Associate Director, Cybersecurity Engineering

Merck•Upper Gwynedd Township, PA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Role Overview The Privileged Access Management (PAM) Team Lead is accountable for the enterprise strategy, delivery, and continuous improvement of our Company's Privileged Access Management program. This role leads the design, implementation, and operation of global privileged access and secrets management capabilities aligned with zero trust principles, regulatory requirements, and cyber risk reduction objectives. This position requires a technically proficient, self‑motivated leader with deep PAM expertise and experience operating at scale within large, global, and highly regulated environments. This role provides personnel leadership, architectural oversight, and governance to ensure privileged access controls effectively protect critical infrastructure, applications, cloud platforms, and DevOps pipelines.

Requirements

Bachelors degree required in related field
7+ years of experience in cybersecurity or Identity and Access Management (IAM), including at least 7 years focused on Privileged Access Management.
Demonstrated experience leading and developing security engineering teams within large, global organizations.
Strong understanding of enterprise PAM and secrets management platforms (e.g., CyberArk, BeyondTrust, Delinea).
Hands‑on knowledge of PAM for Windows, UNIX/Linux, and database platforms.
Experience delivering security solutions using Agile methodologies and managing backlogs with tools such as JIRA.
Excellent communication skills, with the ability to translate complex technical concepts and security risks to non‑technical stakeholders.
Accountability
Application Security
Cloud Security
Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity Operations
Data Protection
Delivery of Security Applications
Design Applications
DevOps Coaching
Influence
Information Security
Information Systems Management
SLA Management
System Designs
Technical Advice
Zero Trust Identity

Nice To Haves

Experience working in healthcare or other highly regulated industries.
Strong understanding of cybersecurity fundamentals, secure SDLC practices, and cloud‑native security controls.
Hands‑on experience with identity platforms such as Active Directory and Entra ID, cloud identity services, and HashiCorp Vault.
Hands‑on knowledge of PAM in multi‑cloud environments (AWS, Azure, GCP) and Kubernetes.
Familiarity with ServiceNow for change and incident management, and experience with automation using PowerShell.
Knowledge of industry standards and frameworks such as NIST and ITIL.
Industry‑recognized security certifications (e.g., CISSP, Security+).
Collaborating

Responsibilities

Define, own, and execute the enterprise PAM roadmap aligned with our Company's cybersecurity and zero trust strategies.
Establish and maintain PAM governance, policies, and standards across on‑premises, cloud, and hybrid environments.
Serve as the enterprise subject matter expert for privileged access risk across infrastructure, applications, DevOps pipelines, and cloud platforms.
Develop and present PAM posture, risk metrics, and remediation plans to executive leadership and audit stakeholders.
Provide architectural oversight for PAM capabilities, including privileged account vaulting, session management, just‑in-time (JIT) access, and secrets management.
Lead the design, implementation, and ongoing operation of PAM solutions in compliance with our Company's SDLC and established IT standards.
Collaborate with infrastructure, security, and application teams to manage incidents, escalations, and transitions of operational support.
Ensure PAM solutions are resilient, scalable, and aligned with enterprise security and operational requirements.
Own and manage the PAM product backlog, refining user stories and epics to ensure alignment with OKRs and broader enterprise initiatives.
Direct day‑to-day PAM engineering operations to ensure effective planning, balanced workloads, and reliable delivery outcomes.
Promote Agile ways of working and continuous improvement across the PAM engineering function.
Lead, mentor, and develop the PAM engineering team, fostering a collaborative, inclusive, and high‑performing environment.
Provide ongoing coaching and development opportunities aligned with Agile and engineering best practices.
Engage IAM leadership and cross-functional stakeholders to ensure PAM solutions meet business needs while maintaining strong security and compliance posture.