Director, Enterprise Identity and Access Management

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 that’s leading this transformation. You’ll join a team focused on scalable, proactive defense strategies, incident preparedness, and operational excellence—working alongside experts who are deeply committed to service, innovation, and impact. 

If you’re 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 Director, Enterprise Identity and Access Management you will be an integral leader of the cybersecurity department while also collaborating with stakeholders across the university ecosystem and reporting to the Chief Information Security Officer. This is a full-time exempt position, eligible for all of USC’s fantastic Benefits + Perks. This opportunity is hybrid. 

The Director, Enterprise Identity and Access Management is responsible for designing and executing a comprehensive identity and access management strategy that integrates Zero Trust principles, extends identity governance to both human and non-human actors, and supports the university’s mission of innovation, security and operational excellence. Drives IAM initiatives that safeguard institutional assets, streamline access experiences and enable a secure digital transformation for faculty, staff, students and partners. Works collaboratively across all university departments to ensure that IAM technologies align with academic, research and operational needs while maintaining compliance with regulatory requirements. 

The Director, Enterprise Identity and Access Management will: 

• Develops and implements a forward-thinking IAM strategy that aligns with the university’s technological and cybersecurity goals. Drives the adoption of modern IAM principles such as Zero Trust and identity decentralization to secure access across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. Leads the university’s IAM program to maturity across CISA’s Zero Trust pillars (i.e., identity, device, network, application, data). Maintains professional currency. Advocates for innovative solutions. Participates in industry forums, conferences, and professional publications. Serves as an advisor to senior leadership on IAM trends and innovations, threat mitigation strategies related to access control, and ensuring alignment with institutional goals.    

• Leads the deployment of advanced IAM technologies (e.g., AI-driven access controls, adaptive authentication solutions,) while ensuring seamless integration with cloud-native, mobile, IoT, and multi-cloud platforms. Ensures IAM systems enable digital transformation initiatives, secure collaboration with external partners, and support academic, research, and administrative resource access.    

• Oversees the lifecycle of digital identities (e.g., provisioning, de-provisioning, role-based access control) for joiners, movers, leavers (JML) and non-human identities across systems, ensuring <