Associate Dir., CD&A Engineering - Security Data Platforms

We are seeking an Associate Director, CD&A Engineering to lead the strategy, architecture, and operational delivery of security data pipelines and cloud infrastructure supporting enterprise-scale analytics and detection platforms. This role owns the end-to-end engineering vision for ETL operations using Cribl and infrastructure-as-code (IaC) across Google Cloud and Azure, ensuring reliable, scalable, and cost-effective ingestion and processing of security telemetry at our Company's scale.

The role sits at the intersection of security data engineering, cloud infrastructure strategy, and operational excellence , with accountability for team leadership, technical direction, automation maturity, and platform enablement across Cyber Defense & Analytics., Strategic Leadership & Technical Direction

• Drive the engineering roadmap for security data pipelines, cloud infrastructure, and platform services aligned with CD&A and enterprise cybersecurity strategy.
• Responsible for the data ingestion, transformation, and delivery across SIEM, XDR, and data lake platforms.
• Establish engineering standards, design patterns, and governance frameworks that scale across teams and environments.
• Represent CD&A Engineering in cross-functional forums with Cloud Security, Platform Engineering, Compliance, and enterprise architecture leadership.

Security Data Engineering & ETL (Cribl)

• Design Cribl-based pipelines for ingesting, parsing, enriching, routing, and transforming high-volume security telemetry.
• Drive optimization of data flows for performance, reliability, and cost efficiency across security analytics platforms.
• Define and enforce data standards for normalization, metadata enrichment, and data quality - ensuring Copilot, AI, and analytics readiness.
• Oversee onboarding of new security data sources and continuous improvement of existing pipeline architecture.

Cloud Infrastructure & IaC Engineering

• Contribute to the infrastructure strategy for security data platforms across Azure and Google Cloud, delivered through Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, ARM/Bicep, or equivalent).
• Ensure infrastructure deployments are consistent, repeatable, auditable, and aligned with enterprise security, networking, and governance standards.
• Partner with cloud platform and enterprise architecture teams to shape infrastructure direction and resolve cross-cutting dependencies.

Platform Reliability, Observability & Operations

• Accountable for the availability, scalability, and resilience of security data pipelines and supporting infrastructure.
• Drive implementation of monitoring, alerting, and operational KPIs for ETL and ingestion services.
• Drive incident response and root cause analysis for data pipeline or infrastructure issues, driving systemic improvements.
• Proactively identify and remediate performance bottlenecks, operational risks, and technical debt.

Leadership & Delivery Managemen t

• Mentor and develop engineers focused on data pipeline and cloud infrastructure delivery.
• Contribute to sprint planning, backlog prioritization, and PI execution in alignment with CD&A objectives.
• Foster a culture of accountability, automation, documentation, and continuous improvement.

Governance, Compliance & Collaboration

• Ensure audit, compliance, and data retention requirements are embedded into pipeline and infrastructure design.
• Provide technical leadership into architecture reviews, onboarding assessments, and platform change governance.
• Collaborate closely with the Cyber Fusion Center (CFC/SOC), XDR/SIEM engineering, CDAI, and ITRMS stakeholders.

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, Engineering, Cybersecurity, or related field.
• Minimum 8 years of progressive experience in security data engineering, cloud infrastructure engineering, or platform engineering - with at least 3 years in a leadership or people management capacity .
• Deep expertise with Cribl or equivalent security data pipeline / ETL platforms.
• Strong experience architecting and governing infrastructure using IaC (Terraform, ARM/Bicep, or similar) .
• Proven experience with Google Cloud and/or Azure in large, enterprise-scale environments.
• Solid command of security telemetry, logging standards, and data lifecycle management.
• Demonstrated ability to drive cross-functional alignment, set technical direction, and deliver at scale., Application Security, Cloud Security, Cybersecurity Operations, Data Protection, Delivery of Security Applications, Design Applications, DevOps Coaching, Influence, Information Security, SLA Management, System Designs, Technical Advice, Zero Trust Identity

We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing together, talented, and committed people with diverse experiences, perspectives, skills and backgrounds. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when people with diverse ideas, broad experiences, backgrounds, and skills come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another's thinking and approach problems collectively.

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The salary range for this role is

$142,400.00 - $224,100.00

Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company. No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails.