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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for IAM Platform Admin — Windows Security Analyst

💰 $ - $

SecurityIdentity and Access ManagementWindowsSystems AdministrationCybersecurity

🎯 Role Definition

The IAM Platform Admin — Windows Security Analyst is a hybrid technical and security operations role responsible for designing, implementing, operating, and continuously improving Identity and Access Management (IAM) and Windows security controls across enterprise environments. This position administers Active Directory and Azure AD, manages privileged access (PAM), integrates SSO/MFA and identity solutions (Okta, Ping, SailPoint, CyberArk), automates user lifecycle and provisioning workflows, enforces least-privilege and RBAC models, conducts entitlement reviews and audits, and collaborates with security, networking, cloud and application teams to reduce identity-related risk and meet regulatory compliance. The ideal candidate is proficient in Windows Server administration, Group Policy, PowerShell scripting, modern IAM protocols (SAML, OAuth2, OIDC), and SIEM-driven monitoring and incident response.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Windows Systems Administrator with security focus
  • Identity & Access Management (IAM) Engineer I or Analyst
  • Security Operations Center (SOC) analyst with Windows expertise

Advancement To:

  • Senior IAM Engineer / Lead IAM Platform Administrator
  • Identity Architect / IAM Solutions Architect
  • Windows Security Engineering Manager or Cybersecurity Engineering Lead

Lateral Moves:

  • Privileged Access Management (PAM) Specialist
  • Cloud Identity Engineer (Azure AD / AWS IAM)
  • Security Automation / DevSecOps Engineer

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Design, deploy and maintain enterprise Active Directory (AD) and Azure Active Directory (AAD) environments, ensuring secure domain/forest topology, OU design, and service account management that support large-scale Windows and hybrid cloud deployments.
  • Administer and configure Privileged Access Management (PAM) solutions such as CyberArk, BeyondTrust, or Centrify to secure, rotate, and audit privileged credentials and sessions, including onboarding of privileged accounts and automation of credential lifecycle.
  • Lead the implementation and operational support for Single Sign-On (SSO) and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) integrations using Okta, Ping Identity, Azure AD Conditional Access, and federation protocols (SAML, OAuth2, OIDC), ensuring seamless and secure user authentication across SaaS and on-prem applications.
  • Build and maintain identity lifecycle automation and provisioning workflows using identity governance platforms (SailPoint, Saviynt) and integration with HR systems (Workday/Workday HCM) to automate joiner/mover/leaver processes and entitlement assignments.
  • Develop, implement and enforce Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) and role engineering practices, collaborate with business stakeholders to define roles, entitlements, and approval workflows to reduce excessive privileges and improve access visibility.
  • Create and maintain Group Policy Objects (GPOs) for Windows security hardening, configuration management, and compliance controls across servers and endpoints; perform ongoing GPO design reviews, testing, and change management.
  • Write, review and maintain PowerShell and automation scripts to perform identity-related tasks (bulk provisioning, de-provisioning, password resets, AD hygiene, scheduled reports) and integrate with CI/CD pipelines and automation platforms (Ansible, Azure Automation).
  • Configure and tune Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) platforms (Splunk, Azure Sentinel, QRadar) for identity-related telemetry, including authentication anomalies, privilege escalation attempts, lateral movement indicators, and scheduled access review alerts.
  • Lead identity-focused incident detection and response activities: investigate suspicious logins, compromised credentials, account takeovers, service account misuse, and coordinate containment, remediation, and root-cause analysis with incident response and SOC teams.
  • Perform risk assessments, access reviews, attestation campaigns and entitlement reconciliation to support audit readiness and compliance requirements (SOX, GDPR, HIPAA), documenting evidence and remediation actions for auditors.
  • Integrate on-prem AD with cloud identity providers and hybrid authentication models including AD Connect, AD FS, Azure AD Pass-through, and Password Hash Sync, ensuring high availability and secure synchronization.
  • Manage certificate services and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) as it relates to identity (smartcard authentication, certificate-based authentication, TLS for federation services), including certificate lifecycle and revocation processes.
  • Administer and secure service accounts, managed identities, and automation principals across Windows and cloud environments, applying credential vaulting and least-privilege principles.
  • Conduct periodic entitlement cleanups, orphaned account remediation, inactive account disablement, and house-cleaning activities to reduce attack surface and maintain identity hygiene.
  • Drive cross-functional projects to onboard enterprise applications into centralized IAM, including SSO, Just-In-Time provisioning, SCIM integration and fine-grained attribute mapping to enforce consistent access policies.
  • Develop and maintain technical documentation, runbooks, standard operating procedures (SOPs), architecture diagrams, and playbooks for IAM operations, change control, and incident response.
  • Implement and enforce Windows hardening baselines, CIS benchmarks, and security configuration guides across server and workstation estates, working with patch and configuration management teams to remediate deviations.
  • Coordinate with application owners, developers and DevOps teams to ensure identity integration best practices for modern applications (microservices, APIs), including OAuth scopes, client credentials flow, and secure secret management.
  • Perform continuous monitoring, vulnerability assessment, and remedial action related to identity infrastructure components, including AD domain controllers, federation services, and PAM appliances.
  • Lead or participate in identity architecture reviews and solution design for mergers, acquisitions, and enterprise transformations to ensure secure consolidation and migration of identities and credentials.
  • Provide Tier 3 support for identity and Windows security escalations, troubleshoot complex authentication issues, AD replication problems, federation errors, and PAM session anomalies across hybrid environments.
  • Automate and schedule comprehensive identity and access reporting, dashboards and KPIs for risk management, executive reporting, and audit dashboards using scripting and BI tools.
  • Collaborate with risk, compliance and privacy teams to translate regulatory requirements into IAM controls, policies, and evidence collection for audits and assessments.
  • Mentor and train junior IAM engineers, Windows admins and SOC analysts on identity best practices, secure Windows administration, and incident triage for identity-related threats.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
  • Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
  • Participate in user access certification campaigns and help streamline reviewer workflows.
  • Assist in procurement and vendor management for IAM/PAM platforms and identity-related services.
  • Support periodic tabletop exercises and playbook validations for identity-focused security incidents.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Identity and Access Management (IAM) platforms: practical experience with SailPoint, Saviynt, or comparable identity governance solutions.
  • Privileged Access Management (PAM): hands-on administration of CyberArk, BeyondTrust, Thycotic or similar for vaulting, session management, and credential rotation.
  • Active Directory (AD) and Azure Active Directory (AAD): design, administration, replication troubleshooting, AD Connect and hybrid identity patterns.
  • Federation & SSO protocols: SAML, OAuth2, OIDC, WS-Fed and experience with IdPs/SPs (Okta, Ping, ADFS).
  • Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and Conditional Access: configuration and tuning for Azure Conditional Access, Duo, RSA, or similar products.
  • Windows Server administration and hardening: Group Policy Objects (GPO), NTFS permissions, service account management, Windows security baselines (CIS), patching strategies.
  • PowerShell scripting and automation for identity tasks, bulk operations, and integration with REST APIs.
  • SIEM and log analytics: Splunk, Azure Sentinel, QRadar for identity telemetry, alerts, and threat hunting.
  • Directory synchronization and provisioning: Microsoft AD Connect, SCIM, LDAP, integration with HR systems (Workday, Oracle HCM).
  • Certificate services and PKI: management of certificates, smartcard auth, and TLS requirements for federation and web services.
  • Security frameworks & compliance: SOX, GDPR, HIPAA, NIST, and experience mapping IAM controls to compliance requirements.
  • Networking and authentication troubleshooting: Kerberos, NTLM, DNS, LDAP, firewall considerations related to identity flows.
  • API integration and identity automation: RESTful APIs, JSON, scripting to integrate IAM with SaaS and custom applications.
  • Cloud identity and platform knowledge: Azure AD, AWS IAM roles, managed identities and their relationships to on-prem identity.
  • Monitoring, alerting and incident response: playbooks for compromised accounts, privilege misuse, and identity-based threats.

Soft Skills

  • Strong stakeholder management and the ability to translate technical identity concepts to non-technical business owners.
  • Excellent written documentation skills for runbooks, SOPs, and audit evidence.
  • Analytical problem-solving and investigative mindset for complex authentication and authorization issues.
  • Project management and the ability to manage multiple concurrent IAM and Windows-security initiatives.
  • Collaborative team player who can work across security, cloud, network, and application teams.
  • Coaching and mentoring skills to uplift junior engineers and cross-functional teams.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Cybersecurity, Information Systems, or equivalent work experience.

Preferred Education:

  • Master’s degree in Cybersecurity, Information Systems, or related field.
  • Relevant vendor certifications (CyberArk Sentry/Trust, Okta Certified Admin, Microsoft Certified: Identity and Access Administrator Associate).

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Computer Science
  • Information Security / Cybersecurity
  • Information Systems
  • Network Engineering
  • Systems Administration

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 4 - 8 years in systems administration, Windows platform engineering, or identity & access management roles.

Preferred:

  • 5+ years specifically administering Active Directory and identity pools in enterprise environments.
  • Demonstrated experience implementing PAM solutions and onboarding critical service accounts.
  • Proven track record of integrating SSO/MFA across cloud and on-prem applications and supporting compliance-driven identity programs.

Preferred Certifications (examples):

  • Microsoft Certified: Identity and Access Administrator Associate
  • CyberArk Trustee / Sentry
  • Okta Certified Professional / Administrator
  • CISSP, CISM, or equivalent security certification
  • CompTIA Security+ or relevant GIAC certifications
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