Senior Principal Directory Services Architect

Uniting science, technology, and talent to get ahead of disease together.

GSK is a global biopharma company with a special purpose – to unite science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together – so we can positively impact the health of billions of people and deliver stronger, more sustainable shareholder returns – as an organisation where people can thrive. We prevent and treat disease with vaccines, specialty and general medicines. We focus on the science of the immune system and the use of new platform and data technologies, investing in four core therapeutic areas (infectious diseases, HIV, respiratory/ immunology and oncology).

Our success absolutely depends on our people. While getting ahead of disease together is about our ambition for patients and shareholders, it’s also about making GSK a place where people can thrive. We want GSK to be a place where people feel inspired, encouraged and challenged to be the best they can be. A place where they can be themselves – feeling welcome, valued, and included. Where they can keep growing and look after their wellbeing. So, if you share our ambition, join us at this exciting moment in our journey to get Ahead Together.

Job Purpose

We are looking for Directory Services (EntraID/Active Directory (AD) technology) Architect, with relevant experience, capable of delivering enterprise solutions.  Technically, you will be comfortable working using Agile methodologies in a Scrum/SAFe environment, and have proven experience designing, building and managing modern Directory capabilities for Cloud and self-hosted applications.

• Lead the design, implementation, and management of GSK’s Directory infrastructure. This role is critical in ensuring the reliability, security, and efficiency of our environment, which supports authentication, authorization, and policy enforcement across the enterprise.
• The role requires ensuring that GSK's regulatory requirements are met and continuously evolving and improving the underlying processes, strategies, and roadmap of capabilities and offerings by adopting new technologies where beneficial (such as automation, AI/ML, analytics, etc.)
• Ensure seamless, secure interoperability with other IAM components and security systems.
• Lead the implementation and delivery the migration of legacy directory services to modern platforms, utilising automated tooling and blueprints to ease the migration experience for consumers.
• Ensure the security of active directory by tracking industry intelligence, implementing best practices and monitoring for vulnerabilities.
• Identify and resolve systemic issues related to directory services and provide architectural SME support when escalated to.
• Develop and maintain the architectural roadmap and vision for directory services, ensuring alignment with GSK’s IT strategy and business goals. Creation and maintenance of comprehensive architectural /design documentation and diagrams in collaboration with other IAM and security architects or SMEs.
• Work with IT teams and stakeholders to understand requirements and provide technical support.
• Stay current with industry trends and advancements in technologies. Propose and implement improvements to enhance the performance, reliability, and security of the directory services environment

Basic Qualifications:

• Total experience of 16+ years with minimum of 10+ years of experience in identity and access management, and a minimum of 3+ years on Azure Entra ID (Azure Active Directory).
• Proven experience in driving and implementing strategy to migrate from Active Directory to cloud based modern technologies like Entra.
• Proven experience in implementing and managing Azure Entra ID solutions and understanding of the wider approach to managing and leveraging various identity types with Azure / GCP.
• Experience with hybrid identity solutions, including Azure Entra Connect and on-premises Active Directory integration.
• Hands-on experience of designing and maintaining Enhanced Security Admin Environments, Tiered Security Models and/or Zero Trust architectures.
• Experience in the configuration, management, and troubleshooting of directory services infrastructure, leading to scalable, secure, and high-performance directory solutions. Familiarity with related technologies such as hardware virtualization, DNS, DHCP, NTP, firewall rules, network security groups and Group Policy is essential.
• Experience in enabling consistent observability and telemetry capabilities.
• Proficiency in scripting languages like PowerShell to automate administrative tasks and improve efficiency
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field.
• Soft Skills: Strong problem-solving abilities, excellent communication skills, and the ability to work collaboratively in a team environment. 
• Ability to communicate complex, technical information to senior stakeholders concisely.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience of building and deploying web applications through CI/CD pipelines using GitHub Actions, Azure Automate or Azure DevOps.
• Understanding of Azure Arc, Azure Stack HCI and securely maintaining edge environments
• Knowledge of deploying, managing and monitoring applications in a Cloud environment such as Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud, including hosting models (IaaS, PaaS, CaaS and SaaS)
• Previously worked in a central IT team within a regulated environment such as the Pharmaceutical or Financial services
• Certifications: Relevant certifications from Microsoft.

At GSK we value diversity (Gender, LGBTQ +, PwD etc.) and treat all candidates equally. We aim to create an inclusive workplace where all employees feel engaged, supportive of one another, and know their work makes an important contribution.

#LI-GSK

Why GSK?

Uniting science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together.

GSK is a global biopharma company with a special purpose – to unite science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together – so we can positively impact the health of billions of people and deliver stronger, more sustainable shareholder returns – as an organisation where people can thrive. We prevent and treat disease with vaccines, specialty and general medicines. We focus on the science of the immune system and the use of new platform and data technologies, investing in four core therapeutic areas (infectious diseases, HIV, respiratory/ immunology and oncology).

Our success absolutely depends on our people. While getting ahead of disease together is about our ambition for patients and shareholders, it’s also about making GSK a place where people can thrive. We want GSK to be a place where people feel inspired, encouraged and challenged to be the best they can be. A place where they can be themselves – feeling welcome, valued, and included. Where they can keep growing and look after their wellbeing. So, if you share our ambition, join us at this exciting moment in our journey to get Ahead Together.

  
Important notice to Employment businesses/ Agencies

GSK does not accept referrals from employment businesses and/or employment agencies in respect of the vacancies posted on this site. All employment businesses/agencies are required to contact GSK's commercial and general procurement/human resources department to obtain prior written authorization before referring any candidates to GSK. The obtaining of prior written authorization is a condition precedent to any agreement (verbal or written) between the employment business/ agency and GSK. In the absence of such written authorization being obtained any actions undertaken by the employment business/agency shall be deemed to have been performed without the consent or contractual agreement of GSK. GSK shall therefore not be liable for any fees arising from such actions or any fees arising from any referrals by employment businesses/agencies in respect of the vacancies posted on this site.

It has come to our attention that the names of GlaxoSmithKline or GSK or our group companies are being used in connection with bogus job advertisements or through unsolicited emails asking candidates to make some payments for recruitment opportunities and interview. Please be advised that such advertisements and emails are not connected with the GlaxoSmithKline group in any way.

GlaxoSmithKline does not charge any fee whatsoever for recruitment process. Please do not make payments to any individuals / entities in connection with recruitment with any GlaxoSmithKline (or GSK) group company at any worldwide location. Even if they claim that the money is refundable.

If you come across unsolicited email from email addresses not ending in gsk.com or job advertisements which state that you should contact an email address that does not end in “gsk.com”, you should disregard the same and inform us by emailing askus@gsk.com, so that we can confirm to you if the job is genuine.