AVP, Enterprise Authentication & Directory Services

Synchrony•Orlando, FL

3d•$115,000 - $200,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Assistant Vice President (AVP) of Enterprise Authentication & Directory Services is a high impact, technical executive responsible for the global architecture, engineering, and lifecycle management of the enterprise identity fabric at Synchrony. This leader will drive the strategic modernization of traditional, on-premises Active Directory (AD) environments into cloud-first, unified identity platforms centered on Microsoft Entra ID. The ideal candidate combines deep engineering expertise in directory infrastructure with advanced technical project management frameworks to execute secure, complex enterprise identity migrations on time and within scope.

Requirements

Mastery of Microsoft Active Directory (AD), Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD), Azure AD Connect, Entra ID Governance, and Entra ID Protection.
Strong foundational knowledge of Group Policy Objects (GPOs), Active Directory trust relationships, and domain consolidation strategies.
Deep knowledge of LDAP, Kerberos, NTLM decommissioning, SAML 2.0, OIDC, OAuth, and modern API-driven identity patterns.
Hands-on governance of Privileged Access Management platforms, specifically Delinea or equivalent secrets vaults.
Proven experience utilizing Jira, Microsoft Project, or equivalent software development lifecycle (SDLC) tracking tools to manage massive infrastructure dependencies.
Demonstrated ability to present technical migration roadmaps, risk-remediation logs, and executive steering committee KPIs clearly to C-level leadership.
7+ Years of progressive engineering and architectural experience in traditional, on-premises Microsoft Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS), including domain consolidation, GPO management, and legacy authentication protocols (LDAP, Kerberos, NTLM decommissioning).
7+ Years of deep architectural and deployment experience with Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory), managing cloud-native identity planes, complex tenant migrations, and hybrid synchronization environments (Azure AD Connect / Entra Cloud Sync).
5+ Years managing cross-functional infrastructure engineering, cybersecurity, and technical project management teams.
Proven Track Record of successfully executing multi-million-dollar Active Directory modernization programs, migrating legacy application stores to Entra ID, and implementing Privileged Access Management (PAM) vaulting solutions like Delinea
Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Security, Technical Project Management, or a related discipline.
You must be 18 years or older
You must have a high school diploma or equivalent
You must be willing to take a drug test, submit to a background investigation and submit fingerprints as part of the onboarding process
You must be able to satisfy the requirements of Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act.
Legal authorization to work in the U.S. is required.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.

Nice To Haves

Microsoft Certified: Identity and Access Administrator Associate (SC-300) OR Microsoft Certified: Enterprise Administrator Expert.
Project Management Professional (PMP), Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP), Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), or CISSP.

Responsibilities

Lead the multi-year modernization and migration roadmap and transition strategy away from legacy Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) toward cloud native Microsoft Entra ID.
Define architectural standards for a cohesive, resilient hybrid identity plane utilizing Azure AD Connect / Entra Cloud Sync while systematically reducing on-premises footprint.
Govern authentication frameworks for enterprise systems (e.g., MySQL, Oracle), ensuring secure schema optimization, seamless Entra ID App Registrations, and modern protocol connectivity.
Apply rigorous technical project management methodologies (Agile, Scrum, or Waterfall) to manage cross functional directory modernization pipelines.
Own the program budget, statement of work (SOW) validations, risk registers, and critical path scheduling for complex, multi-phased IAM rollouts.
Partner with Synchrony corporate change management teams to minimize business friction during global authentication updates, application cutovers, and user migrations.
Overseeing Access Reviews, Entra Lifecycle Workflows (for automated joiner-mover-leaver processes), and Privileged Identity Management (PIM) to enforce just-in-time, least-privilege administrative access.
Managing the transition from legacy Azure AD Connect to Entra Cloud Sync agent architectures, alongside systematically phasing out on-premises Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS).
Governing the modernization of legacy application authentication by moving from local LDAP/Kerberos binds to modern Entra service principals, managed identities, and OAuth/OIDC permissions.
Designing complex, contextual security boundary policies (incorporating user risk, sign-in risk, device compliance, and trusted locations).
Tuning machine-learning risk engines to detect, block, or force self-service password resets for compromised credentials or anomalous user behavior.
Strategizing long-term digital identity initiatives using decentralized identities and verifiable credentials for secure, B2B, or partner authentication.
Overseeing the replacement of traditional corporate VPNs by routing traffic to internal hybrid environments (like your MySQL servers) securely via a Zero Trust network access (ZTNA) model.
Deploying Secure Web Gateway (SWG) policies to protect users from malicious web traffic while monitoring cloud application access.
Architecting multi-tenant collaborations, B2B guest user lifecycles, and consumer-facing authentication flows.
Recruit, mentor, and lead a high-performing team of identity engineers, directory architects, and technical project managers.
Ensure 99.99% availability of global directory infrastructure, establishing robust Entra Connect health monitors, disaster recovery, and automated failover pipelines.