Director, Cyber Defense Agentic Security Architect

About the role

KPMG Advisory is at the forefront of transformation, offering excellent opportunities for individuals to advance their careers and expertise. In this ever-changing market environment, our professionals must be adaptable and thrive in a collaborative, team-driven culture. At KPMG, our people are our number one priority, with a wealth of learning and career development opportunities, world-class training, and leading market tools to support both professional and personal growth.

Responsibilities

• Partner with consulting teams, alliance partners, and clients to develop innovative, reusable, and scalable "agentic" AI-enabled cyber defense solutions and reference architectures
• Lead the design and implementation of enterprise-scale, agentic AI solutions across the entire cyber defense lifecycle, from threat detection and response to continuous exposure management
• Architect and integrate a wide array of cyber defense technologies (such as SIEM, XDR/EDR, SOAR) with frontier AI models and multi-agent frameworks to build and modernize cyber threat management capabilities
• Design and modernize security telemetry and data architectures (including log collection, normalization, and storage strategies) to optimize AI-driven solutions across SIEMs, data lakes, and enterprise data platforms
• Ensure the development of secure and governed agentic AI solutions by incorporating human oversight, AI governance, model lifecycle management, and operational guardrails for safe, autonomous decision-making
• Lead technical engagements with client security architects, engineering teams, and operations leaders, and communicate the architecture, implementation, and business value to executive stakeholders
• Act with integrity, professionalism, and personal responsibility to uphold KPMG's respectful and courteous work environment

Requirements

• Minimum eight years of recent experience in cybersecurity architecture, security operations, threat detection and response, cyber defense, or related security disciplines, with a strong preference for consulting experience
• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college/university is preferred; minimum of a high school diploma or GED is required; plus ten years of equivalent professional experience
• Industry certifications such as CISSP, CCSP, GIAC, GSEC, GCIA, GCIH, or cloud security certifications are preferred
• Deep expertise in cybersecurity technologies (including SIEM, SOAR, EDR/XDR, and cloud security) with demonstrated experience designing and implementing enterprise cyber defense architectures and security automation programs
• Strong understanding of AI, machine learning, and agentic security concepts, including the application of autonomous agents and generative AI within cybersecurity environments
• Proven ability to lead executive-level discussions, translate complex technical concepts into business value, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver innovative security solutions
• Travel up to 50%
• Must be authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for employment-based visa sponsorship now or in the future

Pay

California Salary Range: $169,005 - $370,530

Benefits

KPMG offers a comprehensive compensation and benefits package, including:

• A variety of medical and dental plans, vision coverage, disability and life insurance
• 401(k) plans
• A robust suite of personal well-being benefits to support mental health
• Personal Time Off per fiscal year, based on job classification, standard work hours, and years of service
• Two annual breaks where employees will not be required to use Personal Time Off: one at year end and another around the July 4th holiday