Sr. Contract Cybersecurity Engineer - AI Gov & Data Governance

ZenSecured is seeking a contract cybersecurity engineer to help its Oregon-based clients securely adopt artificial intelligence. The role leads hands-on implementation of Microsoft 365 security and data governance controls, AI workflow protections, and security automation across client environments.

Responsibilities:

• Turnkey Data Governance & DLP Implementation: Independently architect, configure, test, and tune data protection controls within Microsoft Purview—including Sensitivity Labels, Auto-Labeling policies, Data Loss Prevention (DLP) across endpoints/cloud/Exchange, and encryption—to prevent sensitive data exfiltration into AI tools
• Enterprise AI Readiness & Hardening: Rapidly assess and harden client Microsoft 365 tenants prior to and during Microsoft 365 Copilot and enterprise AI rollouts. Remediate SharePoint/OneDrive oversharing, configure Purview DSPM for AI (AI Hub), and implement strict Conditional Access policies in Entra ID
• Shadow AI Discovery & Governance: Deploy and tune Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps (CASB) to discover, monitor, block, or govern unsanctioned and sanctioned AI applications (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, embedded SaaS AI features)
• Securing Modern AI Data Flows & Agentic Clients: Design and implement technical guardrails for complex, next-generation AI workflows and data pipelines, including:
• Local AI Clients & Agentic Tools: Claude Desktop / CoWork, Cursor, local LLMs, and browser/IDE extensions
• Integration & Protocol Layers: Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, direct API integrations, and webhooks
• Endpoint & Network Enforcement: Lead technical working sessions with client IT staff to configure endpoint agents (EDR/Endpoint DLP), Secure Web Gateways (SWGs), and API gateways to monitor or restrict unauthorized local AI client execution and MCP/API traffic
• Multi-Tenant Security Automation: Develop and execute reusable PowerShell scripts and Microsoft Graph API queries to automate tenant discovery, deploy baseline security configurations at scale, audit permissions, and verify control effectiveness across varied client environments
• Senior Client Advisory & Execution: Represent the firm alongside the CISO (or independently) in technical client meetings—translating complex AI data flow risks into clear technical action plans and guiding client IT administrators through seamless implementation without hand-holding

Requirements:

• 7+ years of hands-on experience in cybersecurity engineering, cloud security, or systems engineering, with 3+ years specifically focused on deploying Microsoft 365 E5 security and compliance workloads
• Deep, plug-and-play expertise configuring Microsoft Purview (Information Protection, Endpoint/Cloud DLP, Sensitivity Labeling, DSPM for AI) and Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps across greenfield and brownfield environments
• Proven understanding of how modern AI tools operate and move data—including Microsoft Copilot, Anthropic Claude (Web, API, Desktop/CoWork), and OpenAI ChatGPT—with practical knowledge of securing APIs, local AI clients, and MCP server integrations
• Strong proficiency in PowerShell (and Microsoft Graph) to automate configurations, extract audit data, and build repeatable deployment playbooks
• Practical experience working across the broader security stack (Endpoint agents/EDR, Secure Web Gateways, API Gateways, Identity/SSO) to enforce end-to-end data governance controls
• Prior experience as a senior consultant, vCISO engineer, or MSSP/MSP lead capable of stepping into unfamiliar client environments, assessing gaps quickly, and driving technical remediation to completion
• Hands-on experience securing AWS environments, including IAM, S3 data protection, CloudTrail/GuardDuty, or Amazon Bedrock guardrails
• Direct experience auditing MCP server configurations, securing local developer environments, managing API secrets, and governing local LLM execution
• Microsoft Certified: Information Protection and Compliance Administrator Associate (SC-400)
• Microsoft Certified: Cybersecurity Architect Expert (SC-100)
• AWS Certified Security – Specialty
• CISSP or CCSP