Identity and Access Management (IAM) Principal Engineer

The Identity and Access Management (IAM) Principal Engineer is responsible for providing leadership and technical subject matter expertise for all identity-related solutions at Verisign, including the architectural design, implementation, and ongoing optimization. In this role, you will play a critical part in shaping and managing our IAM strategy, implementing best practices, and ensuring the protection, security, and efficacy of our identity and access management systems. As a leader in our IAM team, you will collaborate with cross-functional teams and vendors, mentor junior engineers, engage with senior leadership, and drive innovation in IAM technologies.

Responsibilities:

• Serve as primary Identity and Access Management (IAM) technical expert, leading the implementation of the company’s IAM program across all products, solutions, and operations at Verisign.
• Develop the global IAM security strategy, architecture, and execution, aligning them with Verisign’s security goals and objectives.
• Brief senior leadership on IAM program roadmap progress, including project milestones, identified risks, security metrics, compliance, and offering strategic insights and recommendations.
• Create short and long-term IAM roadmaps to address gaps between current state and target state IAM architectures, promoting continuous improvement in our overall security program.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to design, deploy, integrate, and enhance AM, IGA, and PAM platforms.
• Work with product, engineering, security, and operations teams to design, develop, and implement enterprise wide IAM solutions.
• Engage with and manage existing IAM vendor relationships, assess potential solutions, and develop business cases for modern technology adoption and procurement.
• Lead the architectural design and scaling of IAM infrastructure, ensuring resilience, efficiency, and adaptability to emerging security challenges.
• Evaluate new IAM technologies, gathering requirements, defining use cases, conducting Proof of Concept (POC) tests, and document findings to assess both integration potential and operational feasibility.
• Ensure alignment with industry-standard IAM security frameworks such as NIST and CIS, aid in their implementation, and uphold CISA best practices throughout the organization.
• Provide hands-on technical administration of critical IAM systems and applications, ensuring optimal performance, integration, security, and delivering senior operational support.
• Mentor and guide junior engineers and technical teams, fostering a culture of continuous learning and best practices in identity security, compliance, and governance.
• Communicate the IAM security strategy effectively and drive the standardization and consistent application of security principles to all stakeholders.
• Develop comprehensive IAM security capabilities for workforce, customers, and business partners. This encompasses privileged account management, enterprise authentication, identity federation, identity governance, and enterprise certificates.

Qualifications and Preferred Expertise:

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, technology, or a related discipline.
• Relevant certifications such as CIAM, CISSP, or equivalent IAM vendor-specific certifications.
• 15+ years of related experience in an IT role, with specific focus on IAM security architecture, and a similar tenure in leading and motivating cross-functional teams.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, coupled with excellent communication and presentation capabilities.
• In-depth understanding of authentication and authorization mechanisms, including SSO, phishing-resistant MFA, and PAM, across on-premises, distributed, and SaaS environments.
• Expertise in designing and implementing IAM solutions: SSO, phishing-resistant MFA, IGA, PAM, integrations with various Identity Providers (IdPs), and IAM security protocols like SAML, OAuth, and OIDC.
• Hands-on experience with IAM vendor solutions such as AWS IAM, SailPoint, Ping Identity, and familiarity with PAM solutions.
• Skilled in designing and configuring IAM across complex global infrastructures for high availability, with an understanding of cyberattacks and proactive IAM defenses.

If you live in CO, CA, NY, Washington State the annualized pay range for this role is $171,200 - $231,600.

The anticipated annualized base salary range for this position is noted above, however, base pay offered may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, experience and location. Verisign offers a discretionary bonus which is based on individual and company performance, and certain roles may be eligible for discretionary stock awards.