Principal of Access and Data Security SME

At Early Warning, we’ve powered and protected the U.S. financial system for over thirty years with cutting-edge solutions like Zelle®, Paze℠, and so much more. As a trusted name in payments, we partner with thousands of institutions to increase access to financial services and protect transactions for hundreds of millions of consumers and small businesses.

Positions located in Scottsdale, San Francisco, Chicago, or New York follow a hybrid work model to allow for a more collaborative working environment.

Candidates responding to this posting must independently possess the eligibility to work in the United States, for any employer, at the date of hire. This position is ineligible for employment Visa sponsorship.

Overall Purpose

The Principal of Access Control & Data Security Oversight is responsible for ensuring the organization’s Access Control and Data Security programs are effective, risk-aligned, and defensible—through independent challenge, governance, and validation.

This role provides independent risk-based governance within a Three Lines of Defense (3LOD) model, ensuring access management and data protection practices are effective, measurable, and aligned to risk appetite and regulatory expectations. The position partners closely with engineering, identity, data, and application teams, acting as a credible challenger—not an operator. This role will support the Cybersecurity and Technology Risk Management team within the Second Line of Defense (2LOD) and report directly to the 2LOD VP of Information Security Risk.

Essential Functions

Data Security

• Provide independent challenge and oversight of data protection practices across enterprise environments.
• Define and maintain policies, standards, and controls for data classification, encryption, retention, and handling.
• Challenge control validation and effectiveness testing of data security controls, including DLP and encryption.
• Assess and challenge data access, data sharing, and data lifecycle decisions.
• Deliver risk-based reporting on data exposure, control gaps, and trends.
• Provide oversight of data security tooling to ensure coverage, configuration, and data integrity.
  
  

Access Control

• Provide independent challenge and oversight of Identity and Access Management (IAM) and Privileged Access Management (PAM) programs.
• Define and maintain policies, standards, and controls for authentication, authorization, and access governance.
• Challenge control validation of provisioning, deprovisioning, access reviews, and segregation of duties (SoD).
• Assess and challenge access decisions, entitlements, and privilege escalation risks.
• Deliver reporting on access risks, excessive privileges, and control weaknesses.
• Provide oversight of IAM/PAM tooling to ensure effectiveness and integrity.
  
  

Minimum Qualifications

Data Security

• Deep expertise in data security domains including encryption, tokenization, masking, and DLP.
• Experience with data classification frameworks and data lifecycle management.
• Strong understanding of data architectures across cloud, on-prem, and hybrid environments.
• Ability to translate data risk into business impact and regulatory implications.
  
  

Access Control

• Deep expertise in IAM, PAM, and access governance models.
• Experience with identity systems, federation, and modern authentication (e.g., SSO, MFA, Zero Trust).
• Strong understanding of least privilege, role-based and attribute-based access control models.
• Ability to assess and communicate access-related risks at scale.
  
  

General Qualifications

• 15 years of IT experience with 8 years in Information Security.
• Experience operating in a Three Lines of Defense model and/or regulated environment (financial services preferred).
• Ability to translate technical findings into business risk and executive-level insights.
• Experience in fintech or highly regulated industries.
• Familiarity with regulatory expectations for data protection and access control.
• Background in risk management, audit, or control validation.
• Background and drug screen
  
  

The above job description is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties and standards of the position. Incumbents will follow instructions and perform other related duties as assigned by their supervisor.

Physical Requirements

Working conditions consist of a normal office environment. Work is primarily sedentary and requires extensive use of a computer and involves sitting for periods of approximately four hours. Work may require occasional standing, walking, kneeling and reaching. Must be able to lift 10 pounds occasionally and/or negligible amount of force frequently. Requires visual acuity and dexterity to view, prepare, and manipulate documents and office equipment including personal computers. Requires the ability to communicate with internal and/or external customers.

Employee must be able to perform essential functions and physical requirements of position with or without reasonable accommodation.

The Base Pay Scale For This Position In

Phoenix, AZ/ Chicago, IL / Washington, DC in USD per year is: $154,000 - $193,000.

New York, NY/ San Francisco, CA in USD per year is: $186,000 - $232,000.

Additionally, candidates are eligible for a discretionary incentive plan and benefits.

This pay scale is subject to change and is not necessarily reflective of actual compensation that may be earned, nor a promise of any specific pay for any specific candidate, which is always dependent on legitimate factors considered at the time of job offer. Early Warning Services takes into consideration a variety of factors when determining a competitive salary offer, including, but not limited to, the job scope, market rates and geographic location of a position, candidate’s education, experience, training, and specialized skills or certification(s) in relation to the job requirements and compared with internal equity (peers). The business actively supports and reviews wage equity to ensure that pay decisions are not based on gender, race, national origin, or any other protected classes.

#Dice

Some of the Ways We Prioritize Your Health and Happiness

• Healthcare Coverage – Competitive medical (PPO/HDHP), dental, and vision plans as well as company contributions to your Health Savings Account (HSA) or pre-tax savings through flexible spending accounts (FSA) for commuting, health & dependent care expenses.
• 401(k) Retirement Plan – Featuring a 100% Company Safe Harbor Match on your first 6% deferral immediately upon eligibility.
• Paid Time Off – Flexible Time Off for Exempt (salaried) employees, as well as generous PTO for Non-Exempt (hourly) employees, plus 11 paid company holidays and a paid volunteer day.
• 12 weeks of Paid Parental Leave
• Maven Family Planning – provides support through your Parenting journey including egg freezing, fertility, adoption, surrogacy, pregnancy, postpartum, early pediatrics, and returning to work.
  
  

And SO much more! We continue to enhance our program, so be sure to check our Benefits page here for the latest. Our team can share more during the interview process!

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Early Warning Services, LLC (“Early Warning”) considers for employment, hires, retains and promotes qualified candidates on the basis of ability, potential, and valid qualifications without regard to race, religious creed, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, protected veteran or disability status or any factor prohibited by law, and as such affirms in policy and practice to support and promote equal employment opportunity and affirmative action, in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and municipal laws. The company also prohibits discrimination on other bases such as medical condition, marital status or any other factor that is irrelevant to the performance of our employees.