The Senior Identity Architect is a senior-level, hybrid leadership role operating as a high-influence individual contributor. This position is responsible for defining the long-term vision, strategy, and target architecture for the enterprise IAM program.
The successful candidate will serve as a hands-on technical authority, translating enterprise-level strategy into actionable engineering blueprints. This role will lead the unification of a diverse identity landscape developed across multiple business cycles and establish an executable 5-year modernization roadmap.
The position requires immediate impact by identifying and mitigating the highest-risk areas while simultaneously developing the long-term IAM strategy. The Senior Identity Architect will serve as the authoritative voice on how identities are governed, authenticated, and authorized while ensuring compliance with stringent federal and regulations.
Tactical Execution & Architecture Unification
• Conduct an immediate, visually driven inventory of the distributed identity landscape across corporate IT, cloud, and operational technology (OT) environments.
• Develop technical diagrams, end-to-end process workflows, and architectural visualizations that clearly communicate current and future-state identity architectures to executive and technical audiences.
• Identify the highest-risk areas and greatest opportunities for short-term improvement within the first 90 days and implement practical tactical remediations.
• Establish authoritative enterprise identity standards and technical baselines across the organization.
• Define transformation milestones, operational metrics, and measurable objectives to track migration from legacy infrastructure to modern, consolidated identity ecosystems.
Regulatory Compliance & Governance Engineering
• Architect identity solutions that address regulatory requirements applicable to publicly traded utilities, including:
Public Service Commission (PSC)
Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX)
Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS)
North American Electric Reliability Corporation Critical Infrastructure Protection (NERC CIP)
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security directives
• Partner with Compliance, Control Owners, and technical teams to design access controls and automated evidence-generation workflows that support repeatable audit outcomes.
• Develop unified identity architectures and operational patterns that satisfy overlapping regulatory requirements while eliminating redundant compliance-specific silos.
• Implement Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) frameworks focused on:
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
Automated Joiner-Mover-Leaver (JML) processes
Separation of Duties (SoD)
Identity lifecycle governance
General IT controls
| Location | Detroit, MI |
| Job Type | Contractor, Full-time |
| Salary | $120,000–$125,000 Per Year |
Required Experience
• 10+ years of experience in Cybersecurity, Information Security, or Enterprise Architecture.
• At least 5 years of dedicated experience in enterprise-scale IAM architecture and design.
• Proven experience leading identity transformation programs within highly regulated industries such as utilities, financial services, aerospace, or critical infrastructure.
• Extensive experience designing, visualizing, and implementing IAM solutions across hybrid environments, including multi-tier infrastructure and major public cloud platforms.
PREFERRED TECHNICAL EXPERIENCE
Identity Governance & Administration (IGA)
• SailPoint
• Saviynt
• Equivalent IGA platforms
Access Management & Federation
• Microsoft Entra ID
• Okta
• Ping Identity
• SAML 2.0
• OIDC
• OAuth 2.0
• SCIM
Privileged Access Management (PAM)
• CyberArk
• BeyondTrust
• Delinea
CERTIFICATIONS & TRAINING
Candidates should possess advanced, industry-recognized certifications demonstrating cybersecurity and architectural expertise, such as:
• CISSP – Certified Information Systems Security Professional
• CISSP-ISSAP – Information Systems Security Architecture Professional
• TOGAF – The Open Group Architecture Framework
• SABSA – Sherwood Applied Business Security Architecture
• Advanced SANS/GIAC certifications, such as GDSA, GCPM, or GSEC
• Identity Management Institute credentials, including CIAM or CIMP, are a plus.
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