Director, Network Security Operations

Biopharma Careers; Sanford (NC); Hybrid; USD 177,000 - 294,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) Matching Contributions

Health benefits

Paid vacation

Paid holidays

Parental leave

Long-term incentive program

Job summary

Pfizer is seeking a Director of Network Security Operations to lead global security operations, governance, and incident response for a complex enterprise. You will oversee firewalls, IDS/IPS, VPNs, and NAC, while improving resilience, availability, and performance across on‑premises, cloud, and hybrid environments.

Ideal candidates bring 8+ years in security roles, 5+ years of leadership, and strong cloud security expertise, with a proven track record in regulated settings and agile

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field.
• 8+ years of progressive experience in network security or cybersecurity roles.
• 5+ years of leadership experience managing security teams or programs.
• Expertise with enterprise security technologies (firewalls, SIEM, IDS/IPS, NAC, VPN).
• Strong understanding of cloud security (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud).
• Experience with incident response, risk management, and regulatory compliance.
• Experience in large‑scale or highly regulated environments.
• Demonstrated experience in an agile work environment with collaboration and proactive problem-solving.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute Pfizer’s long‑term network security vision, roadmap, and policies with a focus on Zero Trust.
• Provide strategic guidance to executive leadership on threats, trends, and tech investments.
• Lead day‑to‑day delivery, monitoring, and improvement of global network security operations.
• Lead and develop a globally distributed team of network security professionals.
• Oversee operational management of network security technologies and services.
• Direct the operational response to network security events and incidents.
• Ensure services align with Pfizer requirements and regulatory frameworks (NIST, ISO 27001, CIS).
• Define and report KPIs, KRIs, SLIs, and control effectiveness to senior leadership.
• Address operational risks, gaps, and incidents through structured remediation.
• Partner with cross‑functional teams to transition capabilities into operations.
• Oversee third‑party providers and MSS to ensure performance and alignment.

Skills

Leadership

Zero Trust

Threat detection & response

Governance & metrics

Cross-functional collaboration

Agile approach

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field

Tools

Firewalls

SIEM

IDS/IPS

NAC

VPN

Job description

ROLE SUMMARY

Our Global Cyber Defense team is responsible for safeguarding Pfizer’s digital assets and infrastructure through proactive threat detection, response, and risk mitigation across on‑premises, cloud, and hybrid environments.

We are seeking an experienced Director, Network Security Operations to lead the day‑to‑day operations, monitoring, and continuous improvement of Pfizer’s network security capabilities. This individual is responsible for ensuring the resilience, availability, and performance of the network security services and controls that protect Pfizer’s global environment. The role provides leadership to operational teams responsible for supporting network security services, responding to security events, managing operational risk, and sustaining the performance of critical security technologies.

The Director will drive operational excellence through effective governance, service performance management, incident response coordination, and continuous improvement. This individual will partner closely with network security engineering, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and other cross‑functional teams to strengthen Pfizer’s overall security posture. The ideal candidate possesses strong leadership capabilities, deep expertise in network security operations, and a thorough understanding of Zero Trust principles and their practical application within a complex global enterprise environment.

ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop and execute Pfizer’s long‑term network security vision, roadmap, and policies with a particular focus on Zero Trust principles in partnership with the Network & Email Security Engineering lead.
• Provide strategic guidance to executive leadership on emerging threats, industry trends, and technology investments related to Pfizer’s network.
• Lead the day‑to‑day delivery, monitoring, and continuous improvement of Pfizer’s global network security operations, ensuring services and controls remain available, resilient, and effective.
• Lead and develop a high‑performing, globally distributed team of network security operations professionals, fostering accountability, collaboration, and operational excellence.
• Oversee the operational management of network security technologies and services, including firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, virtual private networks, secure network access controls, and related capabilities.
• Direct the operational response to network security events and incidents, including investigation, escalation, containment, service restoration, and post‑incident review.
• Ensure network security services and controls are operated in alignment with Pfizer requirements and applicable regulatory and industry frameworks, including NIST, ISO 27001, and CIS benchmarks.
• Define, monitor, and report key performance indicators, key risk indicators, service‑level measures, and control effectiveness metrics to senior leadership.
• Identify and address operational risks, service gaps, recurring incidents, and performance issues through structured remediation and continuous service improvement.
• Partner closely with network security engineering, cybersecurity operations, infrastructure, and other cross‑functional teams to transition new or enhanced capabilities into operations and strengthen detection, monitoring, and response.
• Oversee third‑party providers and managed security services supporting network security operations, ensuring performance, accountability, and alignment with Pfizer’s operational and security requirements.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field
• 8+ years of progressive experience in network security or cybersecurity roles
• 5+ years of leadership experience managing security teams or programs
• Expertise with enterprise security technologies (firewalls, SIEM, IDS/IPS, NAC, VPN)
• Strong understanding of cloud security (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud)
• Experience with incident response, risk management, and regulatory compliance
• Experience in large‑scale or highly regulated environments
• Demonstrated experience in an agile work environment possessing qualities such as a collaborative mindset, adaptability to change, and a proactive problem‑solving approach.
• Candidate demonstrates a breadth of diverse leadership experiences and capabilities including: the ability to influence and collaborate with peers, develop and coach others, oversee and guide the work of other colleagues to achieve meaningful outcomes and create business impact.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Professional certifications: CISSP, CCNP, GIAC, or similar
• Excellent strategic thinking
• Deeply analytical and credible
• Fact-based decision‑making
• Ability to challenge, influence, and support senior leadership
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• Ability to bring structure to vaguely defined problems and solve them with creative yet pragmatic approaches
• Resourceful, self‑motivated, and proactive – strong drive for excellence

NON-STANDARD WORK SCHEDULE, TRAVEL OR ENVIRONMENT REQUIREMENTS

• Travel as required by the business (less than 20% domestic and/or international)
• Work Location Assignment: Must be able to work in assigned Pfizer office 2‑3 days per week, or as needed by the business
• This role is NOT remote
• Work Location Assignment: Hybrid

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The annual base salary for this position ranges from $176,600.00 to $294,300.00. In addition, this position is eligible for participation in Pfizer’s Global Performance Plan with a bonus target of 20.0% of the base salary and eligibility to participate in our share based long term incentive program.

• 401(k) plan with Pfizer Matching Contributions and an additional Pfizer Retirement Savings Contribution
• paid vacation
• holiday
• personal days
• paid caregiver/parental and medical leave
• health benefits to include medical, prescription drug, dental and vision coverage
• share based long term incentive program

Learn more at Pfizer Candidate Site – U.S. Benefits | (uscandidates.mypfizerbenefits.com). Pfizer compensation structures and benefit packages are aligned based on the location of hire. The United States salary range provided does not apply to Tampa, FL or any location outside of the United States.

This role is posted in multiple locations. If you are applying for the role in an secondary job posting location where pay transparency regulations apply, your Talent Advisor will share the local pay information with you during the first interview.

Relocation assistance may be available based on business needs and/or eligibility.

Candidates must be authorized to be employed in the U.S. by any employer.

U.S. work visa sponsorship (such as TN, O-1, H-1B, etc.) is not available for this role now or in the future.

SUNSHINE ACT

Pfizer reports payments and other transfers of value to health care providers as required by federal and state transparency laws and implementing regulations. These laws and regulations require Pfizer to provide government agencies with information such as a health care provider’s name, address and the type of payments or other value received, generally for public disclosure. Subject to further legal review and statutory or regulatory clarification, which Pfizer intends to pursue, reimbursement of recruiting expenses for licensed physicians may constitute a reportable transfer of value under the federal transparency law commonly known as the Sunshine Act. Therefore, if you are a licensed physician who incurs recruiting expenses as a result of interviewing with Pfizer that we pay or reimburse, your name, address and the amount of payments made currently will be reported to the government. If you have questions regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact your Talent Acquisition representative.

EEO & Employment Eligibility

Pfizer is committed to equal opportunity in the terms and conditions of employment for all employees and job applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, gender identity or gender expression, national origin, disability or veteran status. Pfizer also complies with all applicable national, state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements of the Immigration and Nationality Act and IRCA. Pfizer is an E‑Verify employer. This position requires permanent work authorization in the United States.

Pfizer endeavors to make www.pfizer.com/careers accessible to all users. If you would like to contact us regarding the accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the application process and/or interviewing, please email [e-mail]. This is to be used solely for accommodation requests with respect to the accessibility of our website, online application process and/or interviewing. Requests for any other reason will not be returned.

To learn more about acceptable and prohibited uses of AI during the recruitment process, please review our candidate AI‑use guidelines available on Pfizer Careers.