[Hiring] Research Vice President, AI Security and Trust @IDC Research Inc.

Role Description

IDC is seeking a Research Vice President, AI Security and Trust to serve as a senior market-facing leader in one of the most dynamic areas of the security market. This role will shape IDC’s global point of view on how organizations secure AI models, data, agents, applications, and infrastructure.

The Research Vice President will define and lead a forward-looking research agenda spanning:

• AI runtime security
• AI trust and governance
• AI data security
• Agentic identity management
• AI-enabled security operations
• AI factory / AI infrastructure security

This individual will engage regularly with senior vendor executives, enterprise buyers, investors, media, and industry stakeholders to assess market requirements, technology adoption patterns, investment priorities, and competitive dynamics.

The successful candidate will help establish IDC as a leading voice in AI security and trust, while supporting:

• Syndicated research growth
• Custom research opportunities
• Strategic client engagement

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred.
• 12–15+ years of relevant experience in technology research, advisory, consulting, product strategy, cybersecurity, AI, cloud, or related markets.
• Deep understanding of cybersecurity markets, vendors, buyer priorities, and emerging technology adoption patterns.
• Strong knowledge of AI, cloud, data, software, and infrastructure trends, especially where they intersect with security, trust, governance, and risk.
• Demonstrated ability to define research agendas, analyze emerging markets, synthesize qualitative and quantitative inputs, and produce clear, differentiated market insight.
• Proven executive presence, including the ability to engage with CISO, CIO, CTO, product, strategy, investor, and senior vendor leadership audiences.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present complex market shifts clearly to senior executive audiences.
• Experience engaging with technology vendors, enterprise buyers, investors, media, and industry influencers.
• Strong commercial instincts, including the ability to support syndicated research growth, client inquiry, custom research, consulting, and strategic account development.
• Ability to work independently while influencing and collaborating effectively across a global research organization.
• Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to balance recurring research deliverables, client engagement, thought leadership, and commercial support.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office tools, especially PowerPoint and Excel; experience with forecasting, survey analysis, and market modeling is a plus.
• Willingness to travel for client meetings, industry events, and team collaboration.

Requirements

• Lead IDC’s research agenda for the emerging AI security and trust market, including high-growth categories such as AI runtime security, AI trust and governance, AI data security, agentic identity, AI-enabled SOC, and AI infrastructure security.
• Shape IDC’s market taxonomy, research priorities, and point of view on how AI security is evolving across cybersecurity, AI, cloud, data, software, and digital infrastructure markets.
• Develop and publish differentiated research, including market analysis, vendor assessments, forecasts, buyer guidance, thought leadership, and executive-level advisory content.
• Conduct and oversee market sizing, forecasting, competitive analysis, and trend analysis for emerging AI security segments.
• Track vendor strategies, startup activity, funding trends, partnerships, product innovation, regulatory developments, and emerging buyer requirements across the AI security landscape.
• Engage senior technology vendor executives through briefings, inquiries, advisory calls, strategy sessions, executive discussions, and industry events.
• Engage enterprise security, AI, cloud, infrastructure, and data leaders to understand adoption priorities, governance challenges, implementation patterns, and buying behavior.
• Represent IDC externally through presentations, webinars, conferences, media engagement, investor discussions, and executive client meetings.
• Partner with IDC analysts across security, AI, cloud, infrastructure, data, and software to build integrated, cross-domain research perspectives.
• Mentor and collaborate with analysts and research colleagues to strengthen IDC’s collective coverage of AI security, trust, and governance.
• Support and help grow syndicated subscriptions, custom research, consulting opportunities, and strategic account engagement tied to IDC’s expanding coverage of AI security and trust.

Benefits

• 15 vacation days (prorated based on start date)
• 12 company-paid holidays
• 6 paid sick days (prorated based on start date; may vary by state)
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• 2 floating holidays (prorated based on start date)
• 1 volunteer day
• 401(k) company match (IDC matches 3% on the first 6% of employee contributions)
• Company-paid short-term disability
• Company-paid life insurance
• Company-paid parental leave