Senior Director Analyst, Data Security (Remote North America)

What you’ll do:

As a Senior Director, Analyst, you will meet with clients every day, via video conference and sometimes onsite at Gartner conferences. As an analyst, you will engage with clients to support their most challenging business initiatives, ultimately helping them to make the right decisions for their role and their business.  To support these conversations, you will research markets, practices, and trends and produce written research for Gartner clients to download and apply. You will collaborate with peers and become a published author on Gartner.com, showcasing your own thought-leading research, growing your knowledge, and your brand as a Gartner Analyst.

• Conduct research and analysis in data security, with a focus on interdisciplinary use cases such as design, technologies, and strategies to enable secure data access through attribute-based access control (ABAC) and role-based access control (RBAC), the securing of data in the age of Generative AI, multi-cloud environments, and considerations of regulatory demands pertaining to data residency and privacy.

• Respond to client questions and deliver high-quality quality actionable advice through a variety of media. 

• Write high-quality, clear, actionable, insight documents focused on the strategic and practical considerations of data security programs and technologies. 

• Predict how data security markets are developing, help clients in their selection process, and provide feedback to vendors on emerging trends in buyer needs.

• Through peer collaboration from the data security, privacy, and identity and access management teams, remain ahead of the curve on developments and issues within these specified areas.

• Proactively work with the wider sales organization and deliver outstanding sales support in order to retain and grow the business

What you’ll need: 

It helps to be obsessed with your topic! Gartner analysts are correctly viewed as THE experts. This means you will need to further develop your knowledge of your markets, vendors, trends, and management practices. Gartner Analysts are team players who value expert insights, bold ideas and intellectual courage. 

• Subject matter expertise in data security technologies that enable scalable implementation and management of data security objectives, such as Data Security Posture Management, Data Security Platforms and Data Loss Prevention tools.  

• Help us see the future & be creative. You must be a lifelong learner with foundational knowledge and experience in data security, data privacy, access controls for data and Cybersecurity in general.

• An understanding of data and cloud security concepts and markets, including ensuring the security of data for human and machine identities and across cloud infrastructure.

• Familiarity with the Data Loss Prevention capabilities of vendors like Microsoft, Zscaler, Netskope, CrowdStrike, and Palo Alto Networks

• Familiarity with data security considerations for cloud, SaaS and on-premise environments and how they are impacted by privacy and identity governance requirements.

• Deep understanding of Generative AI and the use of AI Agents, including familiarity with retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), IAM dependencies, and related data security concepts.

• Fundamentals of Data Security, for example:

  • Data Classification: Understanding of policies and frameworks for data classification and emerging technologies, such as the use of AI to improve efficiency and accuracy 

  • Data Discovery: 

  • Data Security Risks introduced by Generative AI, specifically the protection of data within Large Language Models (LLMs)

  • Understanding and experience with the intersection of Data Security and Identity and Access Management to achieve attribute, policy and role-based access controls for data

  • Data Security Governance: Understanding of the best practices for security to effectively work with other stakeholders in the business, including compliance, IT, and data & analytics.

• Security Principles and Practices:

  • Knowledge of Security Standards: Familiarity with standards and regulations like NIST, ISO, and CISA

• Compliance and Regulatory Considerations:

  • Compliance and Regulations: Awareness of laws and regulations related to cryptography, such as export controls an