Security Architect II

ICW Group•San Diego, CA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Security Architect II is a senior individual contributor on the Enterprise Architecture team. The role develops and influences enterprise security architecture direction and creates frameworks and reusable guidance to support security across the enterprise. It translates business objectives, risk priorities, and regulatory obligations into practical security capabilities, standards, reference architectures, and implementation patterns. Working across business, technology, security, infrastructure, data, and delivery teams, the position promotes consistent risk-based decisions and helps ensure security is designed into enterprise platforms, cloud environments, applications, integrations, data solutions, and emerging AI capabilities. The role also defines and maintains security standards, guidelines, and procedures; provides security architecture governance and guidance; reviews strategic initiatives and technology changes; and advances security architecture for AI and generative AI solutions. It provides technical leadership and mentorship across teams but has no direct supervisory responsibilities.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field; equivalent relevant experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
At least 8 years of progressively responsible IT or cybersecurity experience.
At least 4 years of experience in security architecture, cloud security architecture, enterprise architecture, or solution architecture with substantial security responsibility.
Demonstrated experience defining security standards, reference architectures, technical controls, and architecture roadmaps in a complex enterprise environment.
Hands-on or architecture-level experience with AWS security services, identity and access management, network security, application security, data protection, security monitoring, and secure cloud adoption.
One senior-level security or security architecture certification.
Advanced knowledge of security architecture principles, threat modeling, zero trust, defense in depth, least privilege, secure-by-design, privacy-by-design, and risk-based control selection.
Strong working knowledge of NIST, ISO, CIS, cloud security, and enterprise architecture practices, including the ability to tailor frameworks appropriately.
Advanced knowledge of AWS security architecture and cloud-native control patterns.
Knowledge of application and API security, identity federation, privileged access, network segmentation, encryption, key management, secrets management, logging, monitoring, incident readiness, vulnerability management, and software supply-chain security.
Working knowledge of AI security risks and controls across data, models, prompts, retrieval, tools, agents, infrastructure, monitoring, and human oversight.
Ability to translate business goals, regulatory obligations, and risk scenarios into architecture requirements, technical standards, roadmaps, and solution options.
Ability to communicate strategic and tactical perspectives and explain complex security topics to executives, business leaders, architects, engineers, and control functions.
Strong facilitation, negotiation, written communication, presentation, and stakeholder-management skills.
Ability to work as a self-directed senior individual contributor and collaborate across architecture, cybersecurity, engineering, operations, risk, compliance, legal, privacy, and audit teams.
Ability to balance risk reduction, delivery speed, user experience, cost, resilience, and operational supportability.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting regulated industries, financial services, or property and casualty insurance.
Experience with AI, machine learning, generative AI, or agentic-system security and governance.
CISSP is preferred as the baseline credential.
Relevant certifications may include ISC2 CISSP, ISSAP, or CCSP; AWS Certified Security - Specialty or AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional; GIAC GDSA, GCSA, or another relevant GIAC certification; ISACA CISM or CRISC.
AI security training or certification, such as GIAC AI Security Automation Engineer (GASAE), is desirable when supported by relevant practical experience.

Responsibilities

Develop and influence enterprise security architecture and strategic direction, including frameworks, principles, target-state architectures, reference architectures, roadmaps, and reusable security patterns.
Map business goals, risk appetite, regulatory obligations, and enterprise strategy to security capabilities and technical implementation direction.
Partner with enterprise, solution, cloud, data, integration, infrastructure, and AI architects to embed security into technology strategies and solution designs.
Define current- and target-state security capabilities, identify gaps and dependencies, and recommend sequenced initiatives to improve enterprise security maturity.
Provide architecture guidance across identity and access management, zero trust, network and cloud security, application security, data protection, cryptography, secrets management, logging and monitoring, resilience, vulnerability management, and third-party technology risk.
Create decision records documenting security trade-offs, assumptions, risks, compensating controls, and follow-up actions.
Develop and maintain enterprise security standards, guidelines, control patterns, procedures, and minimum security requirements within assigned areas of responsibility.
Apply recognized security frameworks and secure-by-design practices as appropriate, including NIST, ISO/IEC, and CIS guidance.
Maintain approved security patterns and requirements for AWS services, cloud accounts, networking, identity, encryption, key management, secrets, workload protection, observability, and incident readiness.
Contribute to exception and risk-acceptance criteria and partner with Security, Risk, Compliance, and technology owners to ensure deviations are explicit, time-bound, and appropriately approved.
Maintain traceability among business objectives, security risks, policies, standards, architecture decisions, technical controls, and implementation evidence.
Perform and document security architecture reviews for strategic initiatives, platforms, products, vendor solutions, integrations, and material technology changes.
Present security-significant decisions and recommendations to the Architecture Review Board and other governance forums.
Engage early in initiative planning and solution design to identify threats, misuse cases, trust boundaries, attack paths, security requirements, and control responsibilities.
Advise teams on secure architecture patterns while respecting the responsibilities of engineering, cybersecurity operations, risk, privacy, legal, and business owners.
Evaluate vendor products and services for security capabilities, architectural fit, data handling, integration requirements, operational dependencies, and concentration risk.
Mentor architects and technical teams, build security architecture competency, and serve as a trusted advisor on complex or high-impact decisions.
Define security architecture guidance for AI and generative AI solutions, including data protection, identity and authorization, model and supply-chain risk, prompt injection, tool misuse, and unintended data disclosure.
Develop risk-based security patterns for AI applications and agentic workflows, including adversarial testing, monitoring, human oversight, and controls that constrain autonomous actions.
Collaborate with data, privacy, legal, risk, and AI governance stakeholders to align AI security controls with relevant frameworks, business impact, and acceptable risk.