Head of Security Design and Engineering

Job Title: Head of Security Design and Engineering

Department: IT Department

Reporting to: Head of Cyber Security

Main Role: Lead the design and engineering phase of the security-control lifecycle by translating control objectives and minimum-security standards into secure architectures, engineering patterns, integrated platforms and automated controls across infrastructure, applications, cloud and identity.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

1. Core Accountabilities

• Own security architecture principles, guardrails, patterns and reference architectures.
• Direct engineering and integration of platform, infrastructure, cloud, application and identity security capabilities.
• Embed security into SDLC and DevSecOps, including SAST, DAST, SCA, secrets, API, container and Kubernetes security.
• Maintain the security-technology inventory, lifecycle, ownership, licensing, use cases and technical roadmap.
• Establish security-by-design, threat-modelling and architecture-review services for projects and material changes.
• Drive policy-as-code, orchestration and automation to improve control consistency, speed and evidence.2. Governance Stakeholder and Reporting Responsibilities

• Maintain clear operating procedures, evidence, service metrics and management reporting for the assigned security services.
• Coordinate with IT operations, architecture, application, risk, compliance, audit and business stakeholders to resolve control gaps and delivery dependencies.
• Escalate material risks, incidents, SLA breaches and control weaknesses through the approved governance and incident-management channels.
• Support regulatory examinations, internal and external audits, risk assessments and management committees by providing accurate evidence and subject-matter input.Personnel Specification

1. Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Security, Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering or a related discipline; a relevant master’s degree is advantageous.
• 10-15 years, including at least 5 years leading security architecture or engineering teams.
• Demonstrated experience in a regulated, high-availability or financial-services environment is strongly preferred.2. Technical Knowledge and Skills

• Enterprise security architecture and control engineering.
• Cloud, infrastructure, application, API, container, network and identity security.
• Security technology lifecycle, integration architecture, automation and engineering assurance.
• Secure SDLC, DevSecOps, threat modelling and architecture governance.
• Working knowledge of NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0, ISO/IEC 27001 and the control lifecycle from design through operation and assurance.
• Ability to translate business, regulatory and risk requirements into measurable security outcomes, procedures and service metrics.
• Strong analytical, written communication, stakeholder-management and evidence-management skills in a regulated environment.3. Operational and Behavioral Skills

• Sound judgement, integrity and the ability to handle sensitive information and high-pressure situations appropriately.
• Ability to prioritize risk, manage competing demands and deliver clear decisions, actions and escalation.
• Strong collaboration, influencing and communication skills across technical, business and executive audiences.
• Commitment to measurable service quality, continuous improvement and disciplined documentation.
• Ability to work effectively with internal teams, external suppliers, auditors and regulators.Desired Certifications

• CISSP, preferably ISSAP
• SABSA Chartered Security Architect or TOGAF
• CCSP or recognised cloud security certification
• CISM