Senior Cyber Security Engineer

Senior Cyber Security Engineer
Number Positions: 2

Length: 6 Months

Location: TX Southlake(Candidate can sit in Phoenix/ Southlake/ Austin - preference is 4 days per week on-site)

Alternate Work Location: Phoenix or Austin

Does the position allow for the worker to be virtual/remote?: No

Looking for a candidate they can convert to Full - Time - Unable to sponsor Visa for FT candidate)

Client is launching a major workforce identity modernization initiative, transitioning authentication from on-premises Active Directory to Microsoft Entra cloud-based modern authentication.

This is a significant transformation of systems that have been in place for 20–25 years.

Key business objectives:

• Reduce reliance on on-premises infrastructure.
• Lower infrastructure and maintenance costs.
• Reduce manual support and administration.
• Modernize and strengthen internal workforce authentication.

This is strictly for internal workforce, not customer-facing applications.

Technical Skills to Prioritize

• Microsoft Entra ID: Strong, recent hands-on experience is especially important.
• Active Directory and hybrid identity architecture.
• IAM and identity modernization.
• SSO and modern authentication.
• Conditional Access.
• PowerShell, Terraform, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), and CI/CD.
• Cisco ISE experience is a plus.

Manager is looking for an architect who is genuinely hands-on, not someone who only has high-level architectural experience.

Key Responsibilities

• Identity Architecture & Strategy
• Design, implement, and maintain end-to-end Identity & Access Management architectures using Microsoft Entra ID and Active Directory.
• Establish a long‑term identity strategy aligned with business, security, and regulatory requirements.
• Architect secure hybrid identity models including Entra Connect, cloud sync strategies, and identity lifecycle automation.
• Drive adoption of Zero Trust identity principles, including continuous evaluation and least-privilege access.
• Microsoft Entra ID Expertise
• Lead design and optimization of Conditional Access policies, authentication flows, MFA, passwordless strategies (FIDO2, Windows Hello Business), and identity protection.
• Architect, standardize, and provide governoversight for Entra ID Governance capabilities—PIM, access reviews, entitlement management, custom roles, and segregation of duties.
• Oversee configuration of Entra applications, service principals, federations, SCIM provisioning, and SSO integrations (SAML/OIDC/OAuth2).
  Active Directory (AD) & Hybrid Identity
• Design secure, resilient, and scalable Active Directory forests, domains, GPO structures, and privileged access boundaries.
• Lead initiatives to modernize AD security posture (tiered administration models, privileged access isolationESAE cleans-up, delegated administration, and secure baselines).
• Implement AD hardening, lifecycle management, group governance, and remediation of legacy dependencies.
  IAM Governance & Security
• Develop identity standards, patterns, security baselines, and governance frameworks.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements such as SOX, HIPAA, GDPR, ISO 27001, and internal audit controls.
• Provide guidance for RBAC/ABAC models, identity lifecycle management, privileged access governance, and application onboarding.
• Design identity controls that are auditable, measurable, and automatable, supporting internal risk assessments and regulatory compliance.
• Collaborate with cloud platform and DevSecOps teams to integrate identity controls into cloud landing zones, CI/CD pipelines, and enterprise architectures.
• Partner with security operations to integrate identity telemetry, threat detection, and incident response workflows.
  Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Work closely with Security Engineering, Application Owners, Cloud Platform Engineering & Architecture, and Infrastructure teams.
• Provide architectural direction during acquisition integration, cloud migrations, and modernization projects.
• Deliver architecture diagrams, roadmaps, threat models, and solution documentation.
  Thought Leadership
• Drive IAM as a shared enterprise platform, balancing security, user experience, and operational resiliency.
• Stay current with identity trends, Entra roadmap updates, and emerging threats.
• Recommend continuous improvement opportunities across authentication, authorization, and identity governance.
• Mentor engineers and guide best practices on identity design and operations.
  Required Qualifications
• 8+ years of experience in Identity & Access Management, architecture or engineering.
• Deep expertise in:
  o Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD), Conditional Access, Identity Protection, Entra Governance
  o Active Directory design, replication, DNS, GPO, PKI, delegation models
  o SSO protocols: OAuth2, OIDC, SAML, WS-Fed
  o Identity lifecycle automation and provisioning
  o Zero Trust architecture principles
• Strong knowledge of MFA, passwordless, risk-based policies, and authentication flows.
• Experience securing hybrid identity using Entra Connect, federation services, and cloud-only patterns.
• Expertise building Terraform IaC resources and guardrails for identity services through reusable modules and automated CI/CD pipelines.
• Proficiency with PowerShell or automation frameworks.
  
• Strong understanding of IAM risk management, audit requirements, and regulatory standards.
  Preferred Qualifications
• Microsoft certifications: SC-300, SC-100, AZ-305, or equivalent.
• Experience with:
  o Privileged Access Workstations (PAW)
  o Microsoft Identity Manager (MIM) or other ILM solutions
  o Conditional Access advanced configurations and automation
  o Enterprise-scale identity consolidation and domain migration projects
  o Modern IAM stacks (SailPoint, CyberArk, Okta)
• Background security architecture, threat modeling, or penetration testing related to identity systems.
  Soft Skills
• Exceptional communication and leadership capabilities.
  
• Ability to work across organizational boundaries with technical and executive stakeholders.
• Strong problem-solving, decision-making, and strategic thinking skills.
• Ability to simplify complex identity concepts into actionable guidance.