Security Architect

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Job ID:

Posted:

Closing date:

Location: London

Salary: Competitive salary plus excellent benefits (per annum)

Job type: Permanent

Working pattern: Full time

Industry: Banking & Financial Services / Cyber Security

Company: Hays

Consultant: Oliver Lamar-Kimpiobi

Hays office: London-City — 5th Floor, 107 Cheapside,

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Security Architect

The Opportunity

We are supporting a growing international technology organisation looking for an experienced Security Architect to play a key role in shaping and strengthening the security foundations of its cloud-native technology environment. This is an opportunity to have genuine influence over how security is designed and embedded across the organisation. Rather than simply reviewing designs or enforcing security policies, you'll work closely with Architecture, Engineering, Product and Operations teams to shape technical decisions, challenge existing approaches and help teams build securely from the outset.
You'll have the opportunity to influence major initiatives across GCP security, Kubernetes, DevSecOps, application and API security, identity, resilience and security compliance, while helping the organisation continue to scale securely. The role would particularly suit someone who enjoys being close to technology while operating at an architectural and strategic level, and who wants greater ownership and influence over security.

Please note: Strong commercial experience with both Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and Kubernetes is essential for this position.

Your Team

You'll sit within a wider technology function and work closely with teams across Architecture, Engineering, Product, Operations and Compliance. Security is highly collaborative within this environment, so you'll have the opportunity to work directly with the people designing, building and operating technology rather than operating separately from engineering. Strong communication will therefore be just as important as technical expertise. You'll need to be comfortable explaining security risks, challenging technical decisions where appropriate and finding solutions that work for both security and the wider business.
Responsibilities

• Provide security guidance and architectural expertise across platform, application and infrastructure design initiatives.
• Partner with Architecture and Engineering teams to embed security into new products and services from the outset.
• Strengthen security controls and architecture across Google Cloud Platform (GCP) environments.
• Provide security expertise across Kubernetes and cloud-native environments.
• Drive the adoption of DevSecOps and Shift-Left Security practices across engineering teams.
• Help strengthen web application and API security, including API gateways, authentication and modern integration architectures.
• Design and improve disaster recovery, resilience and security capabilities across critical systems.
• Identify architectural and technical security risks and provide pragmatic recommendations that balance security with business objectives.
• Support security and compliance initiatives across PCI DSS, GDPR, ISO 27001 and SOC 2.
• Work with internal stakeholders and external auditors during security assessments and certification programmes.
• Promote secure engineering practices and help strengthen security awareness across the organisation.
  

Experience

We're looking for someone who combines strong technical security expertise with the ability to influence architecture and engineering decisions.

You'll need:

• 5+ years' experience within Cybersecurity, Security Engineering and/or Security Architecture.
• Strong commercial Google Cloud Platform (GCP) security experience.
• Strong commercial Kubernetes security experience.
• Experience designing and implementing security controls across modern cloud-native environments.
• Strong understanding of web application security and secure software development.
• Experience implementing DevSecOps and Shift-Left Security practices.
• Experience working directly with software engineering and architecture teams.
• Experience securing APIs, API gateways and modern integration architectures.
• Hands-on knowledge of authentication, identity and access management.
• Experience with security and compliance frameworks such as PCI DSS, GDPR, ISO 27001 and/or SOC 2.
• Knowledge of vulnerability management, risk assessment and security governance.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to influence both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• The ability to balance security requirements with commercial and operational objectives.

Candidates without commercial experience across both GCP and Kubernetes will not meet the essential requirements for this particular position.
Why Consider This Opportunity?

This is a strong opportunity for someone who wants to move beyond simply maintaining existing security controls and have greater influence over how security is designed.

You'll be able to work across several areas of modern security rather than being confined to a single specialism, including GCP, Kubernetes, DevSecOps, applications, APIs, identity, resilience and security architecture. Most importantly, you'll work closely with the teams actually building the technology, giving you the opportunity to influence decisions early, shape security standards and see the impact of your work.

If you're an experienced Security Architect or senior Security Engineer with strong GCP and Kubernetes expertise, and you're looking for a role offering greater ownership, technical breadth and architectural influence, this could be a particularly interesting next step.

# - Oliver Lamar-Kimpiobi