Job Description

We are seeking a highly accomplished Director of Security Operations to lead and scale our cybersecurity capabilities for a fast-growing US-based mortgage and financial services organization. This role demands a sharp, execution-focused leader who combines deep technical expertise with operational discipline.

The ideal candidate is a “sharp-shooter”—someone who can anticipate threats before they materialize, architect resilient systems, and still stay grounded in the day-to-day rigor required to maintain a strong and adaptive security posture. You will lead from the front during complex cyber incidents while building systems and teams that prevent them.

This role is not for passive overseers. We are looking for a hands-on, high-precision leader who can think ahead, act fast, and execute flawlessly—someone who ensures the organization is secure not just today, but ready for what comes next.

Job Functions and Responsibilities:

Security Strategy & Leadership

• Define and execute the organization’s security engineering and operations strategy aligned with business goals and regulatory requirements.
• Build, mentor, and lead high-performing security engineering and SOC teams in India.
• Act as a trusted advisor to global leadership on cyber risk, threat landscape, and mitigation strategies.

Security Engineering

• Architect and oversee implementation of secure, scalable, and resilient security controls across cloud, on-prem, and hybrid environments.
• Drive initiatives in identity & access management (IAM), endpoint security, network security, application security, and data protection.
• Continuously evaluate and integrate advanced security tools, automation, and frameworks.
• Strong expertise in cloud security across AWS, Azure, and OCI (Oracle Cloud Infrastructure).

Security Operations & Incident Response

• Lead 24/7 Security Operations Center (SOC) functions, including monitoring, detection, and response.
• Take command during high-severity and complex cyber incidents, ensuring rapid containment, investigation, and recovery.
• Demonstrated experience handling large-scale, sophisticated cyber incidents end-to-end.
• Establish and refine incident response playbooks, threat hunting programs, and forensic capabilities.
• Deep expertise in next-generation SIEM and SOAR platforms, leveraging automation and intelligence-driven response.

Threat Intelligence & Proactive Defense

• Build a forward-looking threat intelligence and threat modeling capability.
• Stay ahead of emerging threats targeting financial services, especially mortgage and lending ecosystems.
• Drive proactive risk identification and mitigation, not just reactive defense.

Operational Excellence

• Ensure strong day-to-day operational rigor—from patching cadence and vulnerability management to audit readiness.
• Define KPIs, SLAs, and metrics to improve security posture and response effectiveness continuously.
• Embed security into engineering and DevOps workflows (DevSecOps mindset).

Qualifications:

• 18+ years of experience in cybersecurity, with significant leadership in security engineering and operations.
• Proven track record of leading large-scale SOC and incident response functions.
• Deep expertise across:
  • Cloud security (AWS, Azure, OCI)
  • Network & Endpoint security
  • SIEM, SOAR, EDR/XDR platforms
  • Vulnerability management and threat detection
  • Application Security
• Strong understanding of financial services security requirements, especially in regulated US environments.
• Hands-on mindset—comfortable going from boardroom strategy to technical deep dives.
• Certifications such as CISSP, CISM, GIAC, or equivalent.
• Experience working with US-based financial institutions or mortgage companies would be an added benefit.
• Exposure to zero trust architecture, automation, and AI-driven security operations.

LEADERSHIP ATTRIBUTES

• Integrity – always do the right thing.

• Judgment – effectively deal with the gray.

• Transparency – open and honest communication; early escalation; no hidden agendas.

• Respect – treat others with dignity and be respectful.

• Resiliency – tolerate dynamic conditions without undue frustration.

• Pragmatic – stay calm, act with focus and purpose, even when facing challenge and uncertainty.

• Passion – demonstrate positive excitement and conviction for what you do and needs to get done.

• Ownership – take responsibility for everything in your organization even when it’s not your fault.

• Self-Motivation – personal drive to achieve, commitment to personal / organizational goals, initiative to act on opportunities and challenges, and optimism in the face of set-backs.

• Hunger – willing to throw head, heart and hands into the job.

• Humility – don’t have to be the smartest person in the room, give credit to others, willing to do any job to help the organization or team succeed.

• Desire to Win – super competitive yet understands that the competition is outside the building.

• Empathy – the ability to discern what someone else is thinking or feeling and then respond in some appropriate way.

• Independent Thinker – analytical, the ability to make sense of things based on one’s experiences and observations; not flustered by criticism or challenge, and willing to stand for convictions.

• Intellectual Curiosity – passion for continuous learning and understanding “why”.

WORK SCHEDULE OR TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS

2 pm to 11 pm