Data Security Specialist

Piper Sandler•Minneapolis, MN

26d

About The Position

Piper Sandler is seeking a Data Security Specialist to join its Information Risk Management (IRM) group in Minneapolis, Minnesota, or New York, New York. Reporting to the Director of Information Security, this role defines and enforces data governance policies and standards, with a primary focus on discovering, classifying, and protecting unstructured data. The specialist provides strategic leadership and hands-on technical expertise to manage, maintain, and optimize the platforms and solutions supporting the firm’s data governance and Data Loss Prevention (DLP) programs. The role bridges business requirements and technical implementation to promote data protection, accountability, and trust. The position works across business lines and corporate functions, providing expertise to strategic projects and operational changes, leading remediation efforts, and collaborating with legal, compliance, security, and business teams. It also evaluates technologies, tracks program effectiveness through metrics, and supports compliance with regulatory requirements and internal policies.

Requirements

At least 5 years of experience in data governance, information protection, data security, privacy, or related data operations within a fast-paced, dynamically growing organization.
Strong knowledge of enterprise data-driven processes, products, technology, and controls.
Track record of leading data governance, data protection, DLP, or information risk initiatives across business and technology functions.
Experience establishing and managing a new data governance function and data capabilities.
Hands-on experience with data governance and DLP platforms and tools.
Experience developing, implementing, tuning, and maintaining DLP policies and detection rules across multiple data sources.
Working knowledge of data classification, information lifecycle management, data retention, access controls, privacy principles, and incident response.
Strong problem-solving skills, including the ability to identify and triage data protection issues and drive tactical and strategic solutions.
Strong communication and influencing skills with partners and peers at all organizational levels.
Strategic thinking and the ability to identify and take actions that maximize organizational value and reduce risk.

Responsibilities

Develop and maintain a data governance framework, including policies, standards, and processes for classification, privacy, security, retention, handling, and information lifecycle management, with a focus on unstructured data.
Set data governance and data protection standards and formalize best practices for adoption across business lines and corporate functions.
Own and manage the firm’s DLP platform, including deploying and tuning DLP policies.
Provide data governance expertise to strategic projects, business initiatives, and operational changes.
Identify continuous improvement opportunities and recommend ways to better serve the business while reducing information risk.
Provide thought leadership on data governance, data protection, and data health to business lines.
Serve as a primary point of contact for data governance, information classification, DLP, and data protection inquiries.
Lead data remediation efforts with data owners and technical teams to address data exposure, improper handling, retention, classification, and policy compliance issues.
Research, evaluate, and recommend data governance, discovery, classification, and DLP technologies.
Develop and track KPIs and metrics to measure data governance program effectiveness.
Collaborate with legal, compliance, security, and business units to support adherence to regulatory requirements and internal policies.
Work with product and engineering leadership, stakeholders, data owners, and data stewards to build consensus through effective communication of business cases and supporting materials.