Security Specialist - Akamai

Position Overview

At PNC, our people are our greatest differentiator and competitive advantage. We are united in delivering the best experience for our customers and fostering an inclusive workplace where all employees feel respected and valued. As a Security Specialist – Akamai within PNC's Enterprise Information Security organization, you will be based in Pittsburgh, PA, in an in‑office environment that supports balance and growth.

Willingness to participate in on‑call, weekend, and evening support is preferred. The Akamai Security Specialist protects PNC’s external application footprint through design, implementation, and management of Akamai security controls. The role defends against advanced threats, including automated attacks, bot activity, and API abuse, while ensuring optimal performance and customer experience across digital platforms.

• Design, implement, and maintain Akamai security controls, including WAF and Bot Manager policies.
• Monitor and analyze traffic patterns to identify anomalous behavior, malicious automation, and emerging threats.
• Tune and enforce security policies to proactively block unauthorized access, data harvesting, and application abuse.
• Partner with Security Operations and incident response teams to investigate, elevate, and remediate security events.
• Develop and maintain detection logic, playbooks, and standardized procedures for incident response and policy management.
• Support onboarding of new applications by defining and validating security configurations, API protections, and endpoint coverage.
• Continuously optimize Akamai configurations to align with evolving threat intelligence and attack techniques.
• Validate protections on high‑risk business functions such as authentication flows, account management, and transactional APIs.
• Ensure visibility, monitoring, and reporting capabilities support operational, audit, and regulatory requirements.
• Contribute to documentation, knowledge transfer, and process standardization across the Akamai Security team.

• Akamai Security Suite (e.g., Kona Site Defender / WAF, Bot Manager, API Protection)
• SIEM and monitoring platforms
• Web protocols (HTTP/S), networking fundamentals, and application architecture
• Security tooling for traffic inspection, rule tuning, and incident response
• Ticketing and workflow systems (e.g., Service Now, Jira) for operational tracking and onboarding activities

• 3+ years in cybersecurity (application, network, or perimeter security)
• Direct experience with Akamai Security Suite products and policy management
• Experience working in Security Operations, Attack Surface Management, or application protection environments
• Strong knowledge of web security (OWASP Top
  10), HTTP/S, and application architecture
• Strong understanding of common web application attack vectors (OWASP Top
  10)
• Experience analyzing network traffic, logs, and security events to identify threats
• Ability to interpret and apply threat intelligence to security controls and detection strategies
• Knowledge of API security and protection against automated and high‑speed attack techniques
• Familiarity with cloud and web‑based application architectures
• Experience defending against automated threats, bots, or scraping activity
• Familiarity with financial services or highly regulated environments
• Knowledge of Zero Trust concepts and modern application security frameworks
• Strong problem‑solving skills with the ability to balance security enforcement and customer experience
• Effective communication skills and collaboration across security, infrastructure, and application teams

• Access Control (AC)
• API Security
• Building Architecture
• Customer Solutions
• Disaster Recovery Planning
• Information Security
• Network Security
• Physical Security
• Risk Assessments
• Security Technologies
• Service Now Platform
• SIEM Tools
• Web Security Competencies
• Analytical Thinking
• Effective Communications
• Information Assurance
• Information Security Management
• Information Security Technologies
• IT Environment
• IT Standards
• Procedures & Policies
• IT Systems Management
• Problem Solving
• Software Security Assurance

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