Site Acquisition Director - AMER Leasing

Microsoft Cloud Operations + Innovation (CO+I) powers Microsoft’s cloud services, and our team is dedicated to delivering high-quality infrastructure to support cloud operations. As Microsoft’s cloud business grows, our infrastructure expands, with datacenters playing a key role in this progress.

To support this growth, we are hiring a Site Acquisition Director - AMER Leasing to assist in scaling the acquisition and development of our leased facilities to meet customer needs. We continue to lease and acquire DC capacity quickly, especially in fast-growing markets, working closely with datacenter operators in each region and globally.

As part of our cloud strategy, Microsoft is committed to delivering and operating reliable DCs through our build program and by collaborating with third-party strategic partners (lessors) to expand our cloud footprint. Our leased portfolio is a major component of our overall data center strategy, and the leasing team ensures we can expand in all regions within required timelines. The team focuses on key markets, tracks supply and demand, develops options for growth in new and existing areas, aligns land and lease portfolios, and ensures we can deliver dependable DCs now and in the future to support customer needs. We manage relationships with lessors to ensure contracted capacity is delivered safely, on schedule, and within budget.

The Site Acquisition Director - AMER Leasing is an individual contributor role that works with the Site Acquisition team to support the delivery of a reliable leased portfolio for our global cloud. This role is involved in all leasing activities, including identifying purchasing opportunities, negotiating lease structures such as colocation and build-to-suit models, handling contract amendments, completing post-lease administration, managing contract expansions in established markets, and building new partnerships in the region. The successful candidate will work across multiple regions and become familiar with key areas of our business to help ensure smooth and timely delivery.

Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain relationships with internal stakeholders and external partners, coordinating with key lessors to ensure professional delivery aligned with Microsoft standards.
• Lead leasing and acquisition of data center capacity, including planning for future growth.
• Conduct market research and analytics on targeted metros and regions to support fast decision-making.
• Identify acquisition opportunities, negotiate commercial terms, and manage lease agreements—including new colocation leases, renewals, and amendments.
• Develop flexible models and processes that support rapid delivery and scalability to meet customer demand.
• Create strategic documents that guide long-term regional planning and align business direction.
• Prepare and present updates to leadership for approval as needed.
• Collaborate with supply, engineering, construction, legal, security, networking, and operations teams throughout each project lifecycle.
• Support lease transactions, including specialized projects, upgrades, and amendments.
• Assist with site selection and strategy development across the region.
• Build deep knowledge of assigned metros and regions, monitor market trends, and support regional success.
• Lead commercial and legal negotiations with partners in assigned regions.
• Manage multiple lease projects under tight timelines, coordinating with internal teams, consultants, vendors, and stakeholders.
• Establish new partnerships in existing and emerging regions.
• Align with internal teams to coordinate activities and ensure regional goals are met.
• Maintain accurate data in planning systems, including cost, capacity, timelines, and contract terms.
• Drive process improvements to enhance operational efficiency and team performance.
• Develop procedures to streamline contract delivery, improve communication, and reduce turnaround times.
• Work with legal and corporate affairs teams to finalize contracts.
• Travel within the region as needed (less than 25%)

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelors degree in Business Management, Real Estate, Project Management, or related field, AND 7+ years relevant experience
• OR 10+ years equivalent experience. 

Other Requirements: 

Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. These requirements include, but are not limited to the following specialized security screenings: 

• Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Extensive experience leading global Data Center real estate strategies, including site selection, lease structuring, acquisitions, development, construction, utility planning, sustainability initiatives, and financial investment analysis for large-scale infrastructure programs.
• Deep understanding of Data Center industry trends, regional market dynamics, competitive landscapes, and key operator ecosystems, with the ability to translate market intelligence into long-term business strategy.
• Proven track record of 10+ years leading complex, high-value negotiations involving land acquisitions, lease agreements, strategic partnerships, and multi-stakeholder transactions, while balancing business, financial, legal, and operational priorities.
• Demonstrated expertise in mission-critical environments, including Data Centers, with the ability to align real estate decisions to capacity planning, operational readiness, risk management, and organizational growth objectives.
• Extensive background in real estate development, land acquisition, entitlement, permitting, and regulatory compliance, with experience navigating complex local, regional, and cross-border requirements.
• General understanding of hybrid real estate solutions such as Build-to-suit, Retail, and Wholesale leases (Data Center a plus).

Real Estate Portfolio Management IC6 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $130,900 - $277,200 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $165,600 - $303,600 per year.