Data Protection Lead

The Role

We are looking for a Data Protection Lead to design, implement, and maintain robust security controls that protect our databases from unauthorized access, data breaches, and compliance risks. This role is critical to safeguarding sensitive data while enabling secure and efficient access for internal systems and users.

You will work closely with infrastructure, application, and security teams to ensure our database environments meet the highest security and compliance standards.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and enforce database security architectures and best practices
• Implement access controls, authentication, authorization, and encryption (at rest and in transit)
• Monitor databases for suspicious activity and security incidents
• Perform vulnerability assessments, risk analyses, and security audits
• Define and manage data classification and protection policies
• Support compliance requirements (e.g., GDPR, ISO 27001, SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI-DSS as applicable)
• Secure backups, replication, and disaster recovery processes
• Work with DevOps and application teams to integrate security into CI/CD pipelines
• Investigate and respond to database security incidents
• Maintain documentation, standards, and security guidelines

Required Skills & Experience

• Strong experience indatabase security(3–7+ years depending on seniority)
• Deep knowledge of major databases such as:
• PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, SQL Server, MongoDB, or similar
• Expertise in:Role-based access control (RBAC)
• Encryption and key management
• Database auditing and logging
• Hands-on experience with security tools (DAM, SIEM, vulnerability scanners)
• Solid understanding of networking, IAM, and OS-level security
• Experience working in cloud environments (AWS, GCP, Azure)
• Strong incident response and troubleshooting skills

Nice to Have

• Security certifications (CISSP, CISM, CEH, or vendor-specific DB certs)
• Experience with data masking, tokenization, or DLP solutions
• Knowledge of Zero Trust and defense-in-depth architectures
• Scripting skills (Python, Bash, PowerShell)
• Experience securing high-scale or mission-critical systems