Senior Cybersecurity Architect / Cloud Security Architect

Job Description:

Manager Notes:

Client is seeking a Senior Cybersecurity Architect who operates as a true security architect and consultant. This role requires strong architectural leadership with hands-on technical expertise, particularly in cloud and AI-driven environments.

Key Responsibilities & Requirements:

• Act as a security architect and trusted consultant, not just an implementer
• Lead and own security architecture initiatives and projects end-to-end
• Strong leadership experience, including guiding teams and influencing stakeholders
• Extensive experience with cloud security architecture in AWS and/or Azure
• Hands-on experience combined with high-level architectural design
• Proven experience supporting cloud migration initiatives, including AI workloads
• Experience with AI platforms and models such as LLaMA, Gemini, and OpenAI
• Deep knowledge of foundational security and infrastructure controls in AWS and Azure
• Design and implement secure architectures for cloud-native and AI-enabled solutions

Certifications:

• CISSP required (active certification number mandatory)

Contract Details:

• Duration:6 months, with strong potential for extension for the right candidate

Ideal Candidate Profile:

• Senior-level cloud security architect with both strategic and hands-on capabilities
• Background in cybersecurity architecture with a consulting mindset
• Demonstrated success leading complex cloud and AI security projects

Description:

• The Senior Cybersecurity Architect serves the company as an advisor on best practices and is responsible for designing and effectively implementing enterprise security strategies, architectures and solutions that guide IT security direction.
• They are accountable for the security architecture across a variety of applications or domains and assigned to project/initiatives of large size, complexity and risk.
• The Senior Cybersecurity Architect develops actionable security blueprints, principles, models, designs, standards and guidelines to ensure enterprise information technology architecture is consistent, usable, secure and adds value to the business.
• Interacts with vendors, IT and business area contacts to facilitate flexible, scalable and cost effective security solutions.
• Also provides technical guidance to less experienced Security Architects.

Essential Functions:

• The essential functions listed represent the major duties of this role, additional duties may be assigned.
• Accountable for adhering to enterprise architecture standards, ensuring security technology standards and best practices are maintained across the organization and contributing to enterprise architecture strategy-setting.
• Responsible for design and implementation of security strategy, architecture and platforms. Responsible for enterprise due-diligence activities including security monitoring and security metrics to evaluate effectiveness of the enterprise security program and established controls.
• Responsible for ensuring necessary security controls are part of technical designs.
• Participates in security governance processes.
• Participates in IT security efforts across all business areas and client groups.
• Troubleshoots, recommends and executes action plans for issue resolution.
• Serves as security architecture subject matter expert to business areas, project teams and vendors to apply and execute appropriate use of technology solutions and lead efforts to examine technology vision, opportunities and challenges.
• Builds consensus around principles of security architecture and interprets and clarifies these principles.
• Participates in the evaluation, selection and implementation of technology solutions including providing detailed analysis of pros and cons and build vs buy options.
• Provides technical guidance to less experienced Security Architects.
• Participates on project teams contributing input with regard to security standards and the impact to technology.
• Investigates and reports on security threats and incidents.
• Conducts post-event reviews of security incidents.
• Maintains operational, architectural and design documentation including procedures, task lists, and architecture blue prints.
• Evaluates strengths and flaws in Security Architecture designs including performance, confidentiality, integrity, availability, access and total cost of ownership.
• Facilitates project handoffs including preparing documentation, educating and supporting to ensure smooth transitions.
• Selects and designs tools that allow reuse of design components and patterns between projects. Develops actual working solutions or prototypes based on their own designs and resolves any issues that arise.
• Establishes and maintains relationships with IT and business area partners to evaluate designs and controls.
• Continually works to enhance breadth and depth of knowledge and experience. Benchmarks technology strategies and architectures. Monitors and anticipates trends and investigates organizational objectives and needs. Provides guidance on security solutions and prepares benchmarking reports and presentations.
• Promotes implementation of new technology, solutions and methods to improve business processes, efficiency, effectiveness and value delivered to customers.

Required Work Experience:

• 5+ years related work experience (work experience as an Architect working on progressively complex IT projects)

Required Education:

• Related Bachelor's degree or additional related equivalent work experienceIT related field or equivalent work experience

Required Licenses and Certifications:

• CISSP - Cert Information Systems Security Professional:
• **In alignment with GW Cybersecurity requirements, contractors must posses a relevant cybersecurity or technical certification for this role. If a relevant certification is not possessed, the contractor will be expected to obtain a relevant certification within 6 months of hire. (Relevant certification will be defined by hiring manager)

Additional Preferred Qualifications:

• 2 or more years cloud security experience
• IAM experience with employee and consumer identity security
• Experience securing API's
• Health care industry related experience is preferred
• Additional Information Security certifications (CISM, CISA, etc) preferred
• Experience using Agile methodology