Senior Cyber Security Engineer
Number Positions: 2
Length: 6 Months
Location: TX Southlake(Candidate can sit in Phoenix/ Southlake/ Austin - preference is 4 days per week on-site)
Alternate Work Location: Phoenix or Austin
Does the position allow for the worker to be virtual/remote?: No
Looking for a candidate they can convert to Full - Time - Unable to sponsor Visa for FT candidate)
Client is launching a major workforce identity modernization initiative, transitioning authentication from on-premises Active Directory to Microsoft Entra cloud-based modern authentication.
This is a significant transformation of systems that have been in place for 20–25 years.
Key business objectives:
- Reduce reliance on on-premises infrastructure.
- Lower infrastructure and maintenance costs.
- Reduce manual support and administration.
- Modernize and strengthen internal workforce authentication.
This is strictly for internal workforce, not customer-facing applications.
Technical Skills to Prioritize
- Microsoft Entra ID: Strong, recent hands-on experience is especially important.
- Active Directory and hybrid identity architecture.
- IAM and identity modernization.
- SSO and modern authentication.
- Conditional Access.
- PowerShell, Terraform, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), and CI/CD.
- Cisco ISE experience is a plus.
Manager is looking for an architect who is genuinely hands-on, not someone who only has high-level architectural experience.
Key Responsibilities
- Identity Architecture & Strategy
- Design, implement, and maintain end-to-end Identity & Access Management architectures using Microsoft Entra ID and Active Directory.
- Establish a long‑term identity strategy aligned with business, security, and regulatory requirements.
- Architect secure hybrid identity models including Entra Connect, cloud sync strategies, and identity lifecycle automation.
- Drive adoption of Zero Trust identity principles, including continuous evaluation and least-privilege access.
- Microsoft Entra ID Expertise
- Lead design and optimization of Conditional Access policies, authentication flows, MFA, passwordless strategies (FIDO2, Windows Hello Business), and identity protection.
- Architect, standardize, and provide governoversight for Entra ID Governance capabilities—PIM, access reviews, entitlement management, custom roles, and segregation of duties.
- Oversee configuration of Entra applications, service principals, federations, SCIM provisioning, and SSO integrations (SAML/OIDC/OAuth2).
Active Directory (AD) & Hybrid Identity - Design secure, resilient, and scalable Active Directory forests, domains, GPO structures, and privileged access boundaries.
- Lead initiatives to modernize AD security posture (tiered administration models, privileged access isolationESAE cleans-up, delegated administration, and secure baselines).
- Implement AD hardening, lifecycle management, group governance, and remediation of legacy dependencies.
IAM Governance & Security - Develop identity standards, patterns, security baselines, and governance frameworks.
- Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements such as SOX, HIPAA, GDPR, ISO 27001, and internal audit controls.
- Provide guidance for RBAC/ABAC models, identity lifecycle management, privileged access governance, and application onboarding.
- Design identity controls that are auditable, measurable, and automatable, supporting internal risk assessments and regulatory compliance.
- Collaborate with cloud platform and DevSecOps teams to integrate identity controls into cloud landing zones, CI/CD pipelines, and enterprise architectures.
- Partner with security operations to integrate identity telemetry, threat detection, and incident response workflows.
Cross-Functional Collaboration - Work closely with Security Engineering, Application Owners, Cloud Platform Engineering & Architecture, and Infrastructure teams.
- Provide architectural direction during acquisition integration, cloud migrations, and modernization projects.
- Deliver architecture diagrams, roadmaps, threat models, and solution documentation.
Thought Leadership - Drive IAM as a shared enterprise platform, balancing security, user experience, and operational resiliency.
- Stay current with identity trends, Entra roadmap updates, and emerging threats.
- Recommend continuous improvement opportunities across authentication, authorization, and identity governance.
- Mentor engineers and guide best practices on identity design and operations.
Required Qualifications - 8+ years of experience in Identity & Access Management, architecture or engineering.
- Deep expertise in:
o Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD), Conditional Access, Identity Protection, Entra Governance
o Active Directory design, replication, DNS, GPO, PKI, delegation models
o SSO protocols: OAuth2, OIDC, SAML, WS-Fed
o Identity lifecycle automation and provisioning
o Zero Trust architecture principles - Strong knowledge of MFA, passwordless, risk-based policies, and authentication flows.
- Experience securing hybrid identity using Entra Connect, federation services, and cloud-only patterns.
- Expertise building Terraform IaC resources and guardrails for identity services through reusable modules and automated CI/CD pipelines.
- Proficiency with PowerShell or automation frameworks.
- Strong understanding of IAM risk management, audit requirements, and regulatory standards.
Preferred Qualifications - Microsoft certifications: SC-300, SC-100, AZ-305, or equivalent.
- Experience with:
o Privileged Access Workstations (PAW)
o Microsoft Identity Manager (MIM) or other ILM solutions
o Conditional Access advanced configurations and automation
o Enterprise-scale identity consolidation and domain migration projects
o Modern IAM stacks (SailPoint, CyberArk, Okta) - Background security architecture, threat modeling, or penetration testing related to identity systems.
Soft Skills - Exceptional communication and leadership capabilities.
- Ability to work across organizational boundaries with technical and executive stakeholders.
- Strong problem-solving, decision-making, and strategic thinking skills.
- Ability to simplify complex identity concepts into actionable guidance.
