Senior Systems Engineer, Vulnerability Management

Biopharma Careers; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 103,000 - 141,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Retirement plan

Paid vacation

Holidays & leave

Parental/maternity leave

Health benefits

Job summary

Neurocrine Biosciences seeks a hands-on Senior Systems Security Engineer to plan, implement, and drive enterprise security posture across Linux, Windows, cloud, and hybrid environments. You will lead vulnerability management, patch automation, and policy‑driven controls, serving as a key liaison to Cybersecurity, IT, and Compliance teams.

The role emphasizes KPI reporting and audit readiness. Responsibilities include scaling patch management (AWS, Azure, on‑prem), SOPs, and continuous

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree with 4+ years of relevant systems engineering or systems administration experience.
• Hands‑on experience patching enterprise Linux/Windows in large environments.
• Experience with automation scripting and configuration management tooling.
• Familiar with regulatory frameworks and audit readiness (GxP, SOX).
• Strong written and verbal communication for SOPs and audit evidence.

Responsibilities

• Lead and drive enterprise vulnerability remediation across Linux, Windows, cloud, and hybrid environments.
• Plan and implement security patches with testing, sequencing, rollback, and validation.
• Translate vulnerability findings into actionable remediation plans with owners and timelines.
• Develop and maintain SOPs, change controls, and evidence repositories for audits.
• Collaborate with Cybersecurity, IT, and Compliance to ensure compliant execution.

Skills

Security patching

Vulnerability remediation

Automation

OS hardening

Scripting (Python/Bash/PowerShell)

Audit readiness

KPI reporting

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information technology, systems engineering, or related field

Master’s degree in computer science/engineering or related field

Tools

AWS Systems Manager Patch Manager

WSUS

SCCM/Intune

Ansible

Job description

Who We Are:

Neurocrine Biosciencesis a leading biopharmaceutical company with a simple purpose: to relieve suffering for people with great needs. We are dedicated to discovering, developing and commercializing life-changing treatments for patients with under-addressed neurological, psychiatric, endocrine and immunological disorders. The company's diverse portfolio includes FDA-approved treatments for tardive dyskinesia, chorea associated with Huntington's disease, classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia, hyperphagia in Prader-Willi syndrome, endometriosis* and uterine fibroids*, as well as a robust pipeline including multiple compounds in mid- to late-phase clinical development across our core therapeutic areas. For more than three decades, we have applied our unique insight into neuroscience and the interconnections between brain and body systems to treat complex conditions. We relentlessly pursue medicines to ease the burden of debilitating diseases and disorders, because you deserve brave science. For more information, visit neurocrine.com , and follow the company on LinkedIn , X , Facebook and YouTube . ( *in collaboration with AbbVie )

About the Role:

This is a hands-on, automation-driven senior systems security engineering role responsible for planning, implementing, and driving enterprise technology infrastructure security posture and regulatory compliance readiness across Linux, Windows, cloud, on-prem, and hybrid environments. The engineer serves as a senior technical resource for enterprise infrastructure vulnerability management, overseeing the process from initial alert through remediation and closure verification. The role also develops and improves patch automation using scripting, configuration management, and orchestration, while continuously evaluating tools and processes to adapt to changes in the infrastructure and threat landscape. The engineer applies deep systems engineering and enterprise systems administration expertise to plan and execute security patches, and translates Cybersecurity policy requirements into implemented, auditable controls, establishing KPIs to measure and report progress against security risk remediation goals. The engineer also establishes and maintains Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and change management controls to ensure infrastructure security changes are consistently documented and traceable. This provides objective evidence for security and access control audits while maintaining continuous organizational audit readiness. This role serves as a key technical resource and liaison between Cybersecurity, IT business partners, Internal Audit, and Compliance/Quality functions, ensuring that security requirements are operationalized consistently and remediation work is tracked to closure with measurable outcomes.

Your Contributions (include, but are not limited to):

• Security Automation and Vulnerability Management at Scale

  Lead complex infrastructure vulnerability remediation efforts and continuously improve the tools and automation used to detect, remediate, and verify security findings across Linux, Windows, cloud, network, and hybrid infrastructure

  Plan and implement security patches across enterprise Linux and Windows server environments, including patch testing, sequencing, rollback planning, and post patch validation

  Lead and coordinate the enterprise vulnerability remediation program across cloud (AWS/Azure), on prem, and hybrid infrastructure, prioritizing based on risk severity, exploitability, and business impact

  Design and implement a scalable patch management framework across AWS, Azure, and hybrid infrastructure including Linux and Windows servers, network devices, and platform services, reducing reliance on manual, one-off remediation efforts

  Apply enterprise systems administration expertise (OS hardening, configuration management, service dependencies) to assess patch impact and minimize disruption to production systems

  Partner with Cybersecurity to translate vulnerability scan findings and audit action items into clear, actionable remediation plans with committed timelines and owners

  Extend vulnerability management support to the application layer, partnering with Business teams and application owners to identify, prioritize, and drive remediation of application vulnerabilities alongside infrastructure remediation efforts

  Administer and enhance the organization’s automation platforms, including AWS Systems Manager (SSM) Patch Manager, and integrate them with other automation and orchestration tools to scale vulnerability detection, patching, remediation tracking, and closure verification across AWS, Azure, and hybrid environments

  Develop and maintain KPIs and reporting mechanisms (e.g., patch compliance rate, mean time to remediate, aging of open findings, risk trend over time) to measure and communicate progress of security risk remediation efforts to leadership and governance forums

  Coordinate remediation activities across Technology Infrastructure, Network Engineering, Cloud Engineering, and Scientific Systems teams to ensure consistent execution and minimal disruption to operations

  Continuously identify opportunities to shift from reactive, one-off patching toward standardized, repeatable, and automated remediation processes

• Change Management, SOPs, and Audit Readiness

  Establish and maintain security vulnerability management SOPs, work instructions, and documentation standards for infrastructure security changes to ensure consistent, compliant execution across all systems

  Implement, maintain and monitor controls designed to ensure infrastructure security changes (network, cloud, compute, storage, identity, and security configuration) are documented, approved, and traceable end to end

  Build and maintain a long-term remediation evidence repository (change records, approvals, exceptions, risk acceptance artifacts, testing/validation artifacts, access reviews) that supports objective evidence for internal and external audits

  Partner with Quality/Compliance and Cybersecurity to ensure change management and access control processes meet applicable regulatory requirements (e.g., GxP, SOX, data integrity) and industry frameworks

  Lead or support periodic access reviews, control self-assessments, and audit response activities, ensuring evidence is complete, current, and readily retrievable

  Identify and close gaps between current operational practices and documented SOPs; drive continuous improvement of change and compliance processes as environments evolve

  Serve as a key point of contact during internal and external audits related to security and access controls, coordinating evidence gathering and responses across infrastructure teams

• Cross-Functional Collaboration and Governance

  Serve as a senior technical liaison among Cybersecurity, Enterprise Technology Infrastructure, and IT business partners to translate security and compliance requirements into practical technical controls while supporting clear ownership, accountability, and operational execution

  Provide technical input on cybersecurity policies and controls, assessing whether requirements are proportionate to business risk, technically sustainable at scale, and balanced against user experience and operational efficiency. Recommend practical, risk-based alternatives where controls introduce unnecessary friction or complexity

  Participate in architecture and change advisory reviews to ensure security and compliance requirements are addressed early in design rather than retrofitted after implementation

  Support the definition of RACI models and outcome-based security requirements so that policy ownership (Cyber) and implementation ownership (Infrastructure) remain clear

  Contribute to the enterprise system security control baseline, including closing or formally risk accepting legacy assessment action items

  Mentor and provide guidance to engineers on secure configuration standards, patching best practices, and documentation discipline

  Other duties as assigned

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Technology, Systems Engineering, or a related technical field and 4+ years of relevant systems engineering or systems administration experience, OR
• Master’s degree in computer science/engineering or a related technical field and 2+ years of experience as listed above, OR
• 8+ years of a relevant combination of technical education, certifications, training and systems engineering experience
• Relevant experience should include enterprise Linux and/or Windows server environments and security patching, vulnerability remediation, automation, or IT compliance. Demonstrated hands‑on experience administering and patching enterprise systems and developing automation for patch deployment or remediation (scripting or configuration management tooling) is required
• Relevant certifications such as CISSP, CISM, CompTIA Security+, RHCE, Microsoft Certified: Windows Server, or ITIL Foundation are preferred but not required
• Hands‑on technical expertise planning and implementing security patches in both Linux and Windows enterprise server environments, including patch testing, staging, deployment sequencing, and rollback procedures
• Demonstrated experience working as a Systems Engineer or Systems Administrator, with strong working knowledge of enterprise system administration: OS configuration, hardening, service and dependency management, and performance/stability considerations during patch cycles
• Strong understanding of the vulnerability management lifecycle: identification, prioritization, remediation, and verification across AWS, Azure, and hybrid infrastructure
• Working knowledge of application‑layer vulnerability management sufficient to partner effectively with Business teams and application owners on remediation prioritization and timelines, complementing infrastructure‑focused remediation work
• Experience with cloud and hybrid patch/automation tooling particularly AWS Systems Manager (SSM) Patch Manager and Azure equivalents alongside Windows (e.g., WSUS, SCCM/Intune) and Linux (e.g., package management, Ansible, Satellite/Landscape or equivalent) tooling and network devices
• Demonstrated experience administering and continuously improving automation platforms such as AWS Systems Manager (SSM) Patch Manager integrated with other automation and orchestration tools (scripting in Python/Bash/PowerShell, configuration management tools) to scale vulnerability management, patching, and remediation across AWS, Azure, and hybrid server fleets
• Working knowledge of change management frameworks (ITIL or similar) and experience operating within ITSM platforms such as ServiceNow
• Familiarity with regulatory and compliance frameworks relevant to a regulated environment (e.g., GxP, SOX, data integrity requirements, 21 CFR Part 11 concepts) and their translation into technical and procedural controls
• Experience developing SOPs, work instructions, and audit‑ready documentation for technology operations
• Understanding of identity and access management principles, access certification processes, and least privilege concepts
• Familiarity with cloud and network security tooling (e.g., Cisco Catalyst Center, vulnerability scanners, cloud security posture management tools)
• Ability to define measurable KPIs and turn remediation data into clear progress reporting for technical and leadership audiences
• Experience supporting or leading audit response activities, including evidence collection and remediation tracking
• Strong organizational and documentation discipline, with attention to detail and consistency
• Strong written communication skills for SOPs, audit evidence, and leadership reporting
• Ability to work cross functionally across Cybersecurity, Infrastructure, Network, Cloud, and Compliance/Quality teams
• Analytical and problem‑solving skills to prioritize remediation work based on risk and business impact
• Comfortable operating in a fast paced, growing, regulated environment with evolving priorities
• Project management skills to track multi team remediation and documentation efforts to closure

Neurocrine Biosciences is an EEO/Disability/Vets employer.

We are committed to building a workplace of belonging, respect, and empowerment , and we recognize there are a variety of ways to meet our requirements. We are looking for the best candidate for the job and encourage you to apply even if your experience or qualifications don’t line up to exactly what we have outlined in the job description.

The annual base salary we reasonably expect to pay is $103,300.00-$141,000.00. Individual pay decisions depend on various factors, such as primary work location, complexity and responsibility of role, job duties/requirements, and relevant experience and skills. In addition, this position offers an annual bonus with a target of 20% of the earned base salary and eligibility to participate in our equity based long term incentive program.

• retirement savings plan (with company match)
• paid vacation
• holiday and personal days
• paid caregiver/parental and medical leave
• health benefits to include medical, prescription drug, dental and vision coverage in accordance with the terms and conditions of the applicable plans