Director, Cybersecurity, North America & Global SOC Leader

Kyowa Kirin is a fast-growing global specialty pharmaceutical company that applies state-of-the-art biotechnologies to discover and deliver novel medicines in four disease areas: bone and mineral; intractable hematologic; hematology oncology; and rare disease.  A Japan-based company, our goal is to translate science into smiles by delivering therapies where no adequate treatments currently exist, working from drug discovery to product development and commercialization. In North America, we are headquartered in Princeton, NJ, with offices in California, North Carolina, and Mississauga, Ontario.

Summary:

We are seeking a dynamic and experienced  Head of Cybersecurity, North America & Global SOC Leader to join our Global Information Security Team This role will serve as the senior security leader for the North America region while also leading our global Security Operations Center (SOC). The ideal candidate will be both a strategic thinker and a hands-on leader, capable of driving regional execution of global security initiatives while building a strong, unified cyber defense posture across the enterprise. This is a unique opportunity to play a key leadership role protecting intellectual property, ensuring regulatory compliance, and safeguarding patient trust. 

Essential Functions:

•    Lead the North America Cybersecurity function, managing a team of specialists across governance, application assurance, cloud security, architecture, cyber defense, and OT/ICS security.
•    Lead, motivate and inspire a team and promote a positive and inclusive culture
•    Team leadership and ability to work across regions for operational excellence
•    Ensure regional execution of global security programs while tailoring implementation to local regulatory and business needs.
•    Act as the primary cybersecurity advisor for North American executives, providing risk insights, metrics, and updates on the regional threat landscape.
•    Partner with ICT, Legal, Compliance, Quality, and Manufacturing to ensure compliance with HIPAA, FDA, GxP, and other regulatory requirements.
•    Oversee incident response, risk management, and audit readiness for North America operations, including R&D labs, manufacturing plants, and commercial functions.
•    Serve as the Global SOC Leader, directing strategy and execution of monitoring, detection, and incident response across IT, OT, and cloud environments.
•    Drive consistency across global SOC operations — including playbooks, escalation models, detection engineering, and threat intelligence integration.
•    Act as executive incident commander during critical global incidents, ensuring timely communication and coordination with executives, regulators, and partners.
•    Continuously enhance global SOC capabilities, leveraging automation, advanced analytics, and intelligence to stay ahead of evolving threats.
•    Partner with the Global CISO to shape and execute the long-term cybersecurity strategy.
•    Represent North America in the global security leadership team, ensuring local priorities and lessons learned inform global decision-making.
•    Collaborate with other regional leads to harmonize processes, strengthen resilience, and drive continuous improvement across the global security program.
•    Optimize vendor and managed service partnerships to deliver cost-effective, scalable, and innovative security solutions.
•    Promote a security-first culture by engaging business leaders and employees at all levels, positioning cybersecurity as a key business enabler.

Requirements:

Education
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Security, Engineering, or related field required; Master’s degree in Cybersecurity, Information Assurance, Business Administration, or related discipline preferred.

Experience
At least 12 years of progressive experience in cybersecurity, with at least 5 years in senior leadership roles managing regional or global teams: Strong background in the pharmaceutical, biotech, or life sciences sector, with proven ability to address regulatory requirements such as HIPAA, GxP, and 21 CFR Part 11: Demonstrated expertise in SOC leadership, incident response, threat intelligence, cloud security, and OT/ICS security.

Technical Skills:
•    Expertise in Security Operations, Incident Response, and Threat Intelligence, including SOC leadership, detection engineering, and response coordination across IT, OT, and cloud environments.
•    Strong background in Cloud and Infrastructure Security (AWS, Azure, GCP), Identity and Access Management (IAM), and Zero Trust architectures.
•    Proficiency in Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) frameworks such as NIST, ISO 27001, and regulatory standards including HIPAA, GxP, and 21 CFR Part 11.
•    Experience with OT/ICS security in manufacturing and laboratory environments, ensuring network segmentation and operational resilience.
•    Skilled in security technologies and platforms (SIEM, SOAR, EDR/XDR, vulnerability management, and endpoint protection).
Certifications:
Required: CISSP, CISM, or equivalent
Preferred: CRISC, CISA, CCSK/CCSP, GICSP, or other advanced cloud, risk, or OT certifications.

Working Conditions:

Requires up to 10% domestic and international travel

The anticipated salary for this position will be $200,000 to $220,000.  The actual salary offered for this role at commencement of employment may vary based on several factors including but not limited to relevant experience, skill set, qualifications, education (including applicable licenses and certifications, job-based knowledge, location, and other business and organizational needs.

The listed salary is just one component of the overall compensation package. At Kyowa Kirin North America we provide a comprehensive range of benefits including:

• 401K with company match
• Discretionary Profit Share
• Annual Bonus Program (Sales Bonus for Sales Jobs)
• Generous PTO and Holiday Schedule which includes Summer and Winter Shut-Downs, Sick Days and, Volunteer Days
• Healthcare Benefits (Medical, Dental, Prescription Drugs and Vision)
• HSA & FSA Programs
• Well-Being and Work/Life Programs
• Life & Disability Insurance
• Concierge Services
• Long Term Incentive Program (subject to job level and performance)
• Pet Insurance
• Tuition Assistance
• Employee Referral Awards

The compensation and benefits information set forth in this posting applies to candidates hired in the United States. Candidates hired outside the United States will be eligible for compensation and benefits in accordance with their local market.

KKNA and all of its employees have an obligation to act in accordance with the law and with integrity in all our operations and interactions

It is the policy of Kyowa Kirin North America, Inc. to provide equal employment opportunity to all qualified persons without regard to race, religion, creed, color, pregnancy, sex, age, national origin, disability, genetic trait or predisposition, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation or affection preference or citizenship status or any other category protected by law.

When you apply to a job on this site, the personal data contained in your application will be collected and stored by Kyowa Kirin, Inc. (“Controller”), which is located at 510 Carnegie Center Dr. Princeton, NJ 08540 USA and can be contacted by emailing kkus.talentacquisition.8h@kyowakirin.com. Controller’s data protection officer can be contacted at usprivacyoffice@kyowakirin.com. Your personal data will be processed for the purposes of managing Controller’s recruitment related activities, which include setting up and conducting interviews and tests for applicants, evaluating and assessing the results thereto, and as is otherwise needed in the recruitment and hiring processes. Such processing is legally permissible under Art. 6(1)(f) of General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (“GDPR”) as necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the Controller, which are the solicitation, evaluation, and selection of applicants for employment. 

Your personal data will be shared with Greenhouse Software, Inc., a cloud services provider located in the United States of America and engaged by Controller to help manage its recruitment and hiring process on Controller’s behalf. Accordingly, if you are located outside of the United States, your personal data will be transferred to the United States once you submit it through this site. The transfer will be made using appropriate additional safeguards under the standard contractual clauses approved by regulators for transfers of personal data outside the European Union.

Your personal data will be retained by Controller as long as Controller determines it is necessary to evaluate your application for employment.  Under the GDPR, if you are located in the European Union, you have the right to request access to your personal data, to request that your personal data be rectified or erased, and to request that processing of your personal data be restricted. You also have the right to data portability, and to lodge a complaint with an EU supervisory authority. If you have any questions about our use of your data, you may contact us by email at usprivacyoffice@kyowakirin.com.

Recruitment & Staffing Agencies

Kyowa Kirin does not accept agency resumes unless contacted directly by internal Kyowa Kirin Talent Acquisition. Please do not forward resumes to Kyowa Kirin employees or any other company location; Kyowa Kirin is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.

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