Associate Director, Cybersecurity

Department: Information Technology

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Crystal Building 40 W20th St

Reporting To: Jay Haque

Compensation: $145,000 - $175,000 / year

Description

Overview
NYPL Technology supports the Library’s mission through robust IT services, including business applications, desktop support, networking, systems, and cybersecurity. The Cybersecurity team safeguards personally identifiable information (PII) and critical systems across the Library.

The Associate Director, Cybersecurity is a hands-on technical leader responsible for NYPL’s cybersecurity operations and team. This role requires both strategic oversight and direct execution — from managing security tools and incident response to communicating risks and building cross-functional alignment. The role also partners closely with the IT Policy and Strategy team to embed cybersecurity awareness and operational practices across the organization.
We are looking for someone we can count on to:
Own:

• Leadership of NYPL’s cybersecurity team and daily operations
• Technical architecture and administration of the cybersecurity ecosystem
• Relationships with business partners, vendors, and government entities
• Communication of cybersecurity posture to senior leadership
• Cybersecurity KPIs, OKRs, and roadmap planning

Teach:

• Mentor cybersecurity staff and build organization-wide awareness
• Guide teams in understanding and balancing risk
• Partner with IT and business units to promote security-by-design

Learn:

• The Library’s unique public-sector responsibilities and dynamics
• Evolving regulatory and community expectations
• How to right-size tools and processes for transparency, scale, and resilience

Improve:

• Operational efficiency and incident response maturity
• Cross-functional collaboration and communication
• Public trust in NYPL’s cybersecurity leadership

Some expectations for this role are that within:
1 month, this person will:

• Directly review current network topology, configurations, and circuit health across 90+ sites
• Log into and inspect FortiManager, FortiAnalyzer, and FortiGate firewall policies
• Validate AWS networking setup including VPN tunnels, security groups, and routing tables
• Shadow the team during real-time incident response and review escalated network tickets
• Assess monitoring and alerting workflows (SolarWinds, Cacti, etc.) for gaps or noise

3 months, this person will:

• Personally lead a review and cleanup of legacy switch/router configs and firewall rules
• Optimize alert thresholds and performance dashboards across network monitoring tools
• Audit AWS VPC structure and VPN connectivity for resiliency and best practices
• Introduce configuration or automation improvements based on early observations
• Report on baseline network health, ticket trends, and team responsiveness with recommendations

6 months and beyond, this person will:

• Architect and implement targeted improvements (e.g., circuit upgrades, core switch refresh, AWS route tuning)
• Lead technical planning for capital projects, wiring closet rebuilds, and site expansions
• Serve as Tier-3 hands-on escalation for complex or recurring network incidents
• Validate network security controls (segmentation, NAC, remote access) across all layers
• Deliver measurable gains in uptime, response time, and documentation maturity

Responsibilities

Core Responsibilities

• Develop and enforce cybersecurity policies, procedures, and standards
• Lead threat detection, investigation, and response efforts across the organization
• Administer and optimize NYPL’s cybersecurity tools, including EDR, NDR, and phishing defense platforms
• Analyze security alerts and threat intel to drive real-time response and containment
• Conduct hands-on technical reviews of security events, response workflows, and emerging risks
• Coordinate audits, tabletop exercises, and maturity assessments
• Report on cybersecurity posture, risk trends, and incidents to senior leadership

Collaboration & Communication

• Build alignment with stakeholders to balance security and operations
• Liaise with NYC Cyber Command, Physical Security, and law enforcement
• Advance cybersecurity awareness across the organization<