University of Southern California · 4 hours ago
Director, Cyber Defense
Los Angeles, CA
Contract
Hybrid
Director/Executive
$248K/yr - $298K/yr
10+ years expThe University of Southern California (USC) is advancing its cybersecurity posture with a focus on resilience and threat-informed defense. As the Director of Cyber Defense, you will provide strategic leadership and operational oversight for the Cyber Defense program, ensuring alignment with the university’s cybersecurity objectives and managing incident response, security monitoring, and cyber threat intelligence.
EducationHigher EducationUniversities
Responsibilities
Provides oversight, guidance, and direction for the Cyber Defense program
Directs and executes the Cyber Defense strategy, ensuring alignment with the university's 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 university's 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 university’s 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 university's 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 university's 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
Qualification
Required
10 years of experience in key Cyber Defense areas (e.g., incident response, security monitoring, cyber threat intelligence, attack surface and vulnerability management)
A bachelor's degree or combined experience/education as substitute for minimum education
A Cyber Certification (e.g., CISSP, GIAC, CISM)
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
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.)
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
Preferred
MBA or master's 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)
Benefits
USC provides benefits-eligible employees with a broad range of perks to help protect their and their dependents’ health, wealth, and future.
Company
University of Southern California
University of Southern California is a private research university offering opportunities for interdisciplinary study and collaboration.
10001+ employees
H1B Sponsorship
University of Southern California has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (253)
2024 (239)
2023 (172)
2022 (207)
2021 (182)
2020 (195)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$19.64MKey Investors
Patient-Centered Outcomes Research InstituteCalifornia Institute for Regenerative MedicineCDA Foundation
2025-02-04Grant· $10.8M
2025-01-30Grant· $5.93M
2024-07-30Grant
Leadership Team
David A Barnhart
Director, USC Space Engineering Research Center
H
Hossein Pourmand
Assistant Vice President, Research Initiatives, University Advancement
Recent News
2026-01-17
Sports Business Journal
2025-12-30
Company data provided by crunchbase