Principal, Security Architecture

Cardinal Health

2d•$135,400 - $208,100

About The Position

The Principal, Security Architecture is responsible for establishing, leading, and developing the security architecture strategy, standards, and design practices to enable secure, scalable, and resilient technology solutions across the organization. Reporting to the Vice President, Information Security & Risk, this role serves as a technical leader responsible for aligning security architecture with business priorities, risk management objectives, and enterprise GTBS strategies. This role leads all aspects of security architecture, including architecture strategy and governance, technical security standards, solution design and advisory, architecture reviews, and tooling optimization. It plays a critical role in embedding security into the development lifecycle, guiding technology investments, and ensuring that security requirements are integrated into enterprise architectures and solutions from inception through deployment.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in cybersecurity, security architecture, or information security, with a focus on enterprise architecture and solution design preferred
Deep expertise in security architecture frameworks, secure design principles, and enterprise technology environments
Strong understanding of cybersecurity frameworks (e.g., NIST CSF, ISO 27001) and regulatory requirements
Experience leading architecture reviews, defining standards, and guiding secure solution development
Demonstrated ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams and influence technical and business stakeholders
Strong leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills
Experience in a leadership role overseeing security architecture or engineering teams
Experience in highly regulated industries (e.g., aviation, financial services, healthcare, or government)
Advanced degree (MBA, MS in Cybersecurity, Information Systems, or related field) preferred
Professional certifications such as CISSP, CCSP, SABSA, or TOGAF
Experience with cloud security architecture, DevSecOps, and modern application development practices
Utilizes broad and deep knowledge to develop innovative new business practices, policies and procedures
Contributes to the development of department strategy
Works on or may lead highly complex projects of large scope
Projects are typically cross-functional and have significant and long-term impact
Provides solutions which set precedent
Negotiates complex or risky technical business issues on behalf of the company
Independently defines project establishes budgets identifies participants and mitigates risk
Consults with management to determine project objectives with long-term implications
Acts as a mentor to less experienced colleagues

Nice To Haves

focus on enterprise architecture and solution design preferred
Advanced degree (MBA, MS in Cybersecurity, Information Systems, or related field) preferred

Responsibilities

Develop and lead the enterprise security architecture strategy aligned with cybersecurity, risk management, and business objectives
Establish governance frameworks and processes to guide secure design, technology selection, and solution deployment across the organization
Collaborate with cybersecurity leadership, enterprise architecture, and technology teams to define target-state architecture and long-term roadmap
Serve as an advisor to leadership on security architecture priorities, risks, and investment decisions
Develop, maintain, and enforce enterprise security architecture standards, including design principles, control requirements, and implementation guidelines
Ensure standards are aligned with regulatory requirements, industry frameworks, and organizational risk tolerance
Establish governance processes for adoption and enforcement of architecture standards across global cybersecurity and technology teams
Continuously update and refine standards to address emerging threats, technologies, and business needs
Oversee architecture review processes to evaluate solutions and system designs against security standards, risk requirements, and enterprise architecture
Ensure security risks are identified, documented, and addressed prior to implementation
Provide approval and validation of security architecture decisions, including exception handling and risk acceptance processes
Drive consistency and quality in architecture review practices across teams
Provide proactive security guidance and risk-informed recommendations during solution design and development
Partner with application, engineering, and commercial technology teams to embed security requirements early in the development lifecycle
Support security-by-design reviews, pre-implementation assessments, and architecture decision-making for new initiatives and technologies
Act as a technical liaison to translate security requirements and risks for both technical and non-technical stakeholders
Assess, rationalize, and optimize the cybersecurity tooling landscape to reduce complexity, eliminate redundancies, and improve capability coverage
Ensure tooling aligns with enterprise security architecture and supports effective risk management and operational capabilities
Partner with engineering and infrastructure teams to integrate tools into the broader cybersecurity ecosystem
Drive continuous improvement of tooling strategy to support scalability, efficiency, and innovation
Define and support reference architectures, design patterns, and reusable security solutions to enable secure system development
Oversee and guide the implementation of security controls within applications, infrastructure, and platforms
Support teams in designing secure solutions that balance security, performance, scalability, and usability
Promote adoption of secure-by-design principles across development and engineering teams
Assess current and target security capabilities, mapping them to business priorities and risk requirements
Develop and maintain a phased roadmap to guide strategic security architecture investments and capability maturity
Align architecture initiatives with enterprise transformation efforts and emerging technology trends
Provide visibility into capability gaps and investment priorities to support strategic planning
Collaborate with enterprise architecture, IT, engineering, risk, and compliance teams to ensure alignment of security architecture with enterprise initiatives
Partner with BISOs and business stakeholders to integrate security into business and technology strategies
Provide guidance and support for cybersecurity requirements in projects, ensuring alignment with architecture standards
Drive consistent communication and alignment across global cybersecurity and technology teams
Build and lead a high-performing security architecture team with expertise across domains such as cloud, application, infrastructure, and data security
Develop team capabilities through coaching, training, and structured career development initiatives
Foster a culture of technical excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement
Ensure alignment of team capabilities with evolving cybersecurity and business needs