Head of Client Identity Engineering

Role Overview

The Head of Client Identity Engineering is a senior technology executive responsible for defining and delivering Vanguard's global client identity strategy, architecture, and engineering capabilities. This leader will oversee the design, development, security, resilience, and operation of enterprise-scale identity platforms that support millions of client interactions across digital channels.

This role combines deep technical expertise in identity and access management, cybersecurity, cloud platforms, and software engineering with the ability to influence enterprise strategy, drive innovation, and lead globally distributed engineering teams. The successful candidate will play a critical role in strengthening client trust while enabling secure, frictionless experiences across web, mobile, contact center, advisor, and emerging AI-enabled channels.

What You'll Do

• Strategy and Industry Leadership
• Define and execute the global client identity engineering strategy, target architecture, multiyear roadmap, and investment priorities.
• Set the technical vision for identity proofing, authentication, authorization, federation, consent, profile management, digital fraud controls, and identity lifecycle capabilities.
• Represent the organization in industry forums and strategic partnerships; anticipate market, regulatory, threat, and technology shifts and translate them into actionable engineering priorities.
• Advise senior executives on identity risk, client experience, platform modernization, resilience, and emerging opportunities.
• Global Engineering and Delivery
• Lead and develop globally distributed engineering teams accountable for architecture, software development, platform engineering, reliability, testing, implementation, and production support.
• Deliver complex, large-scale global identity programs through strong product, architecture, engineering, security, risk, and business partnerships.
• Establish reusable platforms, APIs, software development kits, automation, observability, and engineering standards that accelerate adoption across markets and channels.
• Create an operating model that enables follow-the-sun delivery, clear ownership, consistent quality, effective capacity management, and rapid resolution of critical issues.
• Build a high-performing engineering culture centered on technical excellence, accountability, inclusion, continuous learning, and measurable outcomes.
• Research, Innovation, and Next-Generation Solutions
• Lead rapid experimentation, prototyping, threat modeling, and evidence-based evaluation of emerging technologies and standards.
• Convert successful experiments into scalable solutions using disciplined architecture governance, secure engineering, reliability testing, and production adoption plans.
• Develop intellectual property, technical publications, external partnerships, and engineering communities that strengthen industry credibility and attract top talent.
• Security, Resilience, and Client Trust
• Engineer platforms for high availability, horizontal scalability, regional resilience, graceful degradation, disaster recovery, and secure failover.
• Embed security, privacy, regulatory, accessibility, and data-minimization requirements throughout the engineering lifecycle.
• Strengthen defenses against account takeover, credential compromise, social engineering, identity fraud, session abuse, and AI-enabled threats.
• Define service-level objectives, operational readiness criteria, incident response practices, and continuous control validation for critical identity services.
• Leadership Qualifications
• Extensive experience leading global client identity, digital identity, cybersecurity, platform, or application engineering organizations.
• Deep technical knowledge of modern identity architecture, identity proofing, authentication, authorization, federation, OAuth, OpenID Connect, passkeys, APIs, distributed systems, cloud platforms, and secure software engineering.
• Strong understanding of cloud infrastructure, client identity and access management, fraud prevention, privacy, regulatory obligations, resilience, observability, and site reliability engineering.
• Experience governing machine and agentic AI identities, delegated access, consent, dynamic authorization, and auditable autonomous interactions.
• Proven ability to recruit, develop, and retain senior architects, engineers, engineering managers, and technical leaders across global locations.
• Exceptional executive communication, stakeholder influence, financial stewardship, vendor management, and change leadership.

What It Takes: Qualifications

Minimum 12 years of experience in cloud security engineering or related IT infrastructure roles, with demonstrated expertise in leading security architecture and operations at scale.

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, cybersecurity, or a related discipline; an advanced degree is preferred.

Experience working in Agile environments, with tools like JIRA and Confluence, and driving continuous improvement in security operations.

Deep expertise in modern identity and access management technologies including authentication, authorization, federation, OAuth, OpenID Connect, APIs, and distributed systems.

Experience leading large-scale cloud-based platforms and engineering teams in highly regulated environments.

Strong understanding of cybersecurity principles, fraud prevention, privacy controls, resilience, observability, and secure software engineering practices.

Proven ability to lead global engineering organizations and deliver complex, enterprise-wide technology initiatives.

Demonstrated success building, mentoring, and retaining high-performing engineering teams.

Exceptional executive communication, stakeholder management, and strategic influencing skills.

Special Factors

Sponsorship

Vanguard is not offering visa sponsorship for this position.

About Vanguard

At Vanguard, we don't just have a mission—we're on a mission.

To work for the long-term financial wellbeing of our clients. To lead through product and services that transform our clients' lives. To learn and develop our skills as individuals and as a team. From Malvern to Melbourne, our mission drives us forward and inspires us to be our best.

How We Work

Vanguard has implemented a hybrid working model for the majority of our crew members, designed to capture the benefits of enhanced flexibility while enabling in-person learning, collaboration, and connection. We believe our mission-driven and highly collaborative culture is a critical enabler to support long-term client outcomes and enrich the employee experience.