026
Digital Realty to invest $2.3B in Italian data centres over five years

Digital Realty Trust plans to invest €2 billion in Italy over the next five years as part of a Mediterranean-focused expansion in Europe. The Austin-based data centre operator will construct facilities in Rome and Milan, expecting to hire hundreds of local staff. The investment reflects growing demand for data centre infrastructure in Southern Europe as companies expand their digital operations across the region.

Data Centre Dynamics Ltd
Apr 9th, 2026
Digital Realty pledges S$7 billion investment in Singapore, including new data centers.

Digital Realty pledges S$7 billion investment in Singapore, including new data centers. Company looks to add to three existing facilities in a constrained market April 09, 2026 US colocation giant Digital Realty is planning a large-scale investment in Singapore. The company this week announced it is targeting nearly S$7 billion (US$5.48bn) of total investment in Singapore. Digital's SIN12 facility in Singapore - Digital Realty That figure includes more than S$4.3 billion (US$3.37bn) planned for new data center developments, building on existing investments. Further details of any new facilities were not shared. "Singapore is emerging as a critical hub for AI inference in Asia Pacific," said Serene Nah, managing director and head of Asia Pacific, Digital Realty. "As organizations deploy AI in real-world environments, they need secure, highly connected infrastructure close to where data is created and consumed. This S$7 billion investment target demonstrates our confidence in Singapore's role as the region's AI infrastructure anchor. We're not just expanding capacity - we're building the operational capabilities, innovation facilities, and local talent base needed to support customers as AI enters production at scale." Digital Realty currently lists three data centers in Singapore: SIN10, SIN11, and SIN12, totaling 925,000 sq ft (85,900 sq ft) of colocation space and 70MW of capacity. The company first entered Singapore in 2010, acquiring a newly developed data center. First announced in 2019, the 50MW SIN12 (also known as Digital Loyang II) launched in 2021. Announced in 2015, the 13MW SIN11 (aka Digital Loyang I) was redeveloped from a former paper store and launched in 2016. Singapore has had a moratorium on new data center developments since 2019 (although already authorized facilities were allowed to be built after this point), but this is starting to be relaxed. Equinix, GDS, Microsoft, and a consortium of AirTrunk and TikTok-owner ByteDance were collectively allocated 80MW of capacity in 2023. Digital reportedly missed out on a capacity allocation, with reports suggesting the company had applied to develop a 60MW facility. The Singapore government is currently requesting applications for further data center projects, and is set to allow up to 200MW of capacity to be developed. Get a roundup of the latest regional news across Asia fortnightly. More in colocation & wholesale.