Sr Director, IT Head of Security Operations

At Gilead, we’re creating a healthier world for all people. For more than 35 years, we’ve tackled diseases such as HIV, viral hepatitis, COVID-19 and cancer – working relentlessly to develop therapies that help improve lives and to ensure access to these therapies across the globe. We continue to fight against the world’s biggest health challenges, and our mission requires collaboration, determination and a relentless drive to make a difference.

Every member of Gilead’s team plays a critical role in the discovery and development of life-changing scientific innovations. Our employees are our greatest asset as we work to achieve our bold ambitions, and we’re looking for the next wave of passionate and ambitious people ready to make a direct impact.

We believe every employee deserves a great leader. People Leaders are the cornerstone to the employee experience at Gilead and Kite. As a people leader now or in the future, you are the key driver in evolving our culture and creating an environment where every employee feels included, developed and empowered to fulfil their aspirations. Join Gilead and help create possible, together.

Job Description

Job Description

Gilead Sciences, Inc. is a research-based biopharmaceutical company founded in 1987. Together we deliver life-saving therapies to patients in need. With the commitment and drive you bring to the workplace every day, you will be part of a team that is changing the world and helping millions of people live healthier, more fulfilling lives. Our worldwide staff is a close community where you can see the tangible results of your contributions, where every individual matters, and everyone has a chance to enhance their skills through ongoing development. Our scientific focus has resulted in marketed products that are benefiting hundreds of thousands of people, a pipeline of late-stage drug candidates, and unmatched patient access programs to ensure medications are available to those who could otherwise not afford them. By joining Gilead, you will further our mission to address unmet medical needs and improve life by advancing the care of patients with life-threatening diseases.

Specific Responsibilities & Skills

The Senior Director, Head of Security Operations is a mission-critical leader responsible for safeguarding the integrity of Gilead’s scientific data, digital assets, and operational environments. Reporting to the CISO, this role will direct the teams that provide operational excellence for enterprise security capabilities that protect employees, patients, and the research that fuels Gilead’s innovation. Partnering closely with Gilead’s Managed Service Providers (MSPs), this role will lead the team to provide measurable operational results to support Gilead business outcomes. As a senior member of the cross-functional Security Risk and Compliance organization, this leader will partner closely across Security Architecture, Engineering, Project delivery, Risk, Data Privacy, QA, Infrastructure, Network, and Business IT to translate complex and often ambiguous security requirements into clear guidance, ensuring the organization can innovate confidently while maintaining a strong security posture.

This is a site-based role in Foster City, CA at our global headquarters. Remote work is not available for this position. We do offer optional work from home days on Monday and Friday with core collaboration days in the office.

This position sits at the forefront of Gilead’s digital and AI-driven transformation and is uniquely positioned to support and secure the next generation of research platforms and data environments that accelerate the development and delivery of lifesaving therapies. The Head of Security Operations combines deep expertise in security policy, regulatory compliance, technology strategy, and MSP management practices with the ability to navigate ambiguity and influence senior stakeholders. This leader will ensure that the business is aware and understand the importance of security across the enterprise, help business and other stakeholders to follow and comply with security, risk and compliance requirements.

The Head of Security Operations will be expected to demonstrate:

· Domain Expertise: Expert level knowledge of Cyber Security capability areas, including Risk assessment and management, Identity and Access Management, Endpoint Security, Network Security, Platform Security, application security, and vulnerability management.

· Strategic mindset with the ability to execute: Define and deliver against security strategies, especially in Identity and Access Management, to protect Gilead, implements automation, and drives for operational efficiencies.

· Technology Strategy and Delivery: Position Security as a key requirement to support business operations and understand the value of scalable and efficient technical solutions that provide visibility to threats and allows team the ability to quickly respond to and block threats with low operational overhead and technical debt.

· Business Partnership: Serve as a trusted advisor to leaders within Business functions and IT and supports their mission. Partner with senior IT Security leadership to create technology strategies that support the objectives of their functions. Understand the value drivers of the Business and ensures IT Security solutions consider the balance between Security and User experience. Strong ability to partner with Managed Service providers and manage them to agree upon outcomes.

· Leadership: Proven ability to build, develop, and lead teams and rally organization around the vision.

Key responsibilities for this position include (but are not limited to):

· Define and execute a multi-year Security Operations strategy and roadmap, aligning operational capabilities, automation, incident response, identity security, vulnerability management, application security and MSP performance to Gilead’s enterprise risk posture, digital transformation and business strategies.

· Lead and manage the Security Operations function to provide operational excellence across all Security domains including Identity and Access Management, Endpoint Security, Network Security, Platform Security, and application security.

· Lead and manage the Security Identity and Access Management team to deliver key Identity Security capabilities.

· Lead and manage our Managed Service Provider (MSP) Operations team. Establish and monitor OKRs, KPIs, service levels and risk-reduction metrics.

· Own operational budget planning, vendor performance, service cost transparency and cost-of-ownership optimization for Security Operations. Make informed trade-off decisions across risk reduction, operational resilience, user experience, cost and business need.

· Lead continuous improvement and automation activities to reduce overall operational overhead, improve response times and strengthen cyber resilience.

· Represent Security Operations in enterprise governance, leadership risk discussions, audit and compliance forums, and major IT initiatives.

· Advise senior leaders on operational security risks, investment trade-offs and response priorities that affect Gilead-wide resilience. Leads a high-performing, inclusive Security Operations organization that develops and retains talent, encourages innovation and enables accountable, resilient and scalable delivery.

· Maintain awareness of evolving cyber threats, regulatory expectations, security operations practices and peer benchmarks, bringing relevant insights into Gilead to inform roadmap decisions and operational priorities.

· Support Merger & Acquisition related activities.

· Lead and manage our application security team, including SAST/DAST application testing, penetration testing, security remediation, and tabletop exercises

· Ensure IT activities, processes, and procedures meet defined requirements, policies and regulations.

· Work with Internal Audit, Project Managers, System Managers and Eng