Senior Director Analyst, Cloud and AI Infrastructure
Description
About the role
Gartner Analysts are industry thought leaders who create must-have insights, market predictions and best practices for a broad range of world-leading organizations. A Senior Director serves as a leader within Gartner’s Business and Technology Insights (BTI) group, establishing oneself as a credible voice within their designated market at local, regional and global levels. Utilizing exceptional research and analytical skills, a Senior Director plays a significant role in producing pragmatic and provocative insights which Gartner clients consume and apply to propel their business toward key objectives. They are a trusted source of advice for clients, reinforcing Gartner’s value every day by engaging them via in-person meetings, virtual meetings, sales support visits and Gartner conferences to discuss complex client challenges and offer appropriate recommendations.
You will be a trusted advisor to senior executives, with a particular emphasis on Heads of Infrastructure & Operations (I&O) - guiding them through the intricacies of designing, deploying, and optimizing cloud platforms, across public, on-premises and Hybrid, including newer options such as Neo-cloud, and Sovereign aspects. You will author research and frameworks in both Japanese and English that address strategic challenges in Cloud infrastructure in AI era, while continuously monitoring adjacent domains such as Ai infrastructure, automation, computing, and networking to ensure your insights are both timely and actionable.
You will engage directly with clients in Japanese or English through meetings, events, and conferences, providing expert guidance that empowers their IT Infrastructure transformation journeys. While deep expertise at the intersection of infrastructure in AI era is a cornerstone of this role—and integral to shaping our strategic research agenda for Heads of I&O—we also welcome accomplished professionals from adjacent disciplines.
The ideal candidate combines senior leadership experience in I&O as well as Enterprise Architecture, a passion for innovation, and strong analytical and communication skills. You will make a lasting impact by helping the world’s leading organizations navigate the complexities of AI-driven transformation.
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What you will do
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Drive Thought Leadership: Create innovative, thought provoking, and highly leveraged “must-have insights” content that inspire both Heads of I&O and the analyst team, shaping the industry’s IT architecture agenda
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Engage Executives: Connect directly with Heads of Infrastructure & Operations and Enterprise Architecture leaders, providing high-impact advice in both virtual and in-person settings.
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Shape the Future with independent insights: Dive deep into client needs, uncover root causes, and anticipate market shifts to reframe strategies and keep clients and vendors ahead of the curve.
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Be a Team Player: Collaborate with sales and BTI teams, providing market insights and sales support to create impactful content and drive meaningful client engagement and business growth.
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Be a Market Guide: Navigate the landscape of top vendors, such as AWS, Google, Microsoft, HPE, Dell, Cisco, IBM, Broadcom and Oracle, as well as neo-cloud and sovereign cloud providers, and their go-to-market strategies.
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Deliver Presentation Excellence: Design and present compelling content for Gartner events, industry conferences, and executive briefings, both on stage and behind the scenes.
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Champion Client-Centricity: Proactively foster regular and meaningful client engagement, ensuring Gartner insights are always relevant and actionable.
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Mentor & Innovate: Support and coach junior team members, champion new ideas, and foster a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration through high-quality peer review
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Represent Gartner and Influence the Industry: Build credibility as an industry expert by exemplifying Gartner’s insights, methodology, and strategic vision—speaking, writing, and engaging in ways that influence leaders, shape boardroom strategies, and inspire technology roadmaps.
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Empower Collaborations: Actively participate in innovation, ideation, and research discussions and collaborate effectively with peers in the Insights community
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Pioneer Playbooks: Identify research process improvements or develop new processes that help the team and BTI provide excellent service delivery
What you will need
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Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience; Graduate degree preferred
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12+ years of relevant field or industry experience
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Seasoned I&O Experience for Heads of I&O: Proven I&O leadership at the executive level in mid- or large-sized organizations, with hands-on Cloud infrastructure architecting experience.
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Demonstrated mastery of a broad range of infrastructure platforms for public cloud and on-premises environments. Experience with scalability design and performance tuning for large-scale infrastructure is highly valued. Preferred background in AiI Infrastructure, automation technologies and software in infrastructure, compute, storage, or networking infrastructure, with deep expertise in at least one or two of these areas.
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Ideally, the candidate will also possess up-to-date knowledge of, and a proactive curiosity about, emerging technologies, especially around AI Infrastructure.
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Architectural expertise: Ideally to have Enterprise Architecture experience (certification or significant project work highly valued).
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Collaboration and Global Perspective: Ability to work independently and collaboratively within multicultural, global teams, embracing timezone and cultural differences to foster effective teamwork and tailor approaches to the unique needs and contexts of specific regions and clients.
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Bilingual proficiency in Japanese and English (written and verbal) required.
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Explorer Mindset: Adapt to diverse environments and verticals, bringing broad perspective to every challenge.
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Critical thinking on overdrive: You won’t just explain how things work—you’ll challenge assumptions, expose blind spots, and point toward hidden opportunities, drawing on facts, data, and client needs as revealed through their questions, inquiries, and behaviors.
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Unfettered Curiosity: Never leave a “why” unanswered and see constraints as puzzles to be solved. Demonstrate learning agility and adeptness in navigating highly matrixed environments.
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Demonstrate executive presence; can immediately establish credibility with executives and additional stakeholders
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Strong organizational skills; ability to work under tight deadlines and produce high quality deliverables
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Demonstrate excellence in research and writing ability
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Strong written and verbal proficiency, analytical and presentation skills; ability to engage clients and respond effectively to questions
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Proficient in analyzing and synthesizing data; can effectively apply patterns and frameworks while drawing and defending conclusions to client challenges.
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Strong communication skills - able to explain complex concepts concisely and simply
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Subject matter expertise; comfortable presenting at large and small-scale speaking engagements
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Strong business and financial acumen
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Deep knowledge of the global and competitive landscape within subject area as well as the interplay in that market
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Ability to represent Gartner's research methodology and strategies effectively at all levels
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Willingness and ability to travel up to 25% (where applicable)
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Who are we?
At Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT), we guide the leaders who shape the world.
Our mission relies on expert analysis and bold ideas to deliver actionable, objective business and technology insights, helping enterprise leaders and their teams succeed with their mission-critical priorities.
Since our founding in 1979, we’ve grown to 20,000 associates globally who support over 13,000 client enterprises in ~90 countries and territories. We do important,