"PAM Lead"

About the Department

The University of Southern California (USC) is advancing its cybersecurity posture with a renewed focus on resilience, cyber risk management, and threat-informed defense. As a world-class research institution, USC is building a culture of security that supports its academic and research mission in a rapidly evolving threat landscape. This role sits within a newly restructured cybersecurity organization thats leading this transformation. Youll join a team focused on scalable, proactive defense strategies, incident preparedness, and operational excellenceworking alongside experts who are deeply committed to service, innovation, and impact. If youre driven by purpose, thrive in complexity, and want to help shape the future of cybersecurity at a leading university, we invite you to bring your leadership to the table.

Position Summary

As the PAM Lead you will be an integral member of the cybersecurity department while also collaborating with stakeholders across the university ecosystem, and reporting to the Manager, PAM and SSO Services. This is a full-time exempt position, eligible for all of USCs fantastic Benefits + Perks. This opportunity is remote. The PAM Lead oversees the management and operations of CyberArk and secrets management solutions. Oversees the university Identity Governance and Administration product, managing projects, prioritizing tasks and directing engineering and operational activities. Ensures the security, integrity and efficient functioning of privileged access management systems. Collaborates with relevant stakeholders to ensure seamless integration of PAM processes.

The PAM Lead will:

• Manages PAM-related projects from inception to completion, ensuring timely delivery and adherence to budget. Oversees the design, development, and implementation of CyberArk and secrets management solutions.
• Leads the development and management of the IGA product roadmap, ensuring alignment with university goals. Prioritizes tasks and projects based on business needs, risk assessments and resource availability.
• Oversees the day-to-day operations of PAM systems to ensure optimal performance and security. Ensures the integration of PAM systems with other university systems and applications.
• Develops and enforce policies and procedures tailored to the university's privileged access management needs. Conducts regular risk assessments to identify and mitigate potential security risks.
• Collaborates with various departments (e.g., IT, HR, academic units) to meet regulatory requirements, and provides leadership and mentorship to a team of professionals, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and professional development.
• Encourages a workplace culture where all employees are valued, value others and have the opportunity to contribute through their ideas, words and actions, in accordance with the USC Code of Ethics.

Minimum Qualifications

Great candidates for the position of PAM Lead will meet the following qualifications: 5 years of experience in Identity and Access Management. A bachelors degree or combined experience and education as substitute for minimum education. Experience managing Privileged Access Management (PAM) systems, including CyberArk and other secrets management solutions. Proven experience in managing PAM-related projects from inception to completion, ensuring timely delivery and adherence to budget. Demonstrated ability to lead the development and management of an IAM product roadmap, ensuring alignment with organizational goals. In-depth knowledge of PAM systems and solutions (e.g., design, development, implementation). Experience in ensuring the integration of PAM systems with other organizational systems and applications. Experience developing and enforcing policies and procedures tailored to organizational privileged access management needs and conducting regular risk assessments to identify and mitigate potential security risks. Proven track record of overseeing day-to-day operations of PAM systems to ensure optimal performance and security. Strong collaboration skills to work effectively with IT, HR, academic departments and other stakeholders, along with excellent written and oral communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

Exceptional candidates for the position of PAM Lead will also bring the following qualifications or more: 7 years of related experience. A bachelors degree in information science or computer science or computer engineering or in related field(s); or combined experience/education as substitute for minimum education. Proven leadership experience. Experience managing PAM projects in a university environment. Relevant certifications, such as CISSP, CISM and product-specific certifications. In addition, the successful candidate must also demonstrate, through ideas, words and actions, a strong commitment to USCs Unifying Values of integrity, excellence, community, well-being, open communication, and accountability.

Salary and Benefits

The annual base salary range for this position is $150,433.13 to $168,158.88. When extending an offer of employment, the University of Southern California considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidates work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer alignment, federal, state, and local laws, contractual stipulations, grant funding, as well as external market and organizational considerations. To support the well-being of our faculty and staff, USC provides benefits-eligible employees with a broad range of perks to help protect their and their dependents health, wealth, and future. These benefits are available as part of the overall compensation and total rewards package.