Senior Associate - Data Protection Engineer

Location Designation: Hybrid - 3 days per week 

About the Organization

Within New York Life's Technology, Data, AI and Ventures (TDAV) organization, our work is guided by a shared vision: deploying the power of technology, data, AI, and ventures to accelerate sustainable competitive advantage for New York Life's businesses. We build solutions that power how we serve policy owners, agents, advisors, and employees while delivering measurable business outcomes.

Role Overview

The Data Protection Engineer strengthens New York Life's enterprise data protection capabilities by designing, implementing, automating, and maintaining technical controls that protect sensitive information across cloud-based data environments, in support of our obligations as a regulated financial services and insurance company.

As a hands-on individual contributor within the Data Governance and Data Risk Management function, this role focuses on sensitive data discovery and classification, Data Security Posture Management (DSPM), data masking and tokenization, protection monitoring, and integration of enterprise data protection technologies using platforms such as Databricks, Securiti.ai, Anomalo, and Atlan.

The engineer works closely with Data Governance, Data Risk Management, Cybersecurity, Cloud Engineering, and business and technology stakeholders to identify protection gaps, implement scalable solutions, improve visibility into sensitive data exposure, and drive adoption of data protection tools and practices.

What You'll Do

Data Discovery, Classification, and Protection

• Design, implement, and maintain automated capabilities to discover, identify, and classify sensitive data, including Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and Protected Health Information (PHI), across structured and unstructured data.
• Develop and operationalize data protection controls, including masking, tokenization, and other appropriate techniques.
• Support consistent implementation of data classification and protection requirements across enterprise data platforms.
• Collaborate with data owners and technology teams to identify sensitive data exposure and prioritize technical remediation.

Data Security Posture Management

• Implement and enhance DSPM capabilities to identify sensitive data exposure, security misconfigurations, and protection control gaps.
• Develop automated monitoring, dashboards, and reporting (for example, using Python, SQL, Streamlit, or Databricks) that show protection coverage, control effectiveness, and remediation progress.
• Partner with Data Risk Management and Cybersecurity to translate technical findings into actionable remediation activities.

Engineering, Integration, and Automation

• Design, develop, and maintain scalable data protection workflows across AWS and GCP, including Databricks, Amazon Redshift, BigQuery, and PostgreSQL.
• Configure, integrate, and run day-to-day operations for Securiti.ai, Atlan, Anomalo, and Databricks, including building custom connectors, APIs, scripts, and automated workflows.
• Build technical solutions and prototypes using Python, SQL, and related technologies.
• Apply software engineering best practices, including version control, CI/CD, automated testing, deployment management, and operational monitoring.

Collaboration, Enablement, and Operational Excellence

• Drive adoption of data protection and governance tools through road-shows, training sessions, user enablement, and data owner and steward playbooks.
• Support investigation and remediation of data protection findings, including root-cause analysis and corrective actions.
• Maintain technical documentation, implementation standards, operating procedures, and reusable engineering components.
• Participate in Agile ceremonies, including backlog building, sprint planning, and delivery, using Jira.
• Support the reliability, scalability, and operational effectiveness of enterprise data protection platforms.

What You'll Bring

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional experience in software engineering, data engineering, data security engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• 2+ years of hands-on experience implementing data protection, data security, or DSPM capabilities (for example, sensitive data discovery, classification, masking, tokenization, or access controls).
• Strong programming skills in Python and SQL, including building automation, integrations, and data processing workflows.
• Hands-on experience with cloud-based data environments such as AWS, GCP, or Databricks.
• Practical knowledge of sensitive data discovery, classification, masking, tokenization, and data protection controls for structured and unstructured data.
• Understanding of DSPM principles, sensitive data exposure identification, and technical remediation approaches.
• Experience integrating enterprise platforms through APIs, custom connectors, or automated workflows.
• Working knowledge of data security concepts, including authentication, authorization, secrets management (for example, AWS Secrets Manager), and secure data handling.
• Experience with SDLC practices, including CI/CD, unit and integration testing, deployment, and operational support.
• Experience working in Agile teams using Jira and Confluence.
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, documentation, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Hands-on experience with Securiti.ai, Databricks, Atlan, Anomalo, or comparable data protection and governance platforms.
• Experience implementing or supporting enterprise DSPM initiatives, including across large-scale distributed cloud data environments.
• Experience working in financial services, insurance, or another regulated industry, and familiarity with privacy and security requirements such as GLBA, NYDFS Part 500, CCPA, or HIPAA.
• Familiarity with data governance concepts, including metadata management, data lineage, data quality, and critical data elements.
• Experience with PostgreSQL, query optimization, indexing, connection pooling, and backend application development.
• Experience with deployment automation tools such as Harness, and with SharePoint.
• Experience supporting data modernization or cloud migration initiatives in enterprise settings.
• Exposure to AI-assisted engineering, metadata enrichment, and AI-enabled governance accelerators (for example, using ChatGPT or Claude for research, summarization, QA, and prototyping).

What Success Looks Like

• Increased coverage and accuracy of sensitive data discovery and classification across enterprise data platforms.
• Improved implementation and effectiveness of automated data protection controls.
• Reduced manual effort through reusable engineering solutions and workflow automation.
• Faster identification, monitoring, and remediation of sensitive data exposure.
• Reliable, scalable integration of data protection technologies into enterprise data environments.
• Strong adoption of protection tools and practices by data owners, and strong collaboration with Data Governance and Data Risk Management.

Pay Transparency

Salary Range: $124,000-$177,000 

Overtime eligible: Exempt 

Discretionary bonus eligible: Yes 

Sales bonus eligible: No 

Actual base salary will be determined based on several factors but not limited to individual’s experience, skills, qualifications, and job location. Additionally, employees are eligible for an annual discretionary bonus. In addition to base salary, employees may also be eligible to participate in an incentive program.

Our Benefits

We provide a full package of benefits for employees – and have unique offerings for a modern workforce, including leave programs, adoption assistance, and student loan repayment programs. Based on feedback from our employees, we continue to refine and add benefits to our offering, so that you can flourish both inside and outside of work. Click here to discover more about our comprehensive benefit options or visit our NYL Benefits Site.

Our Commitment to Inclusion
At New York Life, fostering an inclusive workplace is fundamental to who we are and how we serve our communities. We have a longstanding commitment to creating an environment where individuals can contribute their best and succeed together. This foundation is rooted in our core values of humanity and integrity, ensuring that every employee feels valued and supported. By embracing a broad range of perspectives and experiences, we achieve greater success and fulfill our promise of providing financial security and peace of mind to families across all communities. Click here to learn more about New York Life’s leadership in this space.​

Recognized as one of Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies, New York Life is committed to improving local communities through a culture of employee giving and volunteerism, supported by the Foundation. We're proud that due to our mutuality, we operate in the best interests of our policy owners. To learn more about career opportunities at New York Life, please visit the Careers page of www.NewYorkLife.com.

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Job Requisition ID: 94025