Lead, AI‑Powered Application Security & SAST

Michael Page; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 350,000 - 520,000; Full time

Job summary

Michael Page is seeking an seasoned leader to own and mature the Application Security programme across software engineering teams in Abu Dhabi. You will own SAST strategy, tooling, governance, and secure coding practices across cloud-native environments.

You will drive secure SDLC practices, manage GitLab security within pipelines, oversee vulnerability remediation, and lead AI-enabled security efforts while collaborating with DevOps and Platform teams.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in Software Engineering and/or Application Security.
• 3+ years in a dedicated Application Security role.
• Hands-on with SAST, dependency scanning, vulnerability management and secure SDLC practices.
• Strong experience securing source code repositories and CI/CD pipelines (GitLab preferred).
• Proficiency in Python, Java, Go, or TypeScript.
• Knowledge of OWASP Top 10 and LLM/AI security considerations.
• Familiarity with ISO 27001 and security governance frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mature the Application Security programme across software engineering teams.
• Own SAST strategy, tooling, and governance.
• Oversee source repository security within GitLab and development pipelines.
• Manage vulnerability identification, prioritisation, remediation tracking, and reporting.
• Establish application security standards, frameworks, and governance across dev teams.
• Partner with engineering leaders to embed security-by-design principles and enable secure coding training.
• Evaluate AI-assisted application security capabilities and manage risks around AI-generated code.

Skills

Application security leadership

Security governance

Secure SDLC

CI/CD security

Programming languages (Python/Java/Go/

Tools

GitLab

OWASP Top 10

ISO 27001

AI security tooling

Job description

Michael Page is seeking an seasoned leader to own and mature the Application Security programme across software engineering teams in Abu Dhabi. You will own SAST strategy, tooling, governance, and secure coding practices across cloud-native environments.

You will drive secure SDLC practices, manage GitLab security within pipelines, oversee vulnerability remediation, and lead AI-enabled security efforts while collaborating with DevOps and Platform teams.