Director of IT and Security

Department: Col of Engineering and Computing

Classification: Administrative Faculty

Job Category:Administrative or Professional Faculty

Job Type:Full-Time

Work Schedule:Full-time (1.0 FTE, 40 hrs/wk)

Location: Fairfax, VA andoccasional travel to other campuses

Workplace Type:Hybrid Eligible

Sponsorship Eligibility:Not eligible for visa sponsorship

Salary:Salary commensurate with education and experience

Criminal Background Check:Yes

About the Department:

The College of Engineering and Computing (CEC) is the largest academic unit at George Mason University with approximately 11,000 students and over 400 faculty and staff and annual research expenditures of over $80M.

The IT Department supports and administers all computing systems in the College of Engineering and Computing. The department coordinates with CEC faculty and staff to meet academic and research needs, and coordinates with George Mason central IT (ITS) and other George Mason entities as needed for operational continuity and constituent support.

George Mason University provides outstanding benefits to employees, including, but not limited to, a generous number of holidays and tuition remission. More information is available at

About the Position:

The Director of IT and Security serves as the Chief Technology Officer for the College of Engineering and Computing (CEC). The position is also responsible for developing and directing implementation of IT strategies, security, compliance, and best practices, and supervising department staff to support all IT functions within CEC or used by CEC constituents.

Responsibilities:

Strategic Planning and University Collaboration:

• Works with faculty and school administration to identify and plan for enrollment growth and changes in academic programs;
• Works with central IT department and other campus units to prepare for changes to systems, university policies, and regulations;
• Plans for needed changes in computing and networking infrastructure;
• Serves as subject matter expert and CEC advocate on university committees related to IT technology at George Mason, including, but not limited to, research computing support, pedagogical computing requirements, software management, classroom design and management, and security management;
• Disaster planning - in partnership with central IT, works to ensure that there is a plan for business continuity related to CEC IT systems and technology in event of a natural disaster;
• Emergency response - is responsible for managing and overseeing the emergency response plan related to CEC IT systems and technology;
• Maintains awareness of and plans for implementation of new technology;
• Provides advice to faculty and school administration on technology and security issues, including use of technology in research, course delivery on-line and on-campus, audio-visual equipment use, and technology use in labs;
• Identifies and prepares for changes in technology, government regulations, and higher education that may affect the role of the department in supporting the community; and
• Maintains awareness of changes in higher education landscape that will affect IT functions and support in CEC and GMU.

Supervisory -Directs Department Staff in Support of:

• Student and educational computing, including classrooms, computer labs, and software license acquisition and management;
• Faculty and staff computing needs, including advice on computer purchases and configuration, application support, and problem diagnoses and remediation;
• Faculty computing needs for teaching and research, to include advice on equipment and services acquisition and use through internal or public resources;
• Network management to provide computer connectivity and maintain systems security;
• Compliance with campus security and other policies and practices;
• Maintenance of inventory of CEC IT resources and assets (e.g., networks, servers, websites, and systems administrators);
• Room scheduling requests; and
• Fixed asset management including acquisition, replacement, and disposal.

Policy:

• Ensures compliance with federal, state, and George Mason policies, laws, and regulations, including export control restrictions and data security restrictions such as CUI, PCI, PII, HIPAA, FERPA, export controls, and ITAR;
• Educates CEC students, staff, and faculty on security risks and best practices;
• Educates CEC students, staff, and faculty on issues involving software license compliance and risks;
• Ensures policy and legal compliance on central campus systems where feasible;
• Supports campus work on security audit compliance;
• Works with CEC students, staff, and faculty to minimize risks to data, equipment, facilities, and community members, and mitigate any breaches; and
• Collaborates with campus entities on development of new policies.

Administrative - Works with Staff to:

• Monitor expenditures to align with budget;
• Intermediate with campus technology providers where needed;
• Work with technology and A/V vendors to develop and implement systems supporting teaching, research, and meetings;
• Work with vendors and appropriate campus resources in support of software acquisition and license compliance and management; and
• Manage the equipment life cycle, including replacement planning; and
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications:

• Master's degree in related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience;
• Considerable experience in enterprise technology management;
• Significant experience working with enterprise technology;
• Experience in department budget management;
• Experience in managing IT in an environment with multiple user hierarchical levels, such as in education and healthcare;
• Knowledge of computing support requirements in a diverse environment consisting of a user community performing in multiple roles (administrative, operational, teaching, research) and diverse platforms, both on premises and through public cloud providers. Transferable skills, such as from healthcare, government, or research facilities are acceptable;
• Knowledge of IT security management including regulatory and standards compliance (e.g., HIPAA, CUI, PII, FERPA, NIST, ISO);
• Knowledge of current cybersecurity issues and protocols;
• Superior customer service skills including ability to communicate and collaborate effectively with both technically-oriented and non-technical users;
• Goal oriented with ability to manage task-oriented staff;
• Ability to anticipate future needs and develop and implement strategy to meet them; and
• Ability to translate between "big picture" goals and details needed for implementation.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Terminal degree in related field;
• CISSP, GSEC, CCNA; Microsoft Certified: Cybersecurity Architect Expert; Microsoft Certified: Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate, RHCSA;
• Experience working with technology in support of higher education;
• Experience working in education, especially in higher education with a research orientation;
• Experience in network management and/or configuration;
• Experience in Windows or Linux systems administration;
• Experience in software license administration;
• Experience in IT support center management;
• Proof of knowledge of IT-related fields through one or more certifications; and
• Knowledge of government contracting procedures.

Instructions to Applicants:

For full consideration, applicants must apply for the Director of IT and Security at Complete and submit the online application to include three professional references with contact information, and provide a cover letter and resume for review.

Posting Open Date: October 28, 2025

For Full Consideration, Apply by: November 17, 2025

Open Until Filled:Yes

A Force for Innovation in the Heart of Northern Virginia's Technology Corridor

About the College:

The College of Engineering and Computing (CEC) at George Mason University is a fast-growing force for innovation in research and education. Ranked nationally in the top 100 in both undergraduate and graduate education, the CEC enrolled a record high of 10,933 students in fall 2023. The college has 34 undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degree programs including several first-in-the-nation offerings. Of its 320 full-time faculty, 93 are tenured, 77 are tenure-track, 90 are term faculty, and 60 are research faculty. As part of a nationally ranked research university, CEC research teams expended $65 million in sponsored research awards in the past year and had projects with over $119 million in current and anticipated awards. The college stands out for its leading research in areas such as artificial intelligence, data analytics engineering, cybersecurity engineering, biomedical imaging and devices, healthcare, autonomous systems, 5G/Next G communications, systems architecture, computational biomedicine, advanced materials and manufacturing, sustainable infrastructure, and more. The college encourages and supports multidisciplinary research and provides ample opportunity for faculty to work with other disciplines.

About the University and the Region:

George Mason University is the largest and most diverse public research university in Virginia, with an enrollment of more than 40,000 students studying in over 200 degree programs. Mason is an innovative, entrepreneurial institution with national distinction in a range of academic fields. It was classified as an R1 research institution in 2016 by the Carnegie Classifications of Institutes of Higher Education. The university has campuses in Fairfax, Arlington, and Prince William County. Its proximity to Washington, D.C. provides unmatched geographical access to federal agencies and national laboratories. Northern Virginia is also home to one of the largest concentrations of high-tech firms in the nation, providing excellent opportunities for interaction with industry. The region is consistently rated as being among the best places to live in the country and has an outstanding local public school system.

About the Future:

In conjunction with Amazon's decision to establish a second headquarters in Northern Virginia, the Commonwealth of Virginia announced a multi-year plan to invest in the growth of degree programs in computing. As a result, Mason has committed to accelerate its plans to grow its capacity in computing and high-tech fields. Among the university's exciting initiatives are the launch of the Institute for Digital Innovation-a university think tank and incubator to serve the digital economy-and the expansion of Mason Square, home to its Arlington facilities. In 2025, Fuse, a new 355,000 square foot building, will open to students, faculty, and research teams. This net-zero facility will house the Institute for Digital Innovation, state-of the-art classrooms, labs, and collaborative spaces. It will also include retail space, and leasing opportunities for local businesses. These initiatives reflect hundreds of millions of dollars in new investment by Mason that will rapidly elevate the university's already leading national position in computing and related areas.