Staff Engineer II - Cyber

Western Alliance Bancorporation; Phoenix (AZ); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salaries

Ownership stake in the company

Medical and dental insurance

401k matching program

Tuition assistance program

Employee volunteer program

Wellness program

Job summary

Western Alliance Bancorporation is seeking a Staff Engineer II - Cyber in Phoenix to own and lead cyber defense platforms, focusing on ASM and CTEM across cloud, on‑prem and external surfaces.

You will orchestrate risk-based vulnerability management, leverage CSPM/EDR tools, and guide the security program while ensuring regulatory alignment and disaster recovery readiness.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of advanced cybersecurity experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in related field required.
• Advanced knowledge of general Financial Services or Banking is preferred.
• Working knowledge of Linux and PowerShell.
• Solid understanding of authentication protocols SAML, SSO, and LDAP.
• Solid understanding of ASM, CTEM, DLP, CASB, CSPM, Firewall, SSL/TLS, Vulnerability Scanners, and EDR.
• Solid understanding of OSI layers, DNS, SMTP, etc. for troubleshooting application functionality.
• Advanced experience of CIS, NIST, MITRE, and Administration of either or all within organizations.
• Advanced speaking and writing communication skills.
• Demonstrated leadership in security operations architecture or detection engineering.
• Proven ability to translate technical findings into executive-level risk context.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end ownership of cyber defense platforms with a focus on ASM and CTEM.
• Drive a proactive, risk-based security program to continuously discover, prioritize, and reduce cyber exposure.
• Engineer and operationalize a CTEM program including asset discovery and risk-based prioritization.
• Lead ASM capabilities using Assetnote and external scanning platforms.
• Identify and map internet-exposed assets and validate exposures.
• Provide continuous visibility into known and unknown attack surfaces.
• Collaborate with vendors to optimize cyber defense and ensure cost controls.
• Oversee resiliency of cyber applications via disaster recovery exercises.

Skills

Leadership

Communication skills

Security architecture

Detection engineering

Executive risk context

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

Tools

Wiz

Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Rapid7

CrowdStrike

Symantec DLP/CASB

SSPM tools

Job description

What you'll do:

As a Staff Engineer II - Cyber, you will serve as a technical leader responsible for end-to-end ownership of the bank’s cyber defense platforms, with a strong focus on Attack Surface Management (ASM) and Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM). You will drive a proactive, risk-based security program that continuously discovers, prioritizes, and reduces cyber exposure across internal and external environments. This role combines deep engineering expertise, platform ownership, and strategic influence, leveraging tools such as CSPM, Vulnerability & Exposure Management, AV/EDR, Phishing, and DLP platforms to deliver integrated security outcomes across cloud, endpoint, network, and data layers. Additionally, you'll lead the continuous review and improvement of the defense, auditing, access standards, tactics, and techniques to meet regulatory guidelines as well as owning the resiliency of cyber applications and platforms via routine disaster recovery exercises. You'll partner with vendors routinely to optimize cyber defense, auditing, and access products, as well as ensure costs/licenses do not exceed expectations, and that certificates do not expire while maintaining capacity planning to ensure quality end user experience.

Engineer and operationalize a Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) program, including:

• Asset discovery across cloud, on-prem, and internet-facing environments.
• Risk-based prioritization of vulnerabilities and exposures.
• Validation of findings through real-world context and exploitability.
• Coordination of remediation and risk reduction efforts across IT and Cyber teams.

Lead Attack Surface Management (ASM) capabilities using tools such as Assetnote and external scanning platforms:

• Identify and map internet-exposed assets (IPs, domains, cloud services).
• Validate exposures (open ports, public access, misconfigurations, weak controls).
• Provide continuous visibility into known and unknown attack surfaces.

Has hands-on experience in engineering and deploying the following tools is a plus:

• Wiz (CSPM + ASM) for cloud posture and exposure visibility.
• Microsoft Defender for Cloud compliance and posture management.
• Rapid7 for vulnerability scanning and prioritization.
• CrowdStrike for endpoint detection, response, and telemetry.
• Symantec Data Loss Prevention/CASB experience a plus.
• Engineer and operationalize a SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) technology.

What you'll need:

• 6+ years of advanced cybersecurity experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in related field required.
• Advanced knowledge of general Financial Services or Banking is preferred.
• Working knowledge of Linux and PowerShell.
• Solid understanding of authentication protocols SAML, SSO, and LDAP.
• Solid understanding of concepts regarding ASM, CTEM, DLP, CASB, CSPM, Firewall, SSL/TLS, Vulnerability Scanners, and EDR.
• Solid understanding of OSI layers, DNS, SMTP, etc. for troubleshooting application functionality.
• Advanced experience of CIS, NIST, MITRE, and Administration of either or all within organizations.
• Advanced speaking and writing communication skills.
• Demonstrated leadership in security operations architecture or detection engineering.
• Proven ability to translate technical findings into executive-level risk context.

Benefits you’ll love:

We offer all the important things you'd want - like competitive salaries, an ownership stake in the company, medical and dental insurance, time off, a great 401k matching program, tuition assistance program, an employee volunteer program, and a wellness program. In addition, you’ll have the opportunity to bolster your business knowledge, learning the ins and outs of how successful companies operate and manage their finances, giving you invaluable hands-on experience to help grow your career!

About the company:

Western Alliance Bank, Member FDIC, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Western Alliance Bancorporation. Serving clients nationwide, Western Alliance Bank includes six legacy bank brands — Alliance Association Bank, Alliance Bank of Arizona, Bank of Nevada, Bridge Bank, First Independent Bank and Torrey Pines Bank — that remain part of the company’s heritage, as well as AmeriHome Mortgage, a Western Alliance Bank Company. Western Alliance Bancorporation is committed to equal employment and will consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, sex, color, religion, age, nation origin, marital status, disability, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or genetic information. Western Alliance Bancorporation is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities. If you are an individual with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process and/or need an alternative method of applying, please email [e-mail] or call 602-386-2488.

For more information, visit Western Alliance Bancorporation.

For more information, visit Western Alliance Bank online.