Pavan Gandhi

About Pavan Gandhi

Strategic, analytical problem solver and change agent with a Computer Science foundation and global leadership training, driving data‑driven security incident management, least privilege access design, and operational excellence within IAM @ Microsoft. I am deeply rooted in building and securing AI‑native systems, with a strong focus on using AI as a productivity and decision‑support tool to accelerate analysis, streamline workflows, and improve the quality of execution in day‑to‑day work. In parallel, my work is grounded in secure‑by‑design principles as we move toward an increasingly adversarial, bot‑vs‑bot cybersecurity landscape where autonomous systems must be resilient, governed, and trustworthy. Informed by global leadership training and international coursework in team decision‑making and cross‑cultural collaboration, I am committed to fostering team environments grounded in community, culture, and diversity—where people can think boldly, collaborate effectively, and build products and processes that create meaningful impact.

Experience

1. Technical Program Manager - Microsoft Security, Identity and Access Management

   Microsoft

   Jul 2024 — Present · Redmond, WA, US

   Minimizing and defending Microsoft’s Trusted Compute Base (TCB) by reducing attack surface and strengthening foundational security boundaries.• Driving large‑scale security incident risk response campaigns through data‑driven analysis, prioritization, and measurable outcomes.• Leading security transformation through Microsoft’s Secure Future Initiative, translating strategy into sustained, organization‑wide risk reduction.• Synthesizing and visualizing proactive security risk reviews across mission‑critical services, exposing key risks and driving accountable remediation at scale.

Education

• North Carolina State University

  Bachelor's degree, Computer Science

  2020 — 2024

• Apex High School

  High School Diploma

  2016 — 2020