Head of Security Architecture & AI Guardrails

Anaplan Inc; Manchester; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

Anaplan in Manchester is building a formal security architecture practice, and this senior role leads it. You will translate security architecture into reusable patterns and guardrails that engineers adopt by default.

You will own identity and authorization, cryptography standards, AI guardrails, and threat modelling at scale, and lead a high-performing team to ensure secure-by-design across the platform.

Qualifications

• Track record building or leading security architecture in SaaS or cloud-first environments.
• Credibility in identity and authorization, cryptography, secure-by-design and threat modelling at scale.
• Hands-on depth to challenge weak designs on their merits; a security leader who stays technically credible.
• People leadership: hiring, coaching, and managing a senior team with performance discipline.
• Experience aligning architecture to enterprise and regulated environments.
• Clear view of how AI changes the architecture surface and the need for guardrails.

Responsibilities

• Lead the security architecture practice: define architecture review workflows, cadence, and governance.
• Own reusable patterns: drive reference architectures, identity/authorization patterns, cryptography, and AI guardrails.
• Set security engineering principles and maintain usable standards for engineers.
• Review high-risk designs early in major platform and AI changes.
• Partner with platform engineering on Hyperblock/Polaris and AI product lines.
• Support compliance by design for enterprise and regulated environments.
• Codify decisions into policy-as-code and enforce them.
• Build and develop the architecture team; hire, coach, and calibrate a high-performing group.

Skills

Security architecture leadership

Identity & authorization

Cryptography

Secure-by-design

Threat modelling

Hands-on depth

People leadership

Enterprise/regulatory alignment

AI architecture understanding

Job description

Anaplan in Manchester is building a formal security architecture practice, and this senior role leads it. You will translate security architecture into reusable patterns and guardrails that engineers adopt by default.

You will own identity and authorization, cryptography standards, AI guardrails, and threat modelling at scale, and lead a high-performing team to ensure secure-by-design across the platform.