Associate Director, Cybersecurity Engineering

MSD Malaysia; Rahway (NJ); On-site; USD 142,000 - 224,000; Full time

Job summary

Merck & Co., Inc. in Rahway, NJ, seeks a PAM Team Lead (R4 - Associate Director) to own strategy, engineering delivery, and governance of privileged access and secrets management.

You will lead a global PAM engineering team and partner with IAM product, security, and business stakeholders to advance Zero Trust and reduce cyber risk. You will design scalable PAM solutions, implement least-privilege and just-in-time access models, and drive continuous improvement across environments, while

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience required.
• 10+ years in cybersecurity or IAM, with 7+ years PAM focus.
• Experience leading security engineering teams in a large organization.

Responsibilities

• Own and execute the enterprise PAM roadmap aligned with cybersecurity strategy.
• Define and maintain PAM standards and governance practices.
• Develop and present PAM posture, risk metrics, and remediation plans to leadership and audit stakeholders.
• Lead the design and delivery of enterprise PAM and secrets management capabilities.
• Mentor and develop the PAM engineering team and promote Agile practices.
• Partner with IAM Product Owner to manage backlog and ensure health of PAM services.

Skills

Cybersecurity

IAM

PAM

Leadership

Agile methodologies

Jira

Communication

Active Directory

Cloud (AWS/Azure/GCP)

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Delinea

CyberArk

HashiCorp Vault

Kubernetes

Active Directory

Job description

Job Description Privileged Access Management (PAM) Team Lead (R4 - Associate Director) Role Summary The Privileged Access Management (PAM) Team Lead owns the strategy, engineering execution, service health, and continuous improvement of our company's privileged access and secrets management capabilities. The role leads a global PAM engineering team and partners with the IAM Product team, architecture, cybersecurity, and business stakeholders to advance Zero Trust and meet business, regulatory, and operational needs. This role combines people leadership, engineering delivery, technical strategy, and governance to reduce cyber risk and strengthen enterprise identity security.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy & Governance

Own and execute the enterprise PAM roadmap aligned with our company's cybersecurity strategy, Zero Trust objectives, and identity security initiatives. Define and maintain PAM standards and governance practices in partnership with security, risk, and architecture teams. Develop and present PAM posture, risk metrics, and remediation plans to leadership, governance, and audit stakeholders. Partner across teams to prioritize PAM adoption, expand privileged access controls and remediate risk.

Engineering

Lead the design and delivery of enterprise PAM and secrets management capabilities. Modernize privileged access through risk-based, least-privilege, and just-in-time access models. Translate PAM strategy into scalable designs, standards, and patterns across all environments. Lead evaluations of new PAM technologies based on need, risk, architectural fit, and cost. Oversee remediation of PAM vulnerabilities, control gaps, audit findings, and technical debt.

People Leadership & Collaboration

Lead daily PAM engineering activities, drive execution, remove delivery barriers, and develop team capabilities. Promote Agile ways of working and continuous improvement. Mentor and influence the team’s personal and professional development.

Product & Delivery Management

Partner with the IAM Product Owner to manage the backlog aligned with OKRs and team capacity. Be accountable for the health, stability, and continuous improvement of PAM services. Partner with stakeholders to ensure capabilities meet business and security needs while reducing risk.

Education Requirement

Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent experience), preferably in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field.

Required Skills & Experience

• 10+ years of experience in cybersecurity or Identity and Access Management (IAM), including at least 7 years focused on Privileged Access Management (PAM).
• Experience leading and developing security engineering teams within a large, global organization.
• Strong understanding of enterprise PAM and secrets management platforms (e.g., Delinea, CyberArk, BeyondTrust, and/or HashiCorp Vault).
• Hands-on knowledge of PAM solutions supporting Windows, UNIX/Linux, and databases.
• Experience delivering solutions using Agile methodologies and collaborating with Product Owners using tools such as Jira.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to effectively translate complex technical concepts, risks, and recommendations for technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Preferred Experience & Skills

• Hands-on experience with identity platforms such as Active Directory, Microsoft Entra ID, cloud identity services, and/or HashiCorp Vault.
• Hands-on knowledge of PAM solutions operating in multi-cloud environments (AWS, Azure, and GCP) and Kubernetes platforms.
• Familiarity with ServiceNow for incident and change management processes.
• Experience automating administrative and operational tasks using PowerShell or similar technologies.
• Strong understanding of cybersecurity fundamentals, secure SDLC practices, Zero Trust principles, and cloud-native security controls.
• Knowledge of industry standards and frameworks such as NIST, ITIL, and modern identity security practices.
• Experience working in healthcare, life sciences, or other highly regulated industries.
• Industry-recognized certifications such as CISSP, Security+, or comparable credentials.

Required Skills

• Application Security
• Cloud Security
• Cybersecurity Operations
• Data Protection
• Delivery of Security Applications
• Design Applications
• DevOps Coaching
• Influence
• Information Security
• SLA Management
• System Designs
• Technical Advice
• Zero Trust Identity

US and Puerto Rico Residents Only

US and Puerto Rico Residents Only

San Francisco Residents Only

We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance

Los Angeles Residents Only

We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance

Search Firm Representatives

Please Read Carefully Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities.

All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company.

No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place.

Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific.

Please, no phone calls or emails.

Our Company

Our company is a global health care leader with a diversified portfolio of prescription medicines, vaccines and animal health products. The difference between potential and achievement lies in the spark that fuels innovation and inventiveness; this is the space where we have codified our legacy for over a century. Our success is backed by ethical integrity, forward momentum, and an inspiring mission to achieve new milestones in global healthcare.

Salary and Benefits

The salary range for this role is $142,400.00 - $224,100.00 This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. An employee’s position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, government requirements, and business or organizational needs. The successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits. Available benefits include medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, including 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days. More information about benefits is available at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits.