Okay, I've searched for full-time Microsoft Identity Lead Engineer positions in Charlotte, NC, requiring 7+ years of experience in identity and access management, with expertise in Active Directory and Entra ID, and a salary starting at $135,000 per year. I have found 34 positions that match your criteria.

Sure. Here's the analysis:

Job Analysis:

The VP, Microsoft Identity Lead Engineer role at Synchrony is fundamentally about owning the architecture, deployment, and operational excellence of Microsoft Identity Platforms such as Active Directory and Entra ID. This leadership role goes beyond mere technical execution to shaping and driving the roadmap aligned with a broader Authentication & Security Services strategy within a highly regulated enterprise setting. Success hinges on shepherding complex identity infrastructures that safeguard access management across critical business applications and workloads, ensuring regulatory compliance and robust security postures. The role requires strategic cross-functional collaboration, troubleshooting escalated production issues, and mentoring junior engineers, suggesting a balance between technical depth and people leadership. Candidates must have deep experience with hybrid identity environments and automation via DevOps/CI-CD practices, emphasizing the need for scalable, secure, and resilient identity solutions in a dynamic enterprise landscape. The role demands excellent communication skills to translate technical strategies to diverse stakeholders and act as a product owner, implying a high degree of autonomy and nuanced decision-making in prioritization and risk-management. Essentially, this is a strategic yet hands-on position that requires agility to lead both technology design and delivery while navigating evolving security threats and organizational priorities.

Company Analysis:

Synchrony positions itself as a consumer-finance giant dedicated to enabling everyday financial accessibility through flexible credit solutions. Operating in the financial services sector, Synchrony is both a stable and evolving player, focused on supporting millions of consumers and hundreds of thousands of small and mid-sized businesses. This creates a unique environment where technology leadership roles like the VP, Microsoft Identity Lead Engineer are central to safeguarding sensitive customer and business data, which aligns with industry regulatory rigor. The company's work culture emphasizes choice, flexibility, inclusivity, and continuous learning, reflected in their hybrid work model and strong diversity initiatives, suggesting that this role will thrive in an environment valuing collaboration, adaptability, and empowerment. Technically, Synchrony likely operates large-scale, mission-critical IT and security infrastructures requiring robust governance and risk posture oversight—the perfect stage for an identity lead to exhibit influence beyond just technology into strategic enterprise security. Given the role's integration across IAM, InfoSec, and product leadership, the individual will enjoy substantial visibility and impact within the organization, aligning with Synchrony's broader goals of secure, resilient, and scalable technology enablement to fuel business growth and consumer trust.

Absolutely. Here are some mock interview questions that could come up:

• Tell me about a time when you had to lead a complex Active Directory or Entra ID implementation. What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?
• Describe an instance where you successfully automated identity platform deployments using CI/CD pipelines. What tools did you use, and what was the impact?
• Give an example of how you have handled cross-functional coordination when emerging security risks impacted your identity services.
• How have you mentored junior engineers or team members in a high-pressure, mission-critical environment?
• Can you explain your approach to designing a secure-by-design identity platform, particularly with hybrid or cloud integrations?
• What strategies do you use to maintain system governance and compliance in identity access management solutions in a regulated industry?
• How do you prioritize features and technical enhancements on a product roadmap when serving multiple stakeholders with diverse needs?
• Imagine you discover a critical vulnerability in the Active Directory environment just before a major business launch. How would you handle the situation?
• Suppose an application integration is causing intermittent failures in the authentication system. What steps would you take to troubleshoot and resolve the issue promptly?
• In a scenario where two departments disagree on access policies affecting identity configurations, how would you mediate the conflict?
• Why are you interested in joining Synchrony and leading their Microsoft Identity Platforms specifically?
• How do you see your experience aligning with Synchrony’s mission of enabling flexible financing through strong identity and security services?
• From your perspective, what makes Synchrony’s inclusive and flexible culture important to the success of a role like this?
• What questions do you have about how the Authentication & Security Services division collaborates with other parts of Synchrony?
• Can you describe how Synchrony measures success for this role and how the engineering leadership evaluates impact and growth?