Western Alliance Bancorporation

Principal Engineer I, Cyber - IT Security Governance

Western Alliance Bancorporation$110K — $140K *
Information Technology
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 8+ years in Cybersecurity, Information Security Governance, IT Risk, or Enterprise Risk Management.
  • Bachelor's degree in Information Systems, Cybersecurity, or related; Master's or MBA preferred.
  • Expertise in Cyber Risk Management frameworks (NIST CSF, CRI Profile).
  • Experience in regulatory and audit engagement support in financial services.
  • Strong communication skills for translating technical concepts into clear documentation.

Responsibilities

  • Lead cybersecurity governance initiatives including risk management and policy development.
  • Serve as a subject-matter expert in cyber risk management and control effectiveness.
  • Execute and oversee cybersecurity Risk & Control Self-Assessments (RCSAs).
  • Manage CRI Profile assessments and drive maturity gains in collaboration with cross-functional teams.
  • Maintain traceability between risks, controls, and remediation outcomes.

Benefits

  • Ownership stake in the company.
  • Comprehensive medical and dental insurance.
  • Time off and a strong 401k matching program.
  • Tuition assistance and employee volunteer programs.
  • Wellness program and opportunities for professional growth.
Full Job Description
Job Title:
Principal Engineer I, Cyber - IT Security Governance

Location:
CityScape

What you'll do:
As a Principal IT Security Governance Engineer, you will serve as a senior individual contributor responsible for leading and advancing the organization's cybersecurity governance, risk management, and maturity initiatives. This role combines deep expertise in cyber risk, control design, CRI Profile maturity, and policy management with a strong understanding of modern engineering practices, data, automation, and AI-driven capabilities.

You will drive complex, cross-functional initiatives that embed secure, compliant, and scalable practices into technology, data, and AI solutions, ensuring alignment with enterprise risk management objectives and regulatory expectations. This includes designing and implementing governance frameworks, control structures, and engineering-enabled solutions that enhance the effectiveness, consistency, and automation of risk assessments, RCSAs, and control monitoring.

In this role, you will act as both a governance and technical authority, partnering closely with engineering, data, and risk teams to translate evolving technologies into defensible, regulator-ready processes, controls, and documentation. You will leverage data, automation, and AI to improve visibility into risk posture, drive operational efficiency, and enable sustained improvements in cybersecurity maturity and program scalability.
  • Own and lead cybersecurity governance initiatives spanning risk identification, control design, policy management, and maturity improvement.
  • Serve as a subject-matter expert for cyber risk management, providing guidance on control effectiveness, risk treatment, and residual risk decisions.
  • Drive execution of cybersecurity Risk & Control Self-Assessments (RCSAs), ensuring alignment to ERM standards and regulatory expectations.
  • Own and manage CRI Profile assessments, maturity scoring, evidence standards, and remediation tracking. Partner with technology, security, and risk teams to drive improved and sustained maturity gains.
  • Maintain traceability between risks, controls, assessment results, and remediation activities.
  • Lead the development, maintenance, and rationalization of cybersecurity policies, standards, and procedures in alignment with industry best practices (e.g., GLBA, FFIEC, NIST).
  • Design, document, and maintain cyber risk statements, control descriptions, and control narratives suitable for audits and regulatory exams.
  • Support internal audits, regulatory exams, and second line credible challenge through structured responses, evidence packaging, and issue management.
  • Track and report on control performance, risk posture, and remediation progress using defined metrics and governance forums.
  • Manage complex projects requiring coordination across IT, Information Security, ERM, Privacy, and Audit.
  • Act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders on risk posture, maturity trends, and program health.
  • Produce clear, executive-ready artifacts including risk summaries, maturity dashboards, remediation roadmaps, and briefing materials.
  • Develop and maintain automation solutions (e.g., scripting, workflow tools, AI-assisted processes) to improve efficiency of risk assessments, control testing, and evidence collection.
  • Enable data-driven insights and reporting through engineering-oriented solutions (e.g., dashboards, metrics automation, control monitoring).
  • Drive integration of AI and automation into RCSA, CRI assessments, and risk reporting processes to improve scalability, consistency, and accuracy.


What you'll need:
  • 8+ years of related experience in Cybersecurity, Information Security Governance, IT Risk, or Enterprise Risk Management.
  • Bachelor's degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Risk Management, or a related field. Masters or MBA in related field preferred.
  • Advanced to expert experience with:
    • Cyber Risk Management frameworks (NIST CSF, CRI Profile, FFIEC, ISO 27001 principles).
    • RCSAs, risk identification, control design, and residual risk assessment.
    • Policy, standard, and procedure lifecycle management.
    • Regulatory and audit engagement support in a financial services environment.
  • Strong ability to translate complex technical and regulatory concepts into clear, defensible documentation.
  • Proven experience managing cross functional initiatives with competing priorities.
  • Expert speaking and writing communication skills.
  • Demonstrated experience leveraging or governing AI/ML, automation, or advanced analytics within cybersecurity, risk, or compliance domains preferred.
  • Strong understanding of data architectures, data flows, and system integrations, with the ability to assess associated cyber and privacy risks preferred.
  • Familiarity with emerging regulatory expectations related to AI, model risk, and data usage in financial services preferred.
  • Working knowledge of software engineering or scripting practices (e.g., Python, PowerShell, automation workflows) to support scalable governance solutions preferred.
  • Strong analytical mindset with the ability to use data and automation to enhance risk identification, monitoring, and reporting preferred.
  • Relevant industry certifications (e.g., CISA, CRISC, CISSP, CISM, CGEIT, ITIL) preferred.


Benefits you'll love:
We offer all the important things you'd want - like competitive salaries, an ownership stake in the company, medical and dental insurance, time off, a great 401k matching program, tuition assistance program, an employee volunteer program, and a wellness program. In addition, you'll have the opportunity to bolster your business knowledge, learning the ins and outs of how successful companies operate and manage their finances, giving you invaluable hands-on experience to help grow your career!

About Western Alliance Bancorporation

Western Alliance Bancorporation is a bank holding company that provides a range of banking and related services to businesses and individuals. The company was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Western Alliance Bancorporation operates through its subsidiary banks, which include Western Alliance Bank, Bank of Nevada, and Bridge Bank. The company offers a variety of products and services, including commercial and industrial loans, real estate loans, treasury management, and wealth management. Western Alliance Bancorporation is committed to providing exceptional customer service and has received numerous awards and recognitions for its performance and growth.
Learn more about Western Alliance Bancorporation
Size
3,139 employees
Market Cap
$6.2 billion
Industry
Net Income
$506.6 million
5 Year Trend
+18.8%
NASDAQ

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