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.