I was interested in doing something completely new—I wanted a complete career change from what I’d done in the past. CSC afforded me that opportunity.
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What’s your title and how long have you been with CSC?
I’m a senior technology manager on the Enterprise Security Identity and Access Management (IAM) Team. I’ve been with CSC since January 2018.
What do you do in that role?
Our team has internal and external responsibilities. When someone is hired, we create your identity in CSC’s core systems and manage the life cycle of your access to multiple resources. We also run entitlement reviews to ensure the right people have access to the right CSC system at the right time. In the client identity and access management space, we manage CSC’s front door for the multiple applications our clients’ access through CSC Global.
What did you do before you joined CSC?
I served in the U.S. Navy. I flew helicopters, based out of Norfolk, Virginia, for the first part of my career. Later, I transitioned to the Navy’s Foreign Area Officer community and worked with militaries and governments in Europe and Central Asia, focusing largely on building partner capacity. It was a great experience. I served at the U.S. State Department and the Joint Staff, and my family and I lived outside of Naples, Italy, for two and a half years.
Why did you decide to work for CSC?
First, it was the culture. I knew CSC had a reputation as a great place to work, reflected in its employee retention rate and Top Workplace awards. Second, I was interested in doing something completely new—I wanted a complete career change from what I’d done in the past. CSC afforded me that opportunity. Third, it was, in part, a family decision. We were living in northern Virginia and wanted to return to Philadelphia; location mattered.
How did you get into technology?
At CSC! My first role was as a project manager in the then-newly created Enterprise Project Management office. It was a baptism by fire of new acronyms, technology tools, and fast-paced technology projects. But I found that the basics of framing the problem, identifying options, staffing for decisions, and coordinating execution remained essentially the same from my previous work. Project and task management is one asset veterans, in general, tend to bring to the private sector.
What is your day-to-day work like?
I start with reading what’s in the news from a cyber or technology perspective. I’ll also do a quick scan of IT service management items our team has. And, of course, there’s email to triage and various types of meetings or touchpoints. I also try to set aside time for planning—for example, maturing IAM governance, team capability or resource planning, or reviewing program or project targeted outcomes.
What do you like most about the culture here?
I enjoy CSC’s collaborative nature. Of course, we often have different viewpoints based on where we sit, and there may be creative friction along the journey. But there’s a common interest in solving whatever the problem is. And once we’re aligned on the approach, we work together to address the challenge.
What gets you excited to start work in the morning?
Speaking with teammates and knowing there’s an opportunity to make progress on whatever we’re working on. I also enjoy learning new things; knowledge is a never-ending technological journey.
What are you learning now, and why is it important?
I’m learning more about our newly acquired colleagues’ processes and technologies. I believe finding IAM areas where we can better integrate, thereby giving people more consistent and secure ways to access the resources they need, will be critical to creating value from the acquisition. From a technology perspective, I’m trying to learn more about Azure Active Directory; it presents a growing opportunity to streamline or complement existing technology in our inventory. Finally, I’m working on metrics, measuring the outcomes our team contributes to in a way that’s meaningful to colleagues. We’re delivering value, and it’s vital that we can concisely show it.
When you tell people about your job, what surprises them?
The scope of services CSC provides and our client base surprises many people who need to become more familiar with the company.
How is the work-life balance?
The quality of life is good. Enterprise Technology has given us the flexibility to work remotely. With team members spread across three continents and more than six states, being remote is more inclusive than having a core group consolidated in an office. That said, coming together in person for strategic planning has been very helpful, and the hallway conversations with colleagues add more value than I appreciated before this new world.
For me, the challenge is that one can always work when they’re remote. I find myself working later in the evening just because I walk by my home office and start working again; it’s hard to go “pencils down” for the day. Driving my kids to their sporting or other events in the evenings helps, however.
What opportunities do you see developing in the industry in the next five years?
The demand for cybersecurity subject matter experts and leaders will continue to increase. There are myriad zero-trust technologies and challenges, but there need to be more people to examine and employ the proper controls and solutions that best balance security risk and business needs.
Have we piqued your interest? Consider joining us.
CSC offers exciting, career-building opportunities that allow our people to drive their career in the direction of their choice. A multi-time Top Workplace, we're a business, legal, and financial services company that provides knowledge-based solutions to clients worldwide. We're also the trusted partner of choice for more than 90% of the Fortune 500®, more than 90% of the 100 Best Global Brands®, and more than 70% of the PEI 300.
From our headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware across offices in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East, CSC prides itself on a record of growth and stability. We've been privately held and professionally managed for more than 120 years.
We are the business behind business®. With us, you'll provide world-class client service while growing your career.
For more information, visit cscglobal.com/careers.