VP, Authentication Services

Synchrony Identity and Access Management (IAM) is seeking a seasoned technical leader to spearhead our modern Authentication edge. Powered by adaptive multi-factor authentication (MFA), continuous adaptive trust, and advanced Single Sign-On (SSO), these services and platforms serve as the bedrock of our enterprise Zero Trust Architecture. As the VP of Authentication Services, you will operate as the Principal Platform Owner and Systems Architect for Synchrony’s workforce and B2B identity perimeters. In this role, you will direct an elite engineering organization tasked with architecting, scaling, and operating high throughput, high availability SSO, MFA, and passwordless pipelines. Serving as a premier technical thought leader, you will design distributed, fault-tolerant authentication topologies and availability across all mission-critical enterprise applications. Product owner and thought leader that will own the workforce authentication strategy focused on security and user experience. Communicate and get buy-in on strategy to key stakeholder groups. Understand and implement leading authentication and authorization industry trends, proposing strategies to continually increase Synchrony’s authentication security and user experience. Platform Ownership: Direct product management and technical roadmaps for core authentication technologies (Okta, YubiKeys, FIDO2/WebAuthn, and MightyID Authentication Services) using Jira to build epics, features, and stories that optimize engineering velocity. Strategic Collaboration: Partner with the VP of Authentication & Security Services to build data driven business cases that justify, quantify, and prioritize high value product initiatives. Architecture & Design: Author secure production grade authentication patterns, zero-trust reference architectures, and cryptographic policy playbooks. Operational Leadership: Manage a 24/7 engineering and operations team ensuring high availability, system configuration management, incident response, and business continuity for mission-critical apps. App Integration: Oversee timely application authentication and authorization integrations while maintaining hands-on technical knowledge of the underlying infrastructure. Governance & Risk: Enhance and enforce authentication policies, compliance standards, and risk metrics while conducting cost/ROI analysis. Relationship Management: Champion authentication services across the enterprise by advising cross-functional business and technology teams on product capabilities. Develop and maintain value driven business relationships through effective needs analysis, program management, customer service and problem resolution. Champion authentication services by advising other business and technology teams on product capabilities. Understand and implement leading authentication and authorization industry trends, proposing strategies to continually increase Synchrony’s authentication security and user experience. Perform other duties and/or special projects as assigned Qualifications/Requirements: Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a technical STEM discipline. Alternative Education: High School Diploma / GED with 15+ years of enterprise IT engineering experience. Experience: Minimum 10 years of total enterprise IT engineering experience. Okta Specialization: Minimum 5 years of hands-on experience designing, scaling, and operating Okta Identity Cloud solutions (including Okta Advanced Server Access, API Access Management, and Workflows). Leadership: Minimum 5 years of experience leading and scaling distributed, cross-functional engineering and infrastructure operations teams. Protocol Mastery: Expert-level mastery of identity and cryptographic protocols including SAML 2.0, OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect (OIDC), WS-Fed, and SCIM provisioning. Ability and flexibility to travel for business as required Desired Characteristics: Infrastructure Expertise: Proven record of building and managing 24/7 enterprise-scale authentication services and customer-facing infrastructure. Agile Delivery: Experience acting as a Scrum Product Owner within the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). Regulatory Compliance: Working knowledge of NIST, FFIEC, and PCI authentication standards. Project Execution: Track record of deploying complex, large-scale projects across multiple business units and control functions. Tooling Knowledge: Familiarity with ServiceNow, SailPoint IdentityIQ, OKTA, Entra ID, Active Directory. Soft Skills: Superior written communication, analytical thinking, strong sense of urgency, and a commitment to outstanding user experiences. Grade/Level: 13 The salary range for this position is 155,000.00 - 260,000.00 USD Annual and is eligible for an annual bonus based on individual and company performance. Actual compensation offered within the posted salary range will be based upon work experience, skill level or knowledge. Salaries are adjusted according to market in CA, NY Metro and Seattle. Our Way of Working: We’re proud to offer you flexibility. At Synchrony, our way of working allows you to have the option to work from home near one of our Hubs or come into one of our offices. You will be required to commute to your nearest Hub (either virtual or physical) for in-person engagement activities such as regular business or team meetings, training and culture events. *Field Sales and some Commercial team roles may have varied location requirements based upon partner obligations or preferences. Eligibility Requirements: You must be 18 years or older You must have a high school diploma or equivalent You must be willing to take a drug test, submit to a background investigation and submit fingerprints as part of the onboarding process You must be able to satisfy the requirements of Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. New hires (Level 4-7) must have 9 months of continuous service with the company before they are eligible to post on other roles. Once this new hire time in position requirement is met, the associate will have a minimum 6 months’ time in position before they can post for future non-exempt roles. Employees, level 8 or greater, must have at least 18 months’ time in position before they can post. All internal employees must consistently meet performance expectations and have approval from your manager to post (or the approval of your manager and HR if you don’t meet the time in position or performance expectations). Legal authorization to work in the U.S. is required. We will not sponsor individuals for employment visas, now or in the future, for this job opening. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status. Our Commitment: When you join us, you’ll be part of an inclusive culture where your individual skills, experience, and voice are not only heard – but valued. Together, we’re building a future where we can all belong, connect, and turn ideals into action. More than 50% of our workforce is engaged in our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), where community and passion intersect to offer a safe space to learn and grow. This starts when you choose to apply for a role at Synchrony. We ensure all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status. We’re proud to have an award-winning culture for all. Reasonable Accommodation Notice: Federal law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities. Please tell us if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job or to perform your job. Examples of reasonable accommodation include making a change to the application process or work procedures, providing documents in an alternate format, using a sign language interpreter, or using specialized equipment. If you need special accommodations, please call our Career Support Line so that we can discuss your specific situation. We can be reached at View phone number on click.appcast.io. 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