Profile: Rachel Manca, Senior Cybersecurity Analyst, Boston Scientific

Rachel Manca has built her career on curiosity and a drive to understand how technology shapes our lives. Early on, she became fascinated with data privacy and the question of how personal information moves, gets used, and can be protected. That interest led her to internships at TJX and Boston Scientific, where she gained hands-on exposure to security challenges in large organizations. After completing a two-year IT rotational program at Boston Scientific, she found her calling in cybersecurity.

Now, six years later, Rachel serves as a Senior Cybersecurity Analyst, “My work focuses on cybersecurity defense, encompassing incident response and areas like threat intelligence,” she explains. She monitors Boston Scientific’s digital footprint, investigates alerts, and consolidates metrics across the security program. One project she is particularly proud of is developing an interactive dashboard of KPIs used by leadership. “It’s been really fun to see how that’s grown and used across a lot of different presentations and value demonstrations,” she says.

Focus on Emerging Threats and Innovation

Rachel thrives on staying ahead of evolving threats. “I like keeping track of emerging threats and news. It’s interesting to wake up every morning and see what’s happening.” She notes two areas that stand out as priorities: supply chain security and artificial intelligence. She emphasizes the importance of maintaining clear visibility into which vendors are in use and how they connect to the business, ensuring the team can respond quickly and identify what information may be at risk if a security issue arises.

AI represents both an opportunity and a challenge. “AI has many beneficial purposes and it’s being used in many good ways, but there is of course the dark side of it,” she cautions. “There are a lot of novel techniques that are emerging from threat actors using AI in malicious ways.” One key way to protect against these threats, Rachel believes: “Ensuring our user base understands AI literacy and analyzes? What’s coming out of AI to ensure its accuracy before it’s taken as full fact.”

Challenges and Team Culture

The fast pace of cybersecurity brings constant pressure to innovate. Rachel notes that it can be easy for teams to fall into routine processes when responding to alerts, but she stresses the importance of continuously questioning whether current methods are the most effective. For her, the challenge is finding smarter ways to respond, and leveraging new tools to ensure the team keeps pace with the speed of evolving threats.

She credits the ability to do so with a collaborative culture. “We have a great team that is used to working together. I came in as an intern and I’ve learned so much along the way,” Rachel says. With a mix of long-tenured employees and new hires, knowledge sharing remains a core strength. 

Culture of Impact and Belonging

Boston Scientific’s mission, “Advancing science for life,” is central to Rachel’s motivation. One example is the annual Everyone Makes an Impact event. “We bring patients on site who have been treated with our products, and they talk about their stories. You walk away feeling the impact of all the work you’re doing,” she shares. “That definitely brings us together around our core mission and common goal, why we’re all here doing what we’re doing: providing the best results for the patient, regardless of our functional role.”

She is also active in employee resource groups, including EmpowHer and the Young Professionals Network. “Definitely a sense of community,” she says of the benefits she derives from EmpowHer. “It’s a special way to connect with members outside of our team and to learn about their experiences and how they’ve advanced through different challenges.” Through peer mentoring programs, goal setting, and volunteering with local organizations, Rachel sees these groups as vital outlets for connection and accountability.

Mentorship and Community Engagement

Rachel has benefited from mentors during her career, and she makes it a point to pay that forward. She often works with interns and early-career professionals to help them find their footing in cybersecurity. “I was given so many opportunities as an intern, and I want to make sure others feel the same support I did,” she explains. She emphasizes practical advice, how to build confidence in meetings, how to ask questions, and how to map out a career path in security.

Outside the workplace, she stays active in community events, conferences, and panels. These platforms allow her to share her own journey, highlight the value of diversity in cyber, and learn from peers facing similar challenges. She views community engagement not just as professional development, but as a way to give back and inspire the next generation of security professionals.

Vision for the Future of Cybersecurity

Looking forward, Rachel sees cybersecurity becoming even more embedded in everyday business and personal life. “It’s not just IT anymore, it touches every part of the business and every individual,” she says. She believes the future will require security professionals to be as strong in communication and relationship-building as they are in technical expertise. “It’s about being that trusted advisor, not just the person who blocks things.”

She also expects rapid innovation in automation, AI-driven defense, and vendor risk management. “The pace of change is only accelerating. Successful organizations will embrace security as part of their culture, not just as a requirement, but as something that adds real value.” For Rachel, the ultimate goal is simple: “To keep learning, keep growing, and keep helping others feel empowered in this field.”

Leadership Aspirations

Looking ahead, Rachel sees herself moving into leadership roles. “I would definitely love to get into people leadership; currently I’m an individual contributor. I think that would be a great area to move into next,” she says. In the meantime, she remains focused on continuous learning: “I never stop learning and figuring out how I can apply different things that I’m learning in the community to the role that I’m in.”