Associate Director, Security Programs & Assurance

AirTrunk; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

AirTrunk in Sydney seeks Associate Director, Security Programs & Assurance to lead governance, quality assurance, and continuous improvement of data centre security designs across projects. You will manage a regional team, provide technical SME leadership, collaborate with cyber security teams, and drive standards, compliance, and risk mitigation across APAC and beyond.

This role requires 10+ years in physical security, qualifications, travel flexibility, and a track record of design assurance

Qualifications

• 10+ years in physical security, security engineering, or data centre environments.
• Tertiary and/or industry qualifications in security or a related field.
• Experience reviewing and approving complex physical security designs.
• Strong knowledge of risk management strategies and threat vulnerability assessment.
• Strong knowledge of enterprise physical security systems and technologies.
• Experience managing external design consultants and system integrators.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
• Ability to travel across APAC and other locations.

Responsibilities

• Lead governance, quality assurance, and improvement of physical security designs.
• Provide oversight to ensure designs meet standards, regulatory obligations, customer requirements.
• Establish security design review framework for new builds, expansions, and major upgrades.
• Coordinate lifecycle management of security technologies and cyber security integration.
• Manage regional Security Program Managers and external vendors as SME leader.
• Prepare reports for Executive Leadership on security design risks and portfolio performance.
• Influence decision-making across stakeholders throughout the project lifecycle.

Skills

Security governance

Design assurance

Stakeholder management

Cyber security

Leadership

Risk assessment

Project governance

Education

Security qualifications

Tools

CCTV systems

Access control systems

Perimeter security

Job description

Want to be a part of Asia Pacific & Middle East's (APME) largest, most innovative, and rapidly growing data centre company?

AirTrunk is a technology company with a powerful purpose - to scale and sustain the relentless growth of the region’s digital future. We do this by continuously redefining and delivering hyperscale data centres that meet the needs of our customers - the world’s most transformational companies. And we’re doing so sustainably, for today and tomorrow.

Having opened Australia’s first and largest hyperscale data centres in 2017, we set our eyes on rapid expansion and now operate a platform of hyperscale data centres across the APME region. With backing from our investors, including Blackstone, this is just the beginning…

Come join the A-Team at AirTrunk, where the cloud meets the ground.

Your Impact

As the Associate Director, Security Programs & Assurance based in our HQ in Sydney, you will report to the Director, Security and work closely with various teams and leadership across the Asia Pacific region and beyond, making your mark in a number of ways:

• Lead the governance, quality assurance, and continuous improvement of all AirTrunk data centre physical security designs across the project lifecycle.
• Be the primary authority for data centre security design assurance, providing oversight and challenge to internal teams, consultants, contractors, and technology vendors to ensure data centre security designs consistently meet AirTrunk standards, customer requirements, regulatory obligations, and industry best practices.
• Establish and maintain a robust security design review framework, ensuring that all physical security systems, components, and operational security requirements are effectively embedded into new builds, expansions, and major upgrade projects.

What You'll Do

Security Design Quality Assurance

• Develop, implement, and maintain security design governance frameworks, standards, and review processes.
• Conduct formal design reviews and assurance activities at key project milestones, including, Master Planning, Concept Design, Schematic Design, Detailed Design, Construction Documentation, Commissioning and Handover.
• Ensure all security designs align with AirTrunk security standards, operational requirements, customer commitments, and applicable regulations.
• Identify design deficiencies, risks, or gaps and drive remediation actions with stakeholders.
• Review and approve proposed changes to security designs throughout project delivery and assess the operational, commercial and security impacts of these changes.
• Provide formal security design acceptance recommendations and approval support.
• Act as the accountable subject matter expert and leader for all physical security data centre security designs and threat vulnerability risk assessments.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and recommend design enhancements that improve security effectiveness, resilience, and operational efficiency.
• Ensure security considerations are incorporated into campus master planning and future growth strategies.
• Coach and mentor team members and build organisational capability in security design assurance.

Technical Security Oversight

• Provide technical assurance leadership to a group of regional Security Program Managers across all physical security domains, including, Access Control Systems, Video Surveillance Systems (CCTV), Perimeter Detection Systems, Intrusion Detection Systems, Security Operations Centre integrations, Security Communications Systems, Visitor Management Systems, Identity Management integrations, Control Room Design, Critical Infrastructure Protection requirements.
• Define lifecycle replacement strategies for security technologies to ensure resilience, supportability and alignment with business requirements.
• Evaluate product obsolescence and develop upgrade strategies.
• Document security maintenance specifications and support regional security integrator tenders as a technical SME lead.

Cyber security integration for physical security platforms.

• Ensure security systems support scalability, cyber resilience and operational supportability and comply with AirTrunk cyber security requirements.
• Collaborate with Cyber Security teams to manage vulnerabilities, hardening standards and secure system configurations.

Program and Stakeholder Management

• Partner with Development, Design, Construction, ICT, Operations, Risk, and Customer Solutions teams to ensure consistent application of security standards.
• Manage global relationships with security consultants, architects, engineers, integrators, and technology vendors..
• Prepare reports, recommendations and strategic updates for Executive Leadership on security design risks, emerging threats and portfolio performance.
• Influence decision-making across multiple stakeholders and project teams throughout the project lifecycle.

Standards and Compliance

• Maintain AirTrunk security standards, specifications, and technical guidelines.
• Monitor industry trends, emerging threats, and best practices to continuously improve design standards.
• Ensure compliance with customer security requirements, internal governance frameworks, applicable legislation and regulations, industry standards and security frameworks.
• Support internal and external audits as required, including Australian Government security audits.
• Establish metrics and performance indicators for security design quality.
• Conduct post-project reviews and lessons-learned activities.
• Drive standardisation and repeatability across AirTrunk's global portfolio.
• Lead initiatives to improve security design maturity, efficiency, and resilience

Operational readiness and transition to business-as-usual

• Assist operational readiness reviews for security systems prior to handover.
• Assist to ensure operational documentation, training, maintenance strategies and support models are established before project completion
• Translate customer security needs into actionable design requirements for colocation, build to suit and fit to suit customer security standards.
• Participate in customer negotiations and presentations, representing AirTrunk Security on matters including physical security and design expectations.
• Support the development of Statements of Qualifications (SOQs), RFP responses, and other tender submissions, ensuring the security narrative is clear, accurate, and satisfactory for AirTrunks customers.
• Assist with customer contract reviews to ensure security clauses meet AirTrunk standards and regional compliance requirements.

What You'll Bring

• 10+years in physical security, security engineering, critical infrastructure, or data centre environments.
• Tertiary and/or industry qualifications in security or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience reviewing and approving complex physical security designs.
• In-depth knowledge of security risk management strategies and processes, including security threat vulnerability risk assessment.
• Strong knowledge of enterprise physical security systems and technologies.
• Experience managing external design consultants and system integrators.
• Strong understanding of project delivery and design management methodologies.
• Competent written, verbal and data presentation skills in English.
• Well-developed communication, collaboration, influence and conflict resolution skills.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced changing environment and work effectively in a team environment.
• Strong forward-planning and portfolio governance capability.
• Ability to balance operational, commercial, customer, and security considerations.
• Experience influencing security teams, management, and contractors.
• Ability to work effectively across diverse functions and geographies.
• Ability and flexibility to travel across APAC and as required to other locations across the globe.
• NV1 security clearance preferred or ability to obtain (for Australian based candidates only).
• Please note that location for this role is flexible - Melbourne and Sydney will be considered**

The AirTrunk Culture

Working at AirTrunk is a once in a lifetime opportunity to fast-track your career and amplify your impact. Whilst you’re helping scale our region’s digital future, we’ll help you Grow@Hyperscale and unleash your full potential.

The pace in which we operate means you’ll feel an electric atmosphere at AirTrunk. We are a team of challengers and collaborative problem solvers who break new ground every day. We do this by living our values, going above and beyond, and being dynamic, transparent, and responsive.

Every AirTrunker brings their own unique background and diverse perspective to find solutions to problems that matter. We make sure you have everything you need to make your mark and thrive in a flexible and safe working environment, where everyone feels welcome. Our benefits empower AirTrunkers to stay positively charged.

Now’s your chance to Grow@Hyperscale.

• To all recruitment agencies: AirTrunk does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias, AirTrunk employees or any other organisation location. AirTrunk is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.**