National Basketball Association

Cybersecurity Staff Engineer

National Basketball Association$172K — $195K *
US-AnywhereRemote in Secaucus, NJ
Information Technology
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 7+ years in Cybersecurity GRC, Risk Management, or Compliance with program ownership experience
  • Proven ability to manage across multiple security domains simultaneously
  • Hands-on experience with ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II compliance
  • Familiarity with GRC platforms like Drata or ServiceNow
  • Preferred certifications: CISSP, CISM, or CRISC
  • Experience in consumer-facing industries such as sports or entertainment

Responsibilities

  • Aggregate risk and compliance data into executive-ready dashboards
  • Translate disparate cybersecurity signals into a cohesive risk overview
  • Manage the end-to-end issue lifecycle for effective remediation
  • Establish accountability mechanisms across teams to ensure risk closure
  • Lead ISO 27001 certification maintenance and audit readiness
  • Collaborate with teams to ensure ongoing SOC 2 Type II compliance
  • Conduct cyber risk assessments and maintain the risk register

Benefits

  • Medical, dental, and vision insurance
  • Life and AD&D insurance
  • Short- and long-term disability
  • Family-forming assistance and wellbeing allowance
  • Educational assistance programs
  • Mental health coaching and therapy
  • 401(k) retirement plan with matching
  • Generous time off policies including vacation and sick days
Full Job Description
WORK OPTION: The NBA currently provides eligible employees the option of working remotely one day per week.

Position Summary

We're looking for a seasoned Cybersecurity Staff Engineer to lead our Cyber Governance, Risk, and Compliance efforts - one of the most strategically critical functions in our security organization. This is a Director-level individual contributor role reporting to the AVP of Cybersecurity, sitting at the intersection of every cybersecurity practice area we operate. You won't just manage compliance programs - you'll be the connective tissue that brings structure, visibility, and accountability across our entire security landscape.

Every cybersecurity organization generates signals - risks identified, controls tested, findings logged. But signals without synthesis are just noise. This role exists because our security towers are only as strong as the visibility and accountability that connects them. Without someone owning that connective layer, gaps persist, issues stall, and leadership is left making decisions without a complete picture. This role changes that. By bringing consolidated oversight to risk, compliance, and issue closure across every tower we operate, this role directly shapes our ability to protect fan data, honor our regulatory obligations across global markets, and maintain the trust of partners and stakeholders who expect a world-class security posture from a world-class organization. It's not a support function - it's a force multiplier.

Operating within an international sports and entertainment league means our risk surface is anything but ordinary. Global events, broadcast partnerships, fan data at scale, and regulatory obligations spanning multiple jurisdictions make this a role for someone who thrives on complexity and can translate it into clarity.

Major Responsibilities

GRC Integration & Unified Visibility
  • Aggregate risk posture, control gaps, and issue status across all cybersecurity towers into cohesive dashboards and executive-ready reporting frameworks
  • Serve as the single point of GRC intelligence - translating disparate signals into a coherent organizational risk picture
  • Establish and maintain consistent metrics and KPIs that reflect compliance health across all towers


Issue Tracking & Risk Closure
  • Own end-to-end issue lifecycle management - from identification through remediation - ensuring findings don't stall in handoff gaps
  • Build accountability mechanisms across tower leads and partner teams that keep risk closure on track without requiring direct authority
  • Ensure non-IT departments follow documented processes and help them address audit gaps
  • Escalate systemic issues and trend patterns to senior leadership with actionable recommendations


ISO 27001 Program Ownership
  • Lead all aspects of ISO 27001 certification maintenance, including evidence collection, control mapping, audit readiness, and continuous improvement
  • Manage relationships with external auditors and certification bodies
  • Ensure the program remains audit-ready year-round, not just at certification time


SOC 2 Type II Compliance
  • Contribute into our SOC 2 Type II program and lead compliance posture across applicable trust service criteria
  • Coordinate with engineering, IT, and operations teams to ensure controls are implemented, evidenced, and sustainable


Level 1 Cyber Risk Management
  • Conduct and document Level 1 cyber risk assessments using established frameworks including NIST CSF and ISO 27001
  • Maintain the enterprise cyber risk register, ensuring risks are properly rated, owned, and tracked toward resolution
  • Surface emerging risks tied to our industry - fan data systems, broadcast infrastructure, global event operations - with appropriate context for decision-makers


Cross-Functional Collaboration & Influence
  • Partner with tower leads, IT, Legal, Privacy, and Procurement to align on risk priorities and drive coordinated remediation
  • Communicate policy and regulatory requirements in language that resonates with both technical practitioners and executive stakeholders
  • Operate as a trusted advisor across the organization - influencing outcomes without relying on org chart authority


GRC Tooling & Automation
  • Identify opportunities to replace manual compliance effort with scalable automation through GRC platforms and integrations
  • Drive adoption and optimization of tools such as Drata, ServiceNow GRC, OneTrust, or equivalent platforms
  • Stay ahead of the tooling landscape and bring forward recommendations that improve program efficiency and coverage


Regulatory & Global Compliance Awareness
  • Maintain working knowledge of regulations relevant to our global footprint - including GDPR, CCPA, and evolving data residency requirements across international markets
  • Support third-party and vendor risk review processes in coordination with Legal and Procurement, ensuring vendor relationships meet our compliance standards


Required Education/Professional Experience
  • 7+ years of progressive experience in Cybersecurity GRC, Risk Management, or Compliance with exposure to both program ownership and cross-functional coordination
  • Demonstrated ability to manage across multiple security domains simultaneously without losing precision or accountability
  • Hands-on experience leading ISO 27001 certification programs and SOC 2 Type II compliance - you've owned audit cycles, not just supported them
  • Familiarity with one or more GRC platforms (Drata, ServiceNow, OneTrust, or comparable)
  • CISSP, CISM, or CRISC certification preferred
  • Experience in sports, entertainment, media, or other high-profile consumer-facing industries a plus


Required Skills/Knowledge Attributes
  • Deep fluency in security and compliance frameworks - ISO 27001, NIST CSF, and CIS Benchmarks - and the ability to translate framework requirements into operational controls
  • Working knowledge of GDPR, CCPA, and data residency obligations across global markets, with the ability to assess their impact on program design and risk posture
  • Understanding of IAM principles and data protection methods (encryption, tokenization) sufficient to evaluate control effectiveness across security towers
  • Ability to develop and execute incident response coordination at the GRC level - ensuring compliance obligations are met when security incidents occur
  • Strong systems thinker who understands how risk and compliance data flows across tools, teams, and processes - and can identify where the gaps live
  • Skilled at identifying where automation can replace manual compliance effort, and credible enough to bring stakeholders along on the change
  • Excellent written and verbal communicator - equally effective presenting to a CISO and partnering with a technical tower lead
  • Proven influencer at the Director level and above, with a track record of driving accountability without direct authority
  • Familiarity with broadcast or live event infrastructure risk considerations a plus


Salary Range:

$172,500-$195,000

Job Posting Title:
Director

Employees currently are eligible to receive an annual discretionary performance bonus, awarded at the sole discretion of the Company and subject to any terms and conditions set by the Company. Employees and/or eligible dependents may be eligible to participate in the following Company-sponsored employee benefit programs: medical; dental; vision; life/AD&D insurance; short- and long-term disability; fertility and family-forming assistance; wellbeing allowance; educational assistance; mental health coaching/therapy; tax advantaged accounts such as HSA and healthcare/dependent care FSAs; a 401(k) retirement plan; and time off benefits that include vacation, sick time, and personal days.

About National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a men's professional basketball league in North America, composed of 30 teams. It is one of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada, and is widely considered to be the premier men's professional basketball league in the world. The NBA was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in New York City. The league's revenue comes from ticket sales, merchandise, sponsorships, and media rights. The NBA has a global following and is broadcast in over 215 countries and territories.
Learn more about National Basketball Association
Size
1,100 employees
Industry
Founded
1946

Similar Jobs

More Jobs at National Basketball Association

More Information Technology Jobs

Find similar Cybersecurity Staff Engineer jobs: