W2 ONLY || Microsoft Office 365 Security Consultant

Role: Microsoft Office 365 Security Consultant

Location: Milpitas, CA or Ann Arbor, MI (Onsite)

Job Type: Contract

Role Overview

We are seeking a hands-on Microsoft Office 365 Security Lead who will act as both the strategic owner and technical subject matter expert (SME) for Microsoft 365 security. This role is responsible for partnering and executing the security roadmap, driving operational efficiencies, and configuring and optimizing security controls across the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.

The ideal candidate is equally comfortable setting the operational strategy, translating cybersecurity requirements into real, enforceable Microsoft 365 configurations, and serving as the go-to authority for Office 365 security across the enterprise.

Key Responsibilities

Microsoft 365 Security Ownership & SME Role

• Serve as the primary SME and architect for Microsoft Office 365 security across the enterprise.
• Drive the operational excellence for Microsoft 365 security platform, including managing prioritizations, collaborating on design decisions, and phased execution.
• Stay hands-on with tenant configuration, policy tuning, feature rollouts, and troubleshooting.
• Act as the escalation point for complex Microsoft 365 security issues and design decisions.

Infrastructure Operation Security

• Design, implement, and maintain security controls across: Exchange Online (email and messaging security), Intune, OneDrive and Teams
• Configure and optimize: Conditional Access policies, Identity Protection, Tenant restrictions, External collaboration controls

• Partner with key stakeholders to drive the implementation of Zero Trust principles across identity, devices, applications, endpoints and data.
• Continuously evaluate and improve security based on threats, telemetry, and Microsoft best practices.

• Knowledge of Microsoft Purview, Data Loss Prevention (DLP), Sensitivity labels and encryption, Digital Rights Management (DRM), Active Directory Rights Management Services (ADRMS)
• Evaluate emerging Microsoft security features and technologies, integrating them into the roadmap where appropriate
• Understand and apply AI security fundamentals, data protection, and access controls across the enterprise.
• Drive improvements in Email and phishing protection, Threat detection and investigation, Automated and manual response workflows

Cross-Functional Leadership & Influence

• Serve as the Microsoft 365 security partner to the Cybersecurity organization.
• Lead and influence cross-functional, dotted-line teams across infrastructure, identity, applications, and compliance.
• Work effectively in a multinational environment across multiple time zones and cultures.
• Communicate security decisions, risks, and trade-offs clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Partners with Cybersecurity, Legal, Privacy, and Compliance teams to translate policy into enforceable technical controls.

Required Skills & Experience

Core Technical Expertise

• Experience working in large, multinational enterprises of 10000 users+
• Deep, hands-on experience with the Microsoft 365 security ecosystem
• Strong expertise in: Microsoft Defender, Microsoft Purview. eMail Data Loss Prevention (DLP), Microsoft sensitive data protection, Conditional Access, DRM and ADRMS
• Strong understanding of: Zero Trust security architecture, Messaging and email security, Threat response and incident handling and Data governance frameworks

• Proven experience as a hands-on architect who can drive roadmaps and operational efficiencies
• Strong collaboration skills across infrastructure, application, and cybersecurity teams
• Demonstrated ability to lead without direct authority (dotted-line teams)
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Microsoft Security certifications (SC-100, SC-200, SC-300, SC-400)
• Experience with M&A integrations from a Microsoft 365 security perspective
• Experience aligning Microsoft 365 security to enterprise compliance frameworks (NIST, ISO, SOC, GDPR)
• Managerial experience in leading Microsoft 365 and collaboration teams.
• Experience securing multi-cloud environments (Azure, AWS, GCP, etc.)