Sr Manager IT, Security Operations

Mattel•El Segundo, CA

About The Position

The Senior Manager, Security Operations is responsible for the strategy, governance, and operational oversight of Mattel's global Security Operations program. This role provides organizational leadership and strategic direction to ensure the effective detection, investigation, response, and recovery from cybersecurity threats across Mattel's global enterprise. As a senior cybersecurity leader, this position owns Mattel's enterprise Security Operations capability, delivered through a combination of internal cybersecurity teams and strategic Managed Detection and Response (MDR) service providers. The role is accountable for Security Operations governance, cyber incident response, cyber investigations, threat intelligence, detection engineering, identity threat detection, and third-party security incident management while ensuring operational excellence across endpoint, identity, cloud, and third-party environments. The Senior Manager develops the long-term vision and roadmap for Security Operations, driving continuous improvement through automation, AI, intelligence-led operations, and strategic partnerships with managed security service providers. The role ensures Mattel maintains a resilient, scalable, and modern cyber defense capability aligned with business priorities and enterprise risk management. The Senior Manager partners closely with Infrastructure, Network Security, Identity & Access Management, Endpoint Security, Enterprise Architecture, Cloud Engineering, Legal, Privacy, Internal Audit, Enterprise Risk Management, Procurement, Human Resources, and business leaders to reduce cyber risk and strengthen Mattel's cyber resilience. The Senior Manager serves as Mattel's Cyber Incident Manager during major cybersecurity incidents, directing enterprise-wide response efforts, executive communications, cross-functional investigations, and coordination with strategic MDR providers. The role continuously enhances Security Operations through operational governance, automation, AI, and adoption of industry best practices, including the MITRE ATT&CK Framework, NIST Cybersecurity Framework, and Zero Trust principles.

Requirements

10+ years of progressive experience in cybersecurity, including Security Operations, Incident Response, or Cyber Defense.
5+ years of leadership experience managing global cybersecurity operations teams within large, multinational organizations.
Proven experience leading enterprise Security Operations programs, including Security Operations Centers (SOC), Managed Detection and Response (MDR), and cyber incident response organizations.
Demonstrated experience serving as Incident Manager during major cybersecurity incidents.
Experience leading complex cyber investigations and coordinating cross-functional response activities.
Experience managing third-party security incidents involving cloud providers, SaaS platforms, strategic vendors, and supply chain partners.
Experience leading enterprise Security Operations delivered through Managed Detection and Response (MDR) providers, including vendor governance, service transitions, operational performance management, and executive stakeholder engagement.
Strong knowledge of enterprise Security Operations technologies and practices, including: Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR), Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR), Managed Detection & Response (MDR), Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) and Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR), Threat Intelligence Platforms, Detection Engineering, Threat Hunting.
Knowledge of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and NIST SP 800-61 Incident Handling.
Strong executive communication, stakeholder management, organizational leadership, and decision-making skills.
Demonstrated ability to lead through ambiguity while making sound operational and strategic decisions.

Responsibilities

Lead Mattel's global Security Operations program, including strategic oversight of Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services, cyber incident response, cyber investigations, threat intelligence, detection engineering, and Security Operations governance.
Define and execute the strategic roadmap for Security Operations, aligning with Mattel's cybersecurity strategy, enterprise architecture, cloud transformation, and business priorities.
Lead and develop a high-performing Security Operations organization responsible for strategic planning, governance, cyber incident leadership, engineering, and vendor management.
Establish governance, operational standards, playbooks, and best practices for enterprise detection, investigation, response, and operational excellence.
Drive continuous improvement of Security Operations maturity through automation, AI, operational metrics, intelligence-led operations, and process optimization.
Develop and manage Security Operations budgets, resource planning, vendor investments, and strategic initiatives.
Build organizational capabilities that support Mattel's long-term cybersecurity strategy and evolving operating model.
Present Security Operations posture, service performance, cyber risk, and strategic initiatives to executive leadership and cybersecurity governance forums.
Influence cross-functional stakeholders to align Security Operations priorities with enterprise risk management and business objectives.
Own the strategy, governance, and operational performance of Mattel's Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services.
Lead operational governance of one or more strategic MDR providers, ensuring alignment with Mattel's cybersecurity strategy and risk objectives.
Define service-level objectives (SLOs), key performance indicators (KPIs), escalation procedures, operational playbooks, and service governance processes.
Define and maintain clear operational ownership, escalation paths, and decision authority between internal cybersecurity teams and external MDR providers.
Conduct regular operational reviews and Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) with MDR providers to continuously improve detection quality, investigation effectiveness, response performance, and overall service maturity.
Coordinate high-severity cybersecurity incidents jointly with MDR providers and Mattel's internal technology, infrastructure, identity, cloud, legal, privacy, and business teams.
Evaluate service provider performance through operational metrics such as Mean Time to Detect (MTTD), Mean Time to Respond (MTTR), detection quality, investigation effectiveness, SLA compliance, escalation effectiveness, and overall customer experience.
Lead service transitions, continuous improvement initiatives, and operational enhancements as Mattel evolves its Security Operations capabilities.
Manage strategic vendor relationships, contracts, and operational performance to ensure consistent delivery of high-quality Security Operations services.
Lead Mattel's response to cybersecurity incidents involving third-party vendors, SaaS providers, cloud service providers, managed service providers, manufacturing partners, logistics providers, and other strategic business partners.
Coordinate assessment, investigation, containment, remediation, and recovery activities for third-party security incidents affecting Mattel.
Leverage Recorded Future third-party intelligence to assess the potential impact of supplier, cloud, and supply chain security incidents.
Partner with Vendor Risk Management, Procurement, Legal, Privacy, Enterprise Risk Management, and business stakeholders to evaluate business impact and coordinate response activities.
Serve as Mattel's primary cybersecurity point of contact during significant third-party security events.
Ensure contractual obligations, regulatory notifications, executive communications, and remediation activities are effectively managed.
Develop governance, playbooks, and escalation procedures for third-party security incident management and supply chain cyber risk.