Principal Engineer I, Cyber - IT Security Governance

Western Alliance Bank • Phoenix, AZ

5d • Onsite

About The Position

As a Principal IT Security Governance Engineer, you will serve as a senior individual contributor responsible for leading and advancing the organization’s cybersecurity governance, risk management, and maturity initiatives. This role combines deep expertise in cyber risk, control design, CRI Profile maturity, and policy management with a strong understanding of modern engineering practices, data, automation, and AI-driven capabilities. You will drive complex, cross-functional initiatives that embed secure, compliant, and scalable practices into technology, data, and AI solutions, ensuring alignment with enterprise risk management objectives and regulatory expectations. This includes designing and implementing governance frameworks, control structures, and engineering-enabled solutions that enhance the effectiveness, consistency, and automation of risk assessments, RCSAs, and control monitoring. In this role, you will act as both a governance and technical authority, partnering closely with engineering, data, and risk teams to translate evolving technologies into defensible, regulator-ready processes, controls, and documentation. You will leverage data, automation, and AI to improve visibility into risk posture, drive operational efficiency, and enable sustained improvements in cybersecurity maturity and program scalability.

Requirements

• 8+ years of related experience in Cybersecurity, Information Security Governance, IT Risk, or Enterprise Risk Management.
• Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Risk Management, or a related field.
• Advanced to expert experience with: Cyber Risk Management frameworks (NIST CSF, CRI Profile, FFIEC, ISO 27001 principles).
• RCSAs, risk identification, control design, and residual risk assessment.
• Policy, standard, and procedure lifecycle management.
• Regulatory and audit engagement support in a financial services environment.
• Strong ability to translate complex technical and regulatory concepts into clear, defensible documentation.
• Proven experience managing cross functional initiatives with competing priorities.
• Expert speaking and writing communication skills.

Nice To Haves

• Masters or MBA in related field preferred.
• Demonstrated experience leveraging or governing AI/ML, automation, or advanced analytics within cybersecurity, risk, or compliance domains preferred.
• Strong understanding of data architectures, data flows, and system integrations, with the ability to assess associated cyber and privacy risks preferred.
• Familiarity with emerging regulatory expectations related to AI, model risk, and data usage in financial services preferred.
• Working knowledge of software engineering or scripting practices (e.g., Python, PowerShell, automation workflows) to support scalable governance solutions preferred.
• Strong analytical mindset with the ability to use data and automation to enhance risk identification, monitoring, and reporting preferred.
• Relevant industry certifications (e.g., CISA, CRISC, CISSP, CISM, CGEIT, ITIL) preferred.

Responsibilities

• Own and lead cybersecurity governance initiatives spanning risk identification, control design, policy management, and maturity improvement.
• Serve as a subject‑matter expert for cyber risk management, providing guidance on control effectiveness, risk treatment, and residual risk decisions.
• Drive execution of cybersecurity Risk & Control Self‑Assessments (RCSAs), ensuring alignment to ERM standards and regulatory expectations.
• Own and manage CRI Profile assessments, maturity scoring, evidence standards, and remediation tracking.
• Partner with technology, security, and risk teams to drive improved and sustained maturity gains.
• Maintain traceability between risks, controls, assessment results, and remediation activities.
• Lead the development, maintenance, and rationalization of cybersecurity policies, standards, and procedures in alignment with industry best practices (e.g., GLBA, FFIEC, NIST).
• Design, document, and maintain cyber risk statements, control descriptions, and control narratives suitable for audits and regulatory exams.
• Support internal audits, regulatory exams, and second line credible challenge through structured responses, evidence packaging, and issue management.
• Track and report on control performance, risk posture, and remediation progress using defined metrics and governance forums.
• Manage complex projects requiring coordination across IT, Information Security, ERM, Privacy, and Audit.
• Act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders on risk posture, maturity trends, and program health.
• Produce clear, executive‑ready artifacts including risk summaries, maturity dashboards, remediation roadmaps, and briefing materials.
• Develop and maintain automation solutions (e.g., scripting, workflow tools, AI-assisted processes) to improve efficiency of risk assessments, control testing, and evidence collection.
• Enable data-driven insights and reporting through engineering-oriented solutions (e.g., dashboards, metrics automation, control monitoring).
• Drive integration of AI and automation into RCSA, CRI assessments, and risk reporting processes to improve scalability, consistency, and accuracy.

Benefits

• Competitive salaries
• Ownership stake in the company
• Medical and dental insurance
• Time off
• A great 401k matching program
• Tuition assistance program
• An employee volunteer program
• A wellness program
• Opportunity to bolster business knowledge, learning the ins and outs of how successful companies operate and manage their finances, giving you invaluable hands-on experience to help grow your career!

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior