Lead, Security Architect

Payments Canada; Ottawa; Hybrid; CAD 108,000 - 132,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work environment

Competitive compensation package

Paid time off and benefits

Job summary

Payments Canada seeks a Lead Security Architect to drive secure-by-design architectural governance across programs. You will lead threat modeling, guide risk-based decisions, and align designs with business goals.

This senior role collaborates with software engineering, security operations, and IT leadership to integrate robust security into modern applications. The position emphasizes security governance, multi-year program leadership, and mentoring staff while advancing enterprise security

Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, or related field.
• Minimum seven years in IT/security with five years in security or solution architecture across multiple domains.
• Experience conducting threat modeling (STRIDE/PASTA/Mitre) and evaluating risks (OWASP Top 10).

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic security guidance to product teams and architects, setting a defensive standard.
• Lead threat modeling and knowledge-transfer sessions to embed security early in SDLC.
• Perform governance, design reviews and guidance to manage security debt.
• Mentor staff and foster continuous learning on threats and secure design practices.

Skills

Threat modeling

Security architecture

Technical leadership

Stakeholder communication

Security governance

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS or related field

Security certifications (CISSP/CISM/CSSLP)

Tools

TOGAF

SABSA

CI/CD security tooling

Job description

Payments Canada is at the forefront of the Canadian payment ecosystem. Our purpose is to make payments easier, smarter and safer for all Canadians. Every day we are working diligently to ensure your payments are cleared and settled. In 2025 alone, our systems cleared approximately $103 trillion or $411.9 billion every business day! If you are passionate about payments and want to help ensure that these financial transactions in Canada are carried out safely and securely, working with us is for you!

Who we are

We Are a Public Purpose, Non-profit Organization Situated At The Center Of Canada’s Payment Ecosystem. We Own And Operate Payment Systems That Process Hundreds Of Billions Of Dollars’ Worth Of Payment Transactions Every Business Day. We Convene Ecosystem Participants To Discuss Their Multiple And Diverse Interests And Ideas And To Navigate Industry-level Challenges. We Adhere To a Set Of Values That Are Our North Star

Inspire trust, build community and enable change

Payments Canada — where our country connects

Our culture

With our people in mind, we have created a culture that fosters authenticity, collaboration, innovation and development. We empower one another, make meaningful contributions that not only impact the organization, but our country! We develop and nurture meaningful connections that drive innovation in our ecosystem. We are Payments Canada!

Do you want to make payments easier, smarter and safer for Canada? Join us today!

You need to work here if

• You love working with passionate, ambitious and collaborative colleagues.
• You want to be challenged and lead unique initiatives.
• You want to grow, develop and become a subject matter expert in your field.
• You want your work to make an impact in your community and country.

What we are looking for

Reporting to the Manager, Security Architecture, the Lead, Security Architect is responsible for driving consistent security strategy and contributing to the technology vision through secure-by-design architectural governance. This role provides strategic technical leadership across diverse programs, with a primary focus on ensuring that mission-critical solutions are secure, resilient, and proactive. Operating as a broad security generalist, the Lead Security Architect brings deep expertise in threat modeling and solution security principles to guide teams, assess risk, and align architectural design with business objectives.

Operating as a senior technical contributor, the role collaborates closely with software engineering teams, Security Operations, delivery partners, and IT leadership to integrate robust security frameworks into modern application solutions.

Duties and Responsibilities

Contacts and Communication

• Establish and maintain strategic relationships across IT, engineering, and business units to gain buy-in for security architecture standards and principles.
• Communicate complex security recommendations, risk evaluations, and architectural trade-offs to senior leadership in clear, business-centric terms.
• Collaborate closely with delivery teams, developers, and technical specialists to provide practical security guidance on complex system issues.
• Champion security-first design patterns, promoting a culture of secure development across all divisions.

Leadership and Technical Guidance

• Provide strategic security guidance to product teams and solution architects, setting a high standard for defensive system engineering.
• Lead threat modeling and knowledge-transfer sessions across the enterprise to embed security early in the development lifecycle.
• Act as a senior technical contributor, offering security governance, design reviews, and guidance to manage technical security debt.
• Mentor staff and foster continuous learning around emerging threats, vulnerabilities, and secure design practices.

Security Architecture Development and Governance

• Lead multi-year programs involving internal and external stakeholders.
• Lead the establishment and maturation of enterprise security architecture frameworks across infrastructure, cloud, and applications.
• Integrate threat modeling into the software development lifecycle (SDLC) to identify, prioritize, and mitigate architectural flaws early.
• Define, maintain, and enforce security policies, baseline standards, and secure design patterns.
• Develop reusable security reference architectures, data flow diagrams, and threat maps to accelerate secure delivery.

Risk and Compliance

• Oversee application security assessments, secure design reviews, and risk analyses for critical systems.
• Assess systemic risks and prioritize remediation strategies in ambiguous or rapidly changing environments.
• Define risk-based security controls aligned with industry frameworks (e.g., NIST, OWASP, ISO 27001).
• Proactively identify architectural risks and software vulnerabilities to safeguard corporate resilience and regulatory compliance.

Architecture Research

• Maintain currency with leading Security Architecture frameworks, security capabilities and threat modeling methodologies.
• Monitor evolving global threat vectors, vulnerability trends, and security technologies to keep enterprise designs future-ready.
• Evaluate security tooling, lead proofs-of-concept for security controls, and drive innovation in automation of security tooling.
• Partner with third-party vendors and system integrators to ensure external solutions meet organizational security standards.

What you need to be successful

• Undergraduate degree in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Information Technology, or a related field.
• Minimum seven (7) years of experience in IT/security, including at least five (5) years of progressive experience in security or solution architecture across multiple security domains (network, cloud, app sec, IAM).
• Demonstrated experience conducting threat modeling (e.g., STRIDE, PASTA, Mitre Attack) and evaluating application security risks (e.g., OWASP Top 10) in modern software architecture.
• Minimum five (5) years of experience in technical leadership, mentoring, and cross-functional collaboration.
• Familiarity with enterprise architecture frameworks (e.g., TOGAF, SABSA) and recognized security certifications (e.g., CISSP, CISM, CSSLP).
• Eligibility to successfully complete enhanced background checks that may be carried out by Payments Canada, including criminal, credit, identity, employment, education, international security, and open-source media checks.

You will really stand out with

• Experience in financial services, regulated environments, or critical infrastructure.
• Practical experience architecting and securing cloud environments (GCP, AWS, or Azure).
• Hands-on exposure to CI/CD pipelines, container security, and DevSecOps integrations.
• Bilingualism (English and French) is considered an asset.

Salary range

Our target starting rate for this role is $119,850 with flexibility based on your experience and qualifications. The full salary range and benefits package are detailed below.

Please submit your application by November 20, 2026.

What's in it for you?

• Flexible, hybrid (remote/office) environment.
• Competitive compensation package, including annual variable bonus and defined contribution pension plan with employer matching percentage (if eligible).
• Comprehensive health and dental benefit coverage, including mental health coverage, life insurance and a health spending account for you and your dependents (Permanent and temporary employees with contracts 12 months and over).
• Paid time off: minimum four weeks paid vacation, sick and personal days, December holiday shutdown and cultural holiday observance days.
• 26 weeks of paid maternity and parental leave top-up (if eligible)
• Rewards and recognition program.
• Access to office gym facilities.
• Internal and external professional development opportunities.
• Fun team and organizational events.
• Monthly all staff forums led by our Executive Leadership Team.

Our Commitment to Fair Hiring

At Payments Canada, we are dedicated to fair, transparent and inclusive hiring. We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. Our recruitment process uses automated tools, but not generative AI, to objectively screen and evaluate applications and confirm that a candidate’s qualifications meet job requirements.

It is important to remember that these tools support, but do not replace, human decision-making. Our trained recruitment professionals and hiring managers always make the final hiring decisions.

Our diversity, inclusion and equity commitment

At Payments Canada, we are committed to making everyone feel they can be themselves and thrive at work. We will continue to build on a foundation of respect and appreciation for diversity in all forms and collectively create an inclusive and equitable culture where our differences are valued.

We are committed to employment equity and actively encourage applications from women, Aboriginal people, persons with disabilities and visible minorities. If selected for an interview, please advise us if you require special accommodation by emailing [e-mail].

We thank all applicants for their interest in this opportunity. Preference will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents. Only selected candidates will be contacted for an interview.