Security Operations Officer – Data Security Specialist

Black & Grey HR is recruiting for an established technology solutions and services provider in Doha, Qatar. Our client is seeking an experienced Security Operations Officer – Data Security Specialist responsible for safeguarding sensitive data across enterprise, cloud, and AI environments. This role is central to implementing advanced data protection controls, managing cryptographic practices, ensuring regulatory compliance, and strengthening overall data governance. The position requires strong hands-on expertise in cloud data security, DLP technologies, database protection, and data privacy frameworks. Arabic proficiency is mandatory. 

Key Responsibilities
Data Security Engineering
- Design and implement data protection controls across enterprise systems, cloud platforms, and AI-driven solutions.
- Deploy and manage technologies such as Data Loss Prevention (DLP), data masking, tokenization, and anonymization.
- Work closely with application and infrastructure teams to embed security throughout the data lifecycle.
- Implement and maintain data discovery and classification tools to identify, label, and control sensitive data enterprise-wide.
- Monitor the organization’s data security posture and generate compliance, audit, and risk reports.
- Support incident response efforts by investigating data-related incidents, insider threats, and potential breaches.

Cloud Data Security
- Implement and manage cloud-native data protection controls within GCP and Azure environments.
- Secure databases, data warehouses, and data lake ecosystems.
- Configure and manage encryption at rest, in transit, and in use—including BYOK and cloud key management strategies.
- Deploy cloud-native tools for data discovery, classification, and risk scoring.
- Manage secrets using solutions like Azure Key Vault, GCP Secret Manager, and other vault technologies.
- Implement AI-specific data governance controls to protect training data, model inputs, and sensitive datasets.

Cryptography
- Define, enforce, and maintain enterprise cryptographic standards and key management processes.
- Manage encryption practices for sensitive data across all environments.
- Ensure alignment with industry and regulatory cryptographic requirements.

Data Privacy
- Ensure compliance with privacy frameworks such as GDPR, HIPAA, and PDPPL.
- Embed privacy-by-design principles into applications, architecture, and system engineering.
- Lead data classification and governance initiatives to safeguard personal and sensitive information.

Database Security
- Secure structured and unstructured data repositories including relational, NoSQL, and distributed databases.
- Implement Database Activity Monitoring (DAM) and enforce strong access controls.
- Perform regular security posture assessments, hardening reviews, and vulnerability analysis of database systems.

Collaboration & Governance
- Collaborate with IT, cloud, security, and business stakeholders on enterprise data protection strategies.
- Ensure alignment with Qatar’s NCSA requirements and international security standards.
- Conduct data security assessments for vendors, third parties, and integrations.
- Review and approve data sharing agreements and ensure compliant handling of sensitive information.
- Define and track KPIs, KRIs, and metrics related to data security performance.
- Maintain data security dashboards for continuous visibility and oversight.
- Stay updated on emerging data security threats, technologies, frameworks, and best practices.

Qualifications & Experience
- 8+ years of experience in information security with a focus on data protection, cryptography, and database security.
- Bilingual proficiency in Arabic (Mandatory).
- Hands-on expertise with cloud platforms, particularly GCP and Azure.
- Strong understanding of encryption standards, cryptographic protocols, and key management systems.
- Practical experience with secrets management tools (HashiCorp Vault, Azure Key Vault, AWS Secrets Manager, GCP Secret Manager).
- Deep expertise in multi-cloud data protection, masking, tokenization, and anonymization techniques.

Education
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Security, or a related field.

Certifications (Preferred)
- CISSP
- CCSP
- CDPSE
- CCSK
- Cloud security certifications (GCP, Azure, AWS Security Specialty preferred)

Required Skillset
- Hands-on experience with DLP solutions such as Forcepoint, Microsoft Purview, Google Cloud DLP.
- Expertise in implementing data masking, anonymization, and pseudonymization techniques.
- Experience configuring and operating Database Activity Monitoring (DAM) platforms (Imperva, IBM Guardium).
- Proficiency with data discovery and classification solutions (Forcepoint, Microsoft Purview).
- Strong understanding of cryptographic systems and cloud key management (Azure Key Vault, GCP Cloud KMS, AWS KMS).

- Ability to secure relational, NoSQL, and data lake environments.
- Experience conducting database audits, vulnerability assessments, and configuration reviews.
- Working knowledge of secret management and secure integrations with CI/CD pipelines.

- Competitive Salary + Benefits Package