Synchrony

VP, Cyber Intelligence Leader

Synchrony$170K — $290K *
Information Technology
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in computer science or relevant field and at least 5 years of experience.
  • 8-12+ years in cybersecurity with specialization in threat intelligence, hunting, and detection engineering.
  • 3+ years of leadership experience managing teams or enterprise-level programs.
  • Proven ability to build and operationalize detections within a SIEM/EDR system and work with SOC/IR teams.
  • In-depth understanding of MITRE ATT&CK and its application in threat detection.
  • Strong investigative skills and ability to work with various security telemetry.
  • Excellent communication skills for engaging with executives and creating technical documentation.

Responsibilities

  • Define intelligence needs and plans focused on financial services threats.
  • Produce tactical and strategic intelligence reports and packages.
  • Translate intelligence into actionable detection content and hunting strategies.
  • Oversee the entire intelligence lifecycle from collection to dissemination.
  • Lead and execute hypothesis-driven threat hunts across various environments.
  • Document and refine repeatable hunting playbooks.
  • Collaborate with Incident Response to manage and remediate suspicious activities.
  • Drive ongoing improvements to detection through lessons learned from hunts.

Benefits

  • Flexible work options, including remote work from home or in-office attendance.
  • Opportunity for annual bonuses based on performance.
  • Engagement in various team-building and professional development activities.
Full Job Description
Role Summary/Purpose:

The Cyber Intelligence Leader leads Synchrony's Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI), Detection Engineering, and Cyber Hunt programs. This role is accountable for translating external and internal threat signals into actionable intelligence, proactive hunts, and measurable detection improvements across the enterprise. The leader partners closely with Synchrony's Joint Security Operations Center (JSOC), Incident Response, Vulnerability Management, and infrastructure/application teams to reduce adversary dwell time and strengthen Synchrony's cyber defenses. The ideal candidate will possess financial sector cyber intelligence and overall Information Security expertise.

Essential Responsibilities:
  • Define intelligence requirements and collection plans focused on threats relevant to financial services and Synchrony's environment.
  • Produce strategic, operational, and tactical intelligence (executive reporting, actor/campaign tracking, TTP and IOC packages).
  • Translate intelligence into detection content, hunt hypotheses, response playbooks, and prioritized mitigations.
  • Manage the intelligence lifecycle (collection → analysis → production → dissemination → feedback).
  • Lead hypothesis-driven hunts mapped to MITRE ATT&CK, focused on high-risk scenarios and validated by available telemetry.
  • Coordinate hunts across endpoint, network, cloud, identity, and edge/WAF; document repeatable hunt playbooks.
  • Escalate validated suspicious activity to Incident Response and support containment/remediation as needed.
  • Convert hunt findings into durable improvements: detections, data onboarding/enrichment, and control remediation.
  • Lead a detection engineering function responsible for building and maintaining detection content and analytics across the enterprise.
  • Develop detection standards (naming, severity, testing criteria, evidence requirements, runbooks) and a structured tuning process.
  • Ensure detections are threat-informed (ATT&CK-mapped), measurable, and aligned to JSOC workflow and triage capacity.
  • Drive detection validation through purple-team/attack simulation outcomes and real incident lessons learned.
  • Partner with SOC to improve alert fidelity, reduce noise, and ensure clear escalation criteria and responder guidance.
  • Maintain a detection backlog and release cadence; ensure change control and documentation for auditability.
  • Perform other duties and/or special projects as assigned.


Qualifications/Requirements:
  • Bachelor's degree in computer science or an equivalent degree and a minimum 5 years of work
  • 8-12+ years of cybersecurity experience with depth in threat intelligence, threat hunting, detection engineering, and/or incident response.
  • 3+ years leading teams and/or enterprise programs with measurable outcomes.
  • Demonstrated experience building and operationalizing detections within a SIEM/EDR environment and partnering with SOC/IR.
  • Strong knowledge of adversary tactics and frameworks (MITRE ATT&CK) and applying them to detection coverage.
  • Proficiency working with security telemetry across endpoint, network, cloud, and edge; strong investigative mindset.
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to brief executives and produce clear technical documentation/runbooks.
  • Ability and flexibility to travel for business as required


Desired Characteristics:
  • Experience establishing a detection engineering lifecycle (standards, testing, tuning, change control, coverage reporting).
  • Detection content engineering expertise; familiarity with data models/normalization and scalable detection design.
  • Financial services and/or regulated industry experience; audit-ready documentation and governance mindset.
  • Certifications (preferred): GIAC (GCTI/GCIA/GCIH/GNFA), CISSP, CCSP, or similar.
  • Strong technical knowledge of scripting languages and data access methodologies.
  • Awareness of the latest cyber security trends and developments.
  • US Government Security Clearance, as a plus.


Grade/Level: 14

The salary range for this position is 170,000.00 - 290,000.00 USD Annual and is eligible for an annual bonus based on individual and company performance.

Actual compensation offered within the posted salary range will be based upon work experience, skill level or knowledge.

Salaries are adjusted according to market in CA, NY Metro and Seattle.

Our Way of Working:

We're proud to offer you flexibility. At Synchrony, our way of working allows you to have the option to work from home near one of our Hubs or come into one of our offices. You will be required to commute to your nearest Hub (either virtual or physical) for in-person engagement activities such as regular business or team meetings, training and culture events.

*Field Sales and some Commercial team roles may have varied location requirements based upon partner obligations or preferences.

Eligibility Requirements:
  • You must be 18 years or older
  • You must have a high school diploma or equivalent
  • You must be willing to take a drug test, submit to a background investigation and submit fingerprints as part of the onboarding process
  • You must be able to satisfy the requirements of Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act.
  • New hires (Level 4-7) must have 9 months of continuous service with the company before they are eligible to post on other roles. Once this new hire time in position requirement is met, the associate will have a minimum 6 months' time in position before they can post for future non-exempt roles. Employees, level 8 or greater, must have at least 18 months' time in position before they can post. All internal employees must consistently meet performance expectations and have approval from your manager to post (or the approval of your manager and HR if you don't meet the time in position or performance expectations).


Job Family Group:
Information Technology

About Synchrony

Synchrony (NYSE: SYF) is a leading consumer financing company at the heart of American commerce and opportunity. From health to home, auto to retail, our Synchrony products have been serving the needs of people and businesses for nearly 100 years. We provide responsible access to credit and banking products to support healthier financial lives for tens of millions of people, enabling them to access the things that matter to them. Additionally, through our innovative products and experiences, we support the growth and operations of some of the country's most respected brands, as well as more than 400,000 small and midsize businesses and health and wellness providers that Americans rely on. Synchrony is proud to be ranked as the country's #2 Best Company to Work For® by Fortune magazine and Great Place to Work®.
Learn more about Synchrony
Size
18,000 employees
Market Cap
$14.4 billion
Industry
Net Income
$1.3 billion
Founded
1993
5 Year Trend
+0.7%
NASDAQ

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