Senior Director of Secure Identity Services – Virginia Tech

V T CORPORATE RESOURCE CTR; Blacksburg (VA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

V T CORPORATE RESOURCE CTR seeks a Senior Director of Secure Identity Services in Blacksburg, Virginia. This role requires an experienced leader to manage the university’s identity and access management ecosystem, ensuring secure access to systems and data.

The ideal candidate will support institutional goals while maintaining security and usability, and will have a Master’s degree along with significant IT leadership experience. Preferred candidates may also hold security certifications like CISSP or GIAC and have knowledge of relevant technologies.

Qualifications

• Master's degree or equivalent experience required.
• Experience with identity assurance and federated trust models.
• Significant strategic leadership experience in IT needed.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for the university's IAM ecosystem.
• Ensure identity services support institutional goals.
• Lead and manage change in secure access capabilities.

Skills

Leadership in information technology

Knowledge of information privacy and security practices

Excellent communication skills

Education

Master’s degree in a related field

Tools

SAML

LDAP directories

DevOps practices

Job description

Senior Director of Secure Identity Services – Virginia Tech

The Division of Information Technology at Virginia Tech seeks an experienced, talented, and driven leader to serve as Senior Director of Secure Identity Services (SIS). Secure Identity Services is responsible for the university’s enterprise identity and access management (IAM) ecosystem, including authentication services, access controls, identity governance, and related middleware that enable secure access to university systems, data, and services.

Reporting to the Associate Vice President for IT Security and Identity and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), the Senior Director provides strategic leadership, direction, and operational oversight for the university’s identity and access management capabilities. This role is critical as Virginia Tech continues to grow in scale and complexity, expands partnerships across Virginia and globally, and increases its reliance on secure, privacy-preserving access to digital services and data. The Senior Director ensures that identity services advance institutional goals while maintaining strong security, privacy, reliability, and usability.

Required Qualifications

• Master’s degree in a related field or equivalent education and work experience.
• Knowledge of and experience with information privacy and security practices, identity assurance, federated trust models, multifactor authentication, and middleware in higher education.
• Significant hands‑to‑senior‑level strategic leadership experience in information technology, including responsibility for enterprise‑level services.
• Proven ability to exercise sound judgment and timely decision‑making to accomplish organizational goals and respond to senior leadership, departments, and end users.
• Experience planning, analyzing, and evaluating programs, services, operational needs, and fiscal constraints.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and manage change.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, including collaboration with senior leadership.

Preferred Qualifications

• Security certification such as CISSP or SANS GIAC.
• Applied experience in information technology disciplines such as systems or application administration, information security, identity management, or software development.
• Experience developing, administering, and managing budgets.
• Experience managing large‑scale projects.
• Experience directing software development teams delivering secure enterprise solutions.
• Knowledge of SAML, CAS protocols, LDAP directories, web single sign‑on, DevOps practices, and cloud technologies.
• Involvement in national or international initiatives such as InCommon and TIER.

Additional Information

• Sponsorship is not available for this position.
• The successful candidate will be required to have a criminal conviction check.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Virginia Tech does not discriminate against employees, students, or applicants on the basis of age, color, disability, sex (including pregnancy), gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, ethnicity or national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, or military status, or otherwise discriminate against employees or applicants who inquire about, discuss, or disclose their compensation or the compensation of other employees or applicants, or on any other basis protected by law. If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact IT Human Resources at [e-mail] during regular business hours at least 10 business days prior to the event.