Join a team that puts its People First! Since 1889, First American (NYSE: FAF) has held an unwavering belief in its people. They are passionate about what they do, and we are equally passionate about fostering an environment where all feel welcome, supported, and empowered to be innovative and reach their full potential. Our inclusive, people-first culture has earned our company numerous accolades, including being named to the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® list for eleven consecutive years. We have also earned awards as a best place to work for women, diversity and LGBTQ+ employees, and have been included on more than 50 regional best places to work lists. First American will always strive to be a great place to work, for all. For more information, please visit www.careers.firstam.com.
We are open to remote or hybrid candidates for this role.
As a Principal Identity Engineer, you will own the technical strategy, architecture, and engineering execution for enterprise Identity and Access Management (IAM) across First American’s cloud and hybrid environments. This role is central to strengthening our security posture by delivering secure, scalable identity capabilities across our cloud environments (Azure AD/AWS/GCP).
You will lead workforce IAM, partner/federation (B2B), and customer identity (CIAM) architecture where applicable; establish Zero Trust identity controls; and set enterprise standards for IAM-as-code using Terraform + GitHub with automation in Python/Bash/JSON. This is a hands-on principal role requiring deep technical expertise, cross-org influence, and the ability to build repeatable platforms and guardrails teams can safely self-serve.
What You’ll Do:
Own the enterprise IAM strategy and target-state architecture across Microsoft Entra, AWS, and Google Cloud (OCI a plus). Define secure, scalable identity patterns for workforce, partner, and customer access that align with security, risk, and compliance requirements.
Design and operationalize a Zero Trust identity model with continuous verification, risk-based access, and adaptive authentication. Reduce standing privilege through least privilege design, just-in-time (JIT) access, and standardized entitlement models.
Hands-on design and delivery of IAM capabilities including SSO, MFA, identity lifecycle, federation, and privileged access across cloud and hybrid environments. Lead modernization efforts, including migration from hybrid Active Directory to Entra ID–based authentication.
Design and evolve customer identity (CIAM) solutions supporting web, mobile, and API platforms. Balance security, privacy, performance, and customer experience while enabling scalable enterprise integrations.
Establish IAM governance frameworks covering access lifecycle, RBAC/ABAC models, access reviews, and audit evidence. Define measurable controls, documentation standards, and recurring review processes to ensure audit readiness.
Define and lead an enterprise IAM-as-Code program using Terraform and GitHub. Build reusable, versioned modules and establish PR-based workflows with auditability, approvals, and security guardrails.
Engineer secure CI/CD pipelines for IAM deployments, including validation, testing, approvals, drift detection, and rollback strategies. Ensure reliable, auditable identity changes with operational monitoring and clear runbooks.
Develop automation in Python, Bash, and JSON to scale identity operations and reduce manual risk. Support policy management, bulk changes, integrations, and identity-related incident response and diagnostics.
What You’ll Bring:
Deep hands-on experience designing and operating identity platforms at scale in complex environments.
Advanced expertise across Microsoft Entra ID, AWS IAM, and Google Cloud IAM, with OCI experience a plus.
Proven ability to design cloud-agnostic IAM models and implement them consistently across platforms.
Strong background in IAM security architecture, governance, and risk-based access controls.
Hands-on experience with least privilege design, JIT access, Zero Trust identity, and RBAC/ABAC models.
Expert knowledge of OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, and SAML.
Proven experience delivering enterprise-scale SSO and MFA solutions.
Demonstrated experience establishing IAM-as-Code using Terraform with GitHub-based change control.
Strong scripting and automation skills in Python, Bash, and JSON, including CI/CD and guardrail design.
Experience architecting and operating customer identity platforms for portals, mobile apps, and APIs. (preferred)
Ability to communicate complex identity concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.
Strong influence, documentation, and execution skills at the principal or senior architect level.
Relevant security or identity certifications such as CISSP or identity-focused credentials.
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience, with extensive background in enterprise security engineering.
Pay Range: $170,900.00 - $227,900.00 Annually
This hiring range is a reasonable estimate of the base pay range for this position at the time of posting. Pay is based on a number of factors which may include job-related knowledge, skills, experience, business requirements and geographic location.
**** Note that the following statements only apply to candidates who will be working from an unincorporated area within Los Angeles County. ****
First American will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with arrest or conviction records, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws (e.g., the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act).
First American intends to conduct a review of an applicant’s criminal history in connection with a conditional offer. First American reasonably believes that a criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship with the following material job duties for this position potentially resulting in the withdrawal of the conditional offer of employment: handling of confidential, proprietary or trade secret information belonging to First American or its customers, administrating or facilitating financial transactions, and the ability to meet customer-imposed criminal history requirements.
By choice, we don’t simply accept individuality – we embrace it, we support it, and we thrive on it! Our People First culture is inclusive for all employees - not just because it's the right thing to do, but because it's the key to our success. We are proud to foster an authentic and inclusive workplace For All. You are free and encouraged to bring your entire, unique self to work. First American is an equal opportunity employer in every sense of the term.
Based on eligibility, First American offers a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, 401k, PTO/paid sick leave and other great benefits like an employee stock purchase plan.