Cybersecurity / Security Architect

Role overview

Architecture strategy and standards

• Develop and maintain enterprise security architecture aligned with business strategy, enterprise architecture, cybersecurity strategy, and regulatory requirements.
• Assess current-state security across applications, data, infrastructure, cloud, networks, identity, and integrations.
• Define target-state security architecture and transformation roadmaps.
• Develop security principles, standards, patterns, reference architectures, and design guardrails.
• Embed security-by-design and privacy-by-design into enterprise and solution architecture.

Security architecture domains

• Define Zero Trust principles and implementation patterns across identity, devices, networks, applications, data, and workloads.
• Define identity architecture for authentication, authorization, privileged access, federation, and identity lifecycle controls.
• Define security architecture for cloud, hybrid, on-premises, SaaS, and externally hosted environments.
• Define network security for segmentation, secure connectivity, firewalls, gateways, remote access, and trust boundaries.
• Define application and API security requirements across modern and legacy environments.
• Define data security for encryption, key management, classification, data protection, and secure data exchange.

Assurance and collaboration

• Support threat modeling, architecture risk assessment, security gap identification, and mitigation planning.
• Review solution architectures and technical designs against enterprise security standards and controls.
• Collaborate with enterprise, solution, and cloud architects; application, infrastructure, and data teams; and cybersecurity operations.
• Support security technology evaluation, vendor assessment, technical due diligence, and architecture decisions.
• Participate in architecture governance, security design reviews, and Architecture Review Boards.
• Support alignment with national cybersecurity controls, regulatory requirements, and recognized international security standards.

Experience

• At least 8–10 years of experience in cybersecurity, information security, infrastructure security, cloud security, solution architecture, or related disciplines.
• At least 4–5 years of hands-on Security Architecture experience or experience in a comparable senior cybersecurity architecture role.
• Demonstrated experience designing enterprise-scale security architectures across multiple technology domains.
• Strong experience with identity, network, application, cloud, infrastructure, and data security architecture.
• Experience supporting large-scale digital or cloud transformation, or cybersecurity improvement programs.
• Experience working with architecture and cybersecurity functions, technology teams, vendors, and senior stakeholders.

Core competencies

• Enterprise security architecture and security-by-design and privacy-by-design.
• Zero Trust and identity and access management architecture.
• Cloud, network, infrastructure, application, API, and data security architecture.
• Security controls, reference architectures, threat modeling, and architecture risk assessment.
• Security governance, architecture assurance, cybersecurity compliance, and regulatory alignment.
• Security technology evaluation, stakeholder management, consulting, and analytical risk-based thinking.

Preferred frameworks and methods

• SABSA, TOGAF, and ArchiMate are preferred frameworks or methods.
• NIST Cybersecurity Framework and NIST security architecture and control guidance are preferred.
• ISO/IEC 27001 and ISO/IEC 27002 are preferred.
• Cloud Security Alliance guidance, applicable national cybersecurity frameworks, secure software development, and DevSecOps practices are preferred.

Preferred tools and qualifications

• Enterprise architecture tools such as Bizzdesign, Sparx Enterprise Architect, Orbus/iServer, ARIS, or similar platforms are preferred.
• Exposure to IAM, privileged access, federation, SIEM, SOAR, endpoint, network, cloud security, encryption, key, certificate, data protection, threat modeling, vulnerability management, and risk assessment technologies is preferred.
• Cloud security services across Microsoft Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, or equivalent platforms are preferred.
• A bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Information Technology, Computer Engineering, or a related discipline is preferred.
• SABSA certification is highly desirable; CISSP, CCSP, CISM, or equivalent is highly desirable; TOGAF and relevant cloud, identity, network, or security architecture certifications are desirable or advantageous.

Personal attributes

• Strong analytical and risk-based thinking, communication, facilitation, and stakeholder management.
• Ability to translate cybersecurity requirements into practical architecture controls and design decisions.
• Ability to balance security, business value, usability, cost, and operational practicality.
• Strong attention to detail, architecture quality, and regulatory compliance; consulting mindset across stakeholders, programs, and technology domains.