Principal Security Engineer (Ref: 197828)

Forsyth Barnes Consultancy; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 420,000 - 660,000; Full time

Job summary

Forsyth Barnes Consultancy is seeking a Principal Security Engineer to define and advance the security engineering direction across critical banking systems in Abu Dhabi. You will translate strategy into architecture, standards, and controls protecting identities, infrastructure, applications, networks, and sensitive financial data.

Success will reduce material risk, standardize controls, and enable secure project delivery within a regulated banking environment.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in cybersecurity engineering or security architecture.
• Proven ability to design and implement security capabilities in regulated environments (banking/financial).
• Strong knowledge of IAM, cryptography, network security, cloud security, application security, endpoint controls, and monitoring.
• Ability to translate threat scenarios and risk assessments into technical controls.
• Experience establishing security standards, reference architectures, and secure configurations.

Responsibilities

• Set the technical vision and engineering roadmap for enterprise cybersecurity capabilities.
• Architect security controls for banking platforms, cloud services, infrastructure, applications, networks, and data environments.
• Evaluate solution designs and provide clear security requirements throughout the project lifecycle.
• Strengthen identity and access management, encryption, key management, endpoint protection, and security monitoring capabilities.
• Lead the technical assessment of vulnerabilities, threats, control weaknesses, and remediation options.
• Define repeatable engineering patterns, reference architectures, and secure configuration standards.
• Partner with architecture, infrastructure, software delivery, operations, risk, audit, and compliance stakeholders.
• Review security incidents and emerging threats to identify lasting engineering improvements.

Skills

Security engineering

Security architecture

Identity management

Cryptography

Network security

Cloud security

Security monitoring

Threat modeling

Stakeholder management

Job description

About Us

Operating from Abu Dhabi since 1985, our client provides personal and business banking services across retail banking, wealth management, commercial banking, corporate finance, investment banking, and cash management. The breadth and sensitivity of these services demand resilient technology, disciplined governance, and security engineering capable of protecting customer information, financial transactions, and critical business operations.

Serving a complex financial environment, this organisation continues to depend on secure platforms and well-controlled digital services. Its scale creates an opportunity for a principal security professional to influence enterprise protection, strengthen technical standards, and support secure innovation across multiple banking disciplines.

Job Description

The Principal Security Engineer will define and advance the technical direction of security engineering across critical banking systems and enterprise technology services. This role will translate security strategy into practical architecture, engineering standards, and controls that protect identities, infrastructure, applications, networks, and sensitive financial data.

Success will involve reducing material security risk, improving the consistency of technical controls, and enabling projects to deliver securely within a regulated banking environment. The position will provide authoritative guidance to engineering and delivery teams, assess complex designs, influence remediation priorities, and ensure security decisions remain aligned with business objectives and applicable requirements.

Key Responsibilities

• Set the technical vision and engineering roadmap for enterprise cybersecurity capabilities.
• Architect security controls for banking platforms, cloud services, infrastructure, applications, networks, and data environments.
• Evaluate solution designs and provide clear security requirements throughout the project lifecycle.
• Strengthen identity and access management, privileged access, encryption, key management, endpoint protection, and security monitoring capabilities.
• Lead the technical assessment of vulnerabilities, threats, control weaknesses, and remediation options.
• Define repeatable engineering patterns, reference architectures, and secure configuration standards.
• Partner with architecture, infrastructure, software delivery, operations, risk, audit, and compliance stakeholders.
• Review security incidents and emerging threats to identify lasting engineering improvements.

Requirements

• Extensive experience in cybersecurity engineering, security architecture, or a closely related technical leadership discipline.
• Proven responsibility for designing and implementing security capabilities within banking, financial services, or another highly regulated environment.
• Strong understanding of identity and access management, cryptography, network security, cloud security, application security, endpoint controls, and security monitoring.
• Demonstrated ability to convert threat scenarios and risk assessments into proportionate technical controls.
• Practical experience establishing security standards, reference architectures, engineering processes, and control assurance activities.
• Confidence reviewing complex technology designs and challenging decisions that could increase operational or regulatory exposure.
• Knowledge of recognised cybersecurity frameworks, secure development practices, vulnerability management, and regulatory expectations relevant to financial institutions.
• Exceptional communication skills, with the judgement to influence senior stakeholders and provide clear direction to technical teams.

Benefits

• A senior technical mandate with direct influence over the protection of essential banking services and sensitive financial information.
• Exposure to a broad portfolio spanning retail banking, wealth management, commercial banking, corporate finance, investment banking, and cash management.
• The opportunity to shape security architecture, engineering standards, and long-term cyber resilience within an established financial institution.
• Visibility across enterprise technology, risk, compliance, delivery, and operational leadership functions.
• A role in which expert recommendations can drive measurable improvements in control maturity and security risk reduction.
• Access to complex, high-impact security challenges that support continued professional and technical growth.
• A competitive package aligned with the seniority and specialist scope of the position.

Other

The position is based in Abu Dhabi and suits a security leader who combines deep technical expertise with enterprise-level judgement. Candidates should be prepared to operate across strategy, architecture, delivery assurance, remediation, and stakeholder governance rather than focusing on a single security technology.

Experience in financial services will be highly relevant, while strong backgrounds in other regulated or mission-critical environments may also provide a suitable foundation. The successful candidate will be expected to communicate with precision, make risk-based recommendations, and maintain a high standard of technical accountability.