Senior Director of Secure Identity Services

Senior Director of Secure Identity Services

Job no: 535876
Work type: Administrative & Professional
Senior management: Vice President-Info Technology
Department: Secure Identity Services
Location: Blacksburg, Virginia, Hybrid
Categories: Information Systems / Technology

Job Description

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-on experience providing mid- to senior-level strategic leadership 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, Dev Ops practices, and cloud technologies.
- Involvement in national or international initiatives such as InCommon and TIER.

Overtime Status

Exempt:
Not eligible for overtime

Appointment Type

Regular

Salary Information

Salary commensurate with experience

Hours per week

40

Review Date

4/20/26

Additional Information

Sponsorship is not available for this position.

The successful candidate will be required to have a criminal conviction check.

About Virginia Tech

Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech pushes the boundaries of knowledge by taking a hands-on, transdisciplinary approach to preparing scholars to be leaders and problem-solvers. A comprehensive land-grant institution that enhances the quality of life in Virginia and throughout the world, Virginia Tech is an inclusive community dedicated to knowledge, discovery, and creativity. The university offers more than 280 majors to a diverse enrollment of more than 36,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students in eight undergraduate colleges, a school of medicine, a veterinary medicine college, Graduate School, and Honors College.

The university has a significant presence across Virginia, including Blacksburg, the greater Washington, D.C. area, the Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke, sites in Newport News and Richmond, and numerous Extension offices and research institutes. A…