United States
I help organizations build resilient, audit-ready security programs that protect critical assets, reduce risk exposure, and meet regulatory requirements — without slowing down the business. With 15+ years of progressive experience across finance, technology, telecom, and retail sectors, I specialize in designing and implementing end-to-end cybersecurity programs — from Zero Trust architecture and IAM/PAM to GRC platforms, SOC operations, incident response, and cloud security across AWS, Azure, and GCP. My work spans the full security lifecycle: security strategy and architecture, GRC program design (ISO 27001, NIST CSF, COBIT, PCI DSS, SOC 2), threat hunting and incident response, vulnerability management, penetration testing, and cloud security engineering. Beyond the technical work, I bring leadership depth — as an Authorized ISO Examiner for PECB across ISO 27001, 27005, 22301, and 37001; as co-Founder and Leader of the OWASP Baku Chapter; as a Cybersecurity Researcher at the University of New Orleans; and as creator of the Vuldoser open-source security project. I hold dual ISACA certifications (CISA + CISM), ISO 27001 Lead Implementer, ISO 27005 Lead Risk Manager, ISO 22301 Lead Implementer, multiple SANS certifications (FOR508, MGT414, SEC542), Microsoft Azure Administrator, and multiple CrowdStrike Falcon certifications. CISSP candidate — exam in progress. Currently based in Texas, USA. Open to full-time remote roles, consulting engagements, and vCISO arrangements with US and international organizations. 🇺🇸 US Permanent Resident — EB-1 Extraordinary Ability Green Card. Authorized to work for any US employer. No visa sponsorship required. 📩 [email protected] | 🌐 azaralili.com | 🔬 ORCID: 0000-0003-2071-1611
Leading cybersecurity transformation programs for 32+ client organizations across multiple industries, delivering measurable risk reduction and compliance outcomes at enterprise scale. > Architected and deployed Zero Trust security frameworks across 32+ organizations, eliminating legacy perimeter-based models and establishing continuous verification across all access layers > Achieved 45% reduction in credential-based security incidents by engineering context-aware MFA policies and deploying modern Identity and Access Management (IAM) and Privileged Access Management (PAM) solutions > Reduced client attack surfaces by 60% through network micro-segmentation, effectively isolating critical assets and eliminating lateral movement vectors > Consolidated fragmented GRC processes into a unified platform, establishing a single source of truth for risk management, policy enforcement, and audit evidence across client portfolios > Engineered CrowdStrike Falcon Next-Gen SIEM detection playbooks, automating threat response for phishing, malware, ransomware, and insider threat scenarios > Integrated 17,600+ endpoints into CrowdStrike Falcon XDR, delivering enterprise-wide visibility, behavioral analytics, and automated containment capabilities > Led portfolio-level risk assessments using NIST CSF, ISO 27001, and COBIT frameworks, translating technical findings into executive-level risk reports with quantified business impact > Managed strategic vendor relationships with CrowdStrike, CyberArk, Palo Alto Networks, Qualys, Rapid7, Forcepoint, OneTrust, and Tenable across client engagements
Directed the regional certification assessment process for international ISO standards, ensuring technical rigor and quality across professional cybersecurity and information security credentials. > Served as Authorized Regional Examiner for ISO/IEC 27001 (Information Security), ISO/IEC 27005 (Risk Management), ISO 22301 (Business Continuity), and ISO 37001 (Anti-Bribery) > Evaluated hundreds of certification candidates against rigorous technical criteria, maintaining certification quality and international accreditation standards > Managed quality control pipeline for regional certification decisions, translating complex candidate assessments into actionable accreditation outcomes > Provided expert-level assessment for multi-disciplinary ISO certifications spanning information security, risk management, and cybersecurity domains
Applied research focused on offensive security automation and adversarial simulation using MITRE ATT&CK. > Developed a proof-of-concept Python framework to automate the full penetration testing lifecycle — reconnaissance, scanning, and exploitation — integrating Nmap, Metasploit, and OpenVAS > Engineered advanced logic to chain multi-step attack vectors and map findings to MITRE ATT&CK TTPs, reducing initial network assessment time by approximately 60%
Applied research focused on offensive security automation and adversarial simulation using MITRE ATT&CK. > Developed a proof-of-concept Python framework to automate the full penetration testing lifecycle — reconnaissance, scanning, and exploitation — integrating Nmap, Metasploit, and OpenVAS > Engineered advanced logic to chain multi-step attack vectors and map findings to MITRE ATT&CK TTPs, reducing initial network assessment time by approximately 60%
Defined and executed the overarching security strategy for Azerbaijan's primary backbone internet provider, protecting national digital infrastructure against regional and global cyber threats. > Designed and enforced the enterprise security policy for a national-scale MPLS/BGP infrastructure, integrating security-by-design principles across all network layers > Led deep-packet inspection (DPI) initiatives and incident response for complex multi-vendor environments, significantly reducing Mean Time to Detect (MTTD) for network-level anomalies > Automated security policy enforcement across Cisco and Juniper edge routers, ensuring consistent security posture across the entire ASN > Managed firewall, IDS/IPS, VPN, and NGFW infrastructure at national scale across TCP/IP, BGP, OSPF, and MPLS environments