Director of Enterprise Security Design

Must be local to Washington, D.C. area.

About the Role

The Director, Enterprise Security Architecture & Design is responsible for defining and executing the organization's enterprise security architecture strategy, ensuring security principles are embedded across business and technology initiatives. This leader acts as a trusted advisor to executive stakeholders, driving security-by-design practices, establishing architecture standards, and leading cross-functional efforts to identify, assess, and mitigate cybersecurity risk. This role maintains a forward-looking perspective on emerging threats, evolving technologies, regulatory requirements, and business objectives to strengthen organizational security posture, resilience, and operational effectiveness.

Responsibilities

• Security Strategy & Architecture
  • Develop and maintain the enterprise security architecture roadmap aligned to business and technology objectives.
  • Establish and promote security-by-design principles across infrastructure, applications, cloud platforms, and data environments.
  • Define enterprise security standards, reference architectures, and engineering guardrails.
  • Translate business requirements into scalable security capabilities and controls.
  • Influence enterprise technology decisions to ensure security considerations are integrated into architectural planning and implementation.
  • Lead long-term cybersecurity maturity and transformation initiatives.
• Executive Leadership & Governance
  • Serve as a strategic advisor to executive leadership on cybersecurity risk, security investments, and technology initiatives.
  • Present security strategies, key risks, mitigation plans, and investment recommendations to senior stakeholders.
  • Participate in governance committees, architecture review boards, and risk management forums.
  • Provide leadership for enterprise-wide security transformation efforts.
  • Drive prioritization of remediation activities based on organizational risk and business impact.
• Risk Management & Security Operations
  • Lead security risk assessments for technology initiatives, change requests, and strategic programs.
  • Evaluate cybersecurity risks associated with major technology implementations, digital transformation initiatives, and business changes.
  • Establish and oversee risk-based vulnerability management practices.
  • Partner with engineering and operational teams to remediate identified vulnerabilities and security weaknesses.
  • Conduct threat and risk assessments to identify emerging concerns and control gaps.
• Security Monitoring & Incident Response
  • Support and optimize enterprise security technologies, including SIEM, endpoint protection, identity security, network security, vulnerability management, and detection platforms.
  • Analyze outputs from security monitoring and assessment tools and coordinate remediation activities.
  • Lead or support incident investigations, root cause analyses, and corrective action planning.
  • Develop and maintain incident response strategies and playbooks.
  • Monitor emerging threats and recommend appropriate security enhancements.
• Metrics & Reporting
  • Develop security KPIs, operational metrics, and executive dashboards.
  • Establish meaningful reporting mechanisms to measure program effectiveness, risk reduction, and cybersecurity maturity.
  • Communicate security performance and risk posture to business and technology leadership.

Requirements

• Experience
  • 10+ years of progressive cybersecurity experience.
  • 5+ years leading security architecture, security engineering, or enterprise cybersecurity programs.
  • Experience securing complex environments spanning on-premises, cloud, and SaaS platforms.
  • Experience developing enterprise security strategies, roadmaps, and governance frameworks.
  • Proven ability to influence executive stakeholders and communicate risk-based recommendations.
  • Experience leading cross-functional initiatives within matrixed organizations.
  • Experience managing penetration testing and vulnerability remediation programs.
  • Experience supporting regulatory, compliance, or security frameworks such as NIST, ISO 27001, SOC 2, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, or comparable standards.
• Preferred Experience
  • Zero Trust architecture design and implementation.
  • Microsoft security ecosystem, including Defender, Sentinel, Entra ID, and Purview.
  • Cloud security experience in Azure and/or AWS.
  • Enterprise threat modeling and risk assessment methodologies.
  • Leadership during significant cybersecurity incidents.
  • Large-scale technology transformation initiatives.
  • Security architecture within highly regulated industries.
  • Familiarity with AI governance, security, and risk considerations.
• Certifications
  • Required
    • CISSP
    • Azure Security Engineer (AZ-500)
    • GIAC Certified Incident Handler (GCIH)
  • Preferred
    • CCSP
    • SABSA
    • TOGAF
    • AWS Security Specialty
    • Additional GIAC certifications
• Education
  • Bachelor's Degree required.
  • Master's Degree preferred.