Senior Security Development Engineer
Company: UNC-Chapel Hill
Location: Chapel Hill
Posted on: April 1, 2026
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Job Description:
Position Summary This position is a 100% remote work
arrangement, consistent with System Office policy. UNC Chapel Hill
employees are generally required to reside in North Carolina,
within a reasonable commuting distance of their assigned duty
station. The Information Security Office coordinates the
institution’s response to cyber risk, operates critical
organization-wide security controls, and reports on the state of
the security program to University leadership and the Board of
Trustees. The UNC -CH security program ensures the institution
meets relevant cybersecurity legal, statutory, regulatory, and
compliance obligations across all aspects of the University
mission. Identity and Access Management ( IAM ) is a part of the
UNC -CH information security office. Identity is the primary
‘battleground’ of cybersecurity worldwide. Reporting to the IAM
Manager, the Senior Software Development Engineer is a core member
of the team responsible for delivering the University’s written
five-year information security strategy. That strategy addresses a
specific set of governance, policy, business process, technology,
and change management failures that collectively define the
University’s current identity risk exposure. The central initiative
within that strategy is the Authentication Modernization Initiative
( AMI ): a top-down redesign of how the University manages
credentials, enforces phishing-resistant authentication, and
governs identity lifecycle across a highly distributed environment.
This role carries two concurrent responsibilities: active
participation in the design and implementation of AMI , and
ownership and operation of the existing production identity
environment throughout the transition. Both require a high level of
independent judgment. This role collaborates directly with the IAM
Architect and IAM Business Analyst to design, implement, and
operationalize solutions, and with the Senior Operations Engineer
to ensure the new environment is built on reliable, scalable
operational practices. Success in this role requires more than
technical depth. The person in this role must be driven first by
the security mission: identifying what the institution needs and
delivering it, even when objectives are ambiguous or obstacles
intervene. They must exercise sound independent judgment on system
design and process, with an orientation toward simplicity and
scalability rather than complexity. They must earn and sustain
trust across a wide range of partners — technical and
non-technical, within ISO and across the University — through
honest, reliable, and accountable behavior. And they must
demonstrate a bias for action: the ability to distinguish decisions
that warrant careful analysis from those that warrant speed, and to
act accordingly. The University is not looking for a person who
maintains what exists. It is looking for a person who sees where
identity security must go and helps drive the program there.
Required Qualifications, Competencies, And Experience Substantial
experience in identity and access management, including directory
services, federation protocols, and authentication systems.
Familiarity with technologies such as Kerberos, LDAP , Active
Directory, Entra ID, SAML , or equivalent is expected. Experience
with single sign-on platforms and multi-factor authentication is
required. Experience designing and implementing complex,
production-grade systems in environments where failures have
institution-wide consequences. The candidate must demonstrate a
track record of sound independent judgment on architecture and
operational design, not just implementation of designs provided by
others. Experience with modern software development practices
including configuration management, peer review, and CI/CD
pipelines. Proficiency in at least one structured programming
language and experience with integration technologies such as REST
, SOAP , SQL , or equivalent. Demonstrated ownership orientation: a
track record of identifying what an organization needs, taking
responsibility for delivering it, and sustaining that delivery
through obstacles and competing priorities without requiring close
direction. Demonstrated ability to earn and sustain trust across a
wide range of partners, including non-technical stakeholders, by
communicating with clarity and honesty about progress, risk, and
problems — including when the news is unwelcome. Demonstrated bias
for action: the ability to distinguish decisions that require
careful deliberation from those that require speed, and to act
decisively in both cases. Preferred Qualifications, Competencies,
And Experience Experience with Internet2 Trusted Access Platform
solutions, including Shibboleth, COmanage, or equivalent federation
and collaboration tools. Experience contributing to or maintaining
open-source projects relevant to identity and access management.
Experience operating in large, decentralized organizations where
security standards must be enforced across distributed technology
environments without centralized control of infrastructure.
Experience working in hybrid environments spanning Linux and
Windows, including both native and containerized workloads (Docker,
Kubernetes, or equivalent). Experience in a regulated environment
requiring compliance with federal security standards such as NIST
800-63, HIPAA , or CMMC .
Keywords: UNC-Chapel Hill, Durham , Senior Security Development Engineer, IT / Software / Systems , Chapel Hill, North Carolina
