Director, Cyber Defense

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT

The University of Southern California (USC) is advancing its cybersecurity posture with a renewed focus on resilience cyber risk management and threat-informed defense. As a world-class research institution USC is building a culture of security that supports its academic and research mission in a rapidly evolving threat landscape.

This role sits within a newly restructured cybersecurity organization thats leading this transformation. Youll join a team focused on scalable proactive defense strategies incident preparedness and operational excellenceworking alongside experts who are deeply committed to service innovation and impact.

If youre driven by purpose thrive in complexity and want to help shape the future of cybersecurity at a leading university we invite you to bring your leadership to the table.

POSITION SUMMARY

As the Director Cyber Defense you will be an integral leader of the cybersecurity department while also collaborating with stakeholders across the university ecosystem and reporting to the Chief Information Security Officer. This is a full-time exempt position eligible for all of USCs fantastic Benefits Perks. This opportunity is hybrid.

The Director Cyber Defense provides strategic oversight and leadership for the Cyber Defense program ensuring alignment with the universitys cybersecurity objectives and enterprise risk posture. Responsible for key areas including incident response security monitoring cyber threat intelligence attack surface and vulnerability management and coordination with managed security service providers. Leads the development of a threat-informed defense program and serves as a key advisor to executive leadership during cyber incidents. Drives the evolution of Cyber Defense to secure the universitys diverse digital ecosystem including cloud SaaS IoT/OT and research environments. Partners with data governance and privacy leaders to safeguard institutional data. Manages relationships with key IT stakeholders across university Departments Schools and Units providing efficient and consistent Cyber Defense services and provides technical leadership and mentorship to ensure a high-performing Cyber Defense team. Oversees and coordinates relationships and operations with managed services (SLM SOC and IR) and third-party providers.

The Director Cyber Defense will:

• Provides oversight guidance and direction for the Cyber Defense program. Directs and executes the Cyber Defense strategy ensuring alignment with the universitys cybersecurity objectives. Provides expertise and understanding of all aspects of the Cyber Defense landscape working with executive leadership to expand and enhance the Cyber Defense footprint. Identifies opportunities for enhanced coverage of threat intelligence and security monitoring. Provides informed recommendations to senior leadership regarding the universitys security monitoring and incident response strategy. Leads the development of threat informed defense practices including adversary emulation purple teaming and threat modeling to ensure detection and response capabilities are aligned to the current threat landscape.

• Serves as a key member of the universitys cyber crisis response team providing briefings to executive leadership participating in tabletop exercises and supporting legal and reputational risk management during major incidents. Oversees the Incident Response (IR) program ensuring alignment with the universitys IR Plan. Reviews the status of Level 2 and Level 3 risks and maintains high-level monitoring of all IR activities. Defines security monitoring expectations and goals in alignment with the universitys cybersecurity strategy. Approves or coordinates approval for security monitoring policies procedures standards and roles as needed. Ensures proper involvement of legal compliance and regulatory stakeholders in addressing forensics issues and risks (e.g. Legal Compliance General Counsel).

• Manages vendor contractual commitments Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and performance. Oversees the integration of university associates with managed security service providers. Reviews ongoing status updates from the Cyber Defense and ASM Managers regarding vendor performance.

• Collaborates with Legal Compliance and General Counsel on cybersecurity incidents requiring forensic investigation. Ensures Cyber Defense activities adhere to legal regulatory and compliance requirements. Establishes and enforces policies for threat intelligence vulnerability management and application security.

• Oversees the planning budgeting and directing of Cyber Defense activities. Ensures optimal allocation of resources to maximize security effectiveness and risk mitigation. Develops and maintains Cyber Defense performance indicators and dashboards to communicate effectiveness drive accountability and continuously improve program maturity based on frameworks such as MITRE ATT&CK NIST CSF or D3FEND.

• Accountable for all aspects of staff management (e.g. hiring coaching training performance reviews pay actions and promotions within the Cyber Defense organization). Provides technical leadership and mentorship to ensure a high performing Cyber Defense team.

• Drives the evolution of Cyber Defense practices to meet the needs of modern technologies (e.g. SaaS platforms hybrid cloud environments IoT/OT devices emerging AI workloads). Partners with infrastructure and engineering teams to evaluate implement and optimize the use of modern security technologies (e.g. SIEM enhancements automation/orchestration tools AI-driven threat detection systems).

• Provides strategic oversight and tuning guidance for phishing defense in collaboration with SOC and email security teams. Aligns simulated phishing campaigns and user education programs with current threat actor lures targeting higher education. Ensures Cyber Defense strategies include visibility and protection for ICS OT and research-centric platforms. Coordinates with Facilities and specialized labs to deploy compensating controls and timely patching of high impact vulnerabilities.

• Maintains awareness and knowledge of current changes within legal regulatory and technology environments which may affect operations. Encourages a workplace culture where all employees are valued value others and have the opportunity to contribute through their ideas words and actions in accordance with the USC Code of Ethics.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Great candidates for the position of Director Cyber Defense will meet the following qualifications:

• 10 years of experience in key Cyber Defense areas (e.g. incident response security monitoring cyber threat intelligence attack surface and vulnerability management).

• A bachelors degree or combined experience/education as substitute for minimum education.

• In-depth knowledge of industry standards regulations and new industry developments/trends.

• Understanding and technical knowledge of Cyber Defense concepts (e.g. incident response security monitoring cyber threat intelligence attack surface and vulnerability management data and networking.)

• Demonstrable strong management skills and the ability to develop mentor and coach others.

• Strong written and oral executive communication.

• Experience in working in large or federated enterprises preferably in the university environment.

• Ability to design and evaluate processes to build security functions and review processes for ongoing improvement.

• Ability to develop Cybersecurity operations operating plans consistent with the strategy and vision of USC.

• Ability to delegate work to team members and provide clear and effective guidance on implementation of processes.

• Experience in the management and/or implementation of security monitoring anti-malware and vulnerability management technologies.

• Ability to collaborate extensively with business units academic departments IT operations and research teams to align cybersecurity strategies with institutional priorities and risk appetite.

• A Cyber Certification (e.g. CISSP GIAC CISM)

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Exceptional candidates for the position of Director Cyber Defense will also bring the following qualifications or more:

• MBA or masters degree in computer science or in related field(s)

• 15 years of experience in key Cyber Defense areas (e.g. incident response security monitoring cyber threat intelligence attack surface and vulnerability management).

In addition the successful candidate must also demonstrate through ideas words and actions a strong commitment to USCs Unifying Values of integrity excellence community well-being open communication and accountability.

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The annual base salary range for this position is $247993.07 to $298497.02. When extending an offer of employment the University of Southern California considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position the candidates work experience education/training key skills internal peer alignment federal state and local laws contractual stipulations grant funding as well as external market and organizational considerations.

To support the well-being of our faculty and staff USC provides benefits-eligible employees with a broad range of perks to help protect their and their dependents health wealth and future. These benefits are available as part of the overall compensation and total rewards package. You can learn more about USCs comprehensive benefits here.

Join the USC cybersecurity team within an environment of innovation and excellence.

USC is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race color religion sex sexual orientation gender identity national origin protected veteran status disability or any other characteristic protected by law or USC policy. USC observes affirmative action obligations consistent with state and federal law. USC will consider for employment all qualified applicants with criminal records in a manner consistent with applicable laws and regulations including the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for employers and the Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance and with due consideration for patient and student safety. Please refer to theBackground Screening Policy Appendix Dfor specific employment screen implications for the position for which you are applying.

We provide reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees with disabilities. Applicants with questions about access or requiring a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process should contact USC Human Resources by phone at or by email at. Inquiries will be treated as confidential to the extent permitted by law.

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