IT Security Specialist

Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Company•West Des Moines, IA

About The Position

Farmers Mutual Hail (FMH) is seeking an IT Security Specialist to lead advanced security operations, improve security control maturity, and strengthen the organization’s security posture. The role serves as a technical leader within security, overseeing complex incident investigations, guiding regulatory compliance efforts, optimizing enterprise security technologies, and mentoring junior team members. FMH is America’s Crop Insurance Company, headquartered in the United States and owned by the farmers it insures for over 125 years. The position is not eligible for work authorization sponsorship.

Requirements

Seven or more years of progressive experience in cybersecurity, security operations, or related technical roles, or an equivalent combination of education and/or experience.
Associate’s degree in Cybersecurity, Information Technology, Computer Science, MIS, or a related field.
Demonstrated experience leading incident investigations, administering enterprise security tools, and contributing to regulatory compliance programs.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree.
Intermediate- or advanced-level security certifications, such as CompTIA CySA+ or CASP+, GIAC certifications (GCIH, GCED, GCIA, etc.), CISSP, or cloud security certifications such as CCSP or Azure Security Engineer.

Responsibilities

Lead complex security incident investigations, including forensic analysis, root cause determination, and coordination of containment and recovery efforts.
Identify emerging threats, recommend mitigation strategies, and improve detection capabilities through monitoring logic and alert thresholds.
Administer, configure, and optimize enterprise security technologies, including SIEM, EDR/XDR, vulnerability management, email security, identity security, and cloud security solutions.
Evaluate security tool effectiveness, identify control weaknesses, and recommend improvements aligned with organizational standards and risk tolerance.
Coordinate the enterprise vulnerability management lifecycle, including scanning, risk-based prioritization, remediation tracking, validation, exception documentation, and reporting.
Collaborate with IT teams to address vulnerabilities and escalate overdue or high-risk findings.
Lead periodic access reviews, oversee privileged access, and improve identity security across Microsoft Entra ID, Azure, and other enterprise identity management platforms.
Monitor identity security configurations, authentication activities, Azure role-based access controls, application permissions, service principals, managed identities, and privileged access; coordinate remediation with IT teams and system owners.
Support compliance with applicable insurance cybersecurity laws, privacy requirements, organizational policies, and adopted security frameworks, including the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and CIS Controls.
Maintain security control documentation and audit evidence; identify control deficiencies; and support remediation tracking, policy reviews, risk assessments, third-party evaluations, and regulatory examinations.
Lead technical security process improvements, develop control procedures, and support incident response exercises and security initiatives.
Mentor and provide technical guidance to Security Specialists I and II, serve as a security subject matter expert, and collaborate with IT, compliance, and business teams to strengthen security practices and awareness.