Associate - Cryptographic Payment Key Management

Joining Amex Tech means discovering and shaping your contribution to something big. Here, you can work alongside talented tech teams and build a unique career with the Powerful Backing of American Express. With a range of opportunities to work with the latest technologies, and a commitment to back the broader engineering community through open source, our mission is to power your success. Because Amex Tech is powered by our technology, our culture, and our colleagues. The Technology organization enables and accelerates the company’s growth strategies, delivering global capabilities and services in support of Amex’s customers and colleagues, while maintaining 24/7 servicing and availability to ensure an uninterrupted, high-quality customer experience. Technology provides the foundation for everything we do in the company while driving differentiation through building and leveraging innovative technology and data insights. At American Express, our mission is to deliver the world’s best customer experience every day. At the heart of this mission is our Information Security organization, enabling exceptional experiences built on a foundation of trust, service, and security. We leverage advanced technologies and data-driven insights to stay ahead of an evolving threat landscape. We foster a culture of passion, curiosity, and courage—empowering you to innovate, grow, and help shape the future of a Fortune 100 company. Trust. Service. Security.   The Associate - Cryptographic Payment Key Management role combines hands-on operational responsibilities with technical support of enterprise payment key management and cryptographic services that enable critical payment capabilities across the organization. The successful candidate will support cryptographic key lifecycle operations, key management platforms, and related security capabilities while developing technical expertise in payment cryptography and enterprise key management. The role also involves the responsible use of approved AI tools, where appropriate, to enhance individual productivity, support technical learning, and improve work efficiency within established security and compliance requirements. Working closely with Payment Architecture, HSM Engineering, internal payment platforms, external partners, Risk, Audit, and Compliance teams, this individual will support the security, reliability, and continuous improvement of payment cryptographic services through effective execution, collaboration, and technical contribution. RESPONSIBILITIES * Perform operational activities across the cryptographic key lifecycle, including key generation, exchange, distribution, rotation, and destruction in accordance with established security controls and procedures. * Prepare and execute cryptographic key management activities and key ceremonies requiring dual control and split knowledge. * Manage service requests and incidents through completion, ensuring activities are performed accurately and in accordance with established procedures and control requirements. * Operate and support enterprise payment key management platforms and related cryptographic services, including troubleshooting operational and configuration issues. * Support HSM activities in partnership with the HSM Engineering team, including maintenance, upgrades, and cryptographic master key activities. * Support projects and production changes involving payment cryptography, key management, certificates, and related security capabilities. * Collaborate with internal teams and external partners to support cryptographic key requirements and resolve operational issues. * Participate in production support, incident response, root cause analysis, problem management, and change management activities. * Support audit, risk, and compliance activities by maintaining appropriate operational evidence, documentation, and records. * Develop and maintain key inventories, technical documentation, operational procedures, and support runbooks. * Contribute to operational improvement initiatives focused on process efficiency, automation, standardization, and service maturity while maintaining applicable security and industry requirements. * Leverage approved artificial intelligence tools, where appropriate, to support technical research, documentation, problem-solving, and productivity improvements while adhering to established security, compliance, and data protection requirements. * Manage multiple concurrent work items and priorities while maintaining ownership through completion. * Participate in after-hours operational support and planned maintenance activities as required. * Some domestic and/or international travel may be required.   QUALIFICATIONS Minimum Qualifications * Bachelor's degree in Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Information Security, Information Systems, Information Technology, or a related technical discipline, or equivalent practical experience. * Basic understanding of cryptographic concepts, including the differences between symmetric and asymmetric encryption and common examples of each. * Strong technical aptitude with the ability to learn, understand, and apply complex technical concepts and procedures. * Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with attention to detail and accuracy. * Demonstrated ability to take ownership of assigned work, manage multiple priorities, and follow activities through completion. * Strong organizational skills and the ability to work effectively within established processes and security controls. * Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to collaborate across technical teams, business partners, and external organizations. * Practical experience using AI-enabled tools to support research, analysis, documentation, or general productivity, with an understanding of the importance of validating AI-generated outputs.   Preferred Qualifications * Academic, internship, or professional exposure to cybersecurity, cryptography, encryption, key management, or information security operations. * Familiarity with cryptographic key management concepts or the cryptographic key lifecycle. * Basic understanding of payment processing, payment security, or the use of cryptography within payment environments. * Exposure to Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), X.509 digital certificates, enterprise key management systems, or Hardware Security Modules (HSMs). * Familiarity with security and payment industry standards and control requirements, including PCI DSS. * Experience with ServiceNow and enterprise Incident, Problem, and Change Management processes. * Familiarity with Jira, Confluence, or similar collaboration and work-management tools. * Experience with PowerShell, scripting, automation, or process-improvement initiatives is a plus.   Employment eligibility to work with American Express in the United States is required as the company will not pursue visa sponsorship for these positions.