Lead Application Security Engineer

Bupa; Stretford; Hybrid; GBP 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days holiday

Enhanced pension

Private medical insurance

Health & wellbeing services

Discounts on products

Job summary

Bupa is seeking a Lead Application Security Engineer in a hybrid, permanent role covering London, Staines and Salford Quays. You will lead application security tooling, mentor engineers and embed secure-by-design across the software lifecycle.

You will drive automation with SCA/SAST/DAST, container security and scripting in Terraform, PowerShell and Python, collaborating with engineering, product and compliance teams to strengthen security posture.

Qualifications

• Significant experience designing and leading application security programmes.
• Proven ability to embed secure-by-design across the SDLC.
• Strong knowledge of SCA/SAST/DAST tooling and secure coding practices.

Responsibilities

• Lead design and ongoing improvement of application security tooling.
• Provide technical leadership for secure development technologies and processes.
• Integrate security tooling into CI/CD and workflows.
• Mentor engineers and build a high-performing security team.
• Drive automation and incident response across platforms.

Skills

Application security leadership

Secure development

CI/CD security

Automation scripting

Terraform

PowerShell

Python

REST APIs

ISO 27001 / NIST / GDPR

Team mentorship

Education

Cyber Security degree or related

Professional certs (CISSP/CISM/CISA)

Tools

SCA

SAST

DAST

Container security

Job description

Lead Application Security Engineer

London, Staines, Salford Quays

Permanent - Hybrid – Full time

We make health happen

At Bupa, our purpose is simple: helping people live longer, healthier, happier lives and making a better world. We reinvest our profits into delivering better healthcare experiences because our customers, not shareholders, are at the heart of every decision we make.

As a Lead Application Security Engineer, you'll help protect the technology that supports millions of customers and colleagues across Bupa Global, India and UK. This is an opportunity to shape how security is built into our products from the very beginning, creating secure-by-design solutions that support healthcare services people rely on every day.

Working closely with engineering, product, security and technology teams, you'll lead the development of application security capabilities across our development environments. You'll combine hands‑on technical expertise with leadership, helping us create a world‑class developer experience while strengthening our cyber security posture.

If you're passionate about modern application security, automation and mentoring others, you'll find plenty of scope to make a real impact in a role that combines strategy, innovation and delivery.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design, implementation and ongoing improvement of application security tooling and capabilities.
• Provide technical leadership for secure development technologies including Software Composition Analysis (SCA), Static Application Security Testing (SAST), Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST), container security, code signing and secret detection.
• Integrate security tooling into CI/CD pipelines and development workflows.
• Help development teams embed secure-by-design principles throughout the software development lifecycle.
• Act as the technical lead for application security, supporting engineers and stakeholders across the organisation.
• Build and develop a high-performing team of application security engineers through coaching, mentoring and knowledge sharing.
• Drive automation through scripting, APIs and infrastructure-as-code practices.
• Monitor and support application security platforms, providing expert troubleshooting and incident support.
• Make sure security controls align with industry standards and regulatory requirements including ISO 27001, NIST and GDPR.
• Develop performance metrics and reporting that help measure and improve application security outcomes.
• Work with technology, compliance and business teams to strengthen security awareness and ownership across Bupa.

What We're Looking For

We're looking for someone who combines strong technical expertise with a collaborative and people‑focused leadership style.

You’ll ideally have:

• Significant experience designing, implementing and managing application security programmes and tooling.
• Strong knowledge of application security practices, secure coding principles and vulnerability management.
• Experience working with SCA, SAST, DAST and related application security technologies.
• Strong experience integrating security into CI/CD pipelines and DevSecOps environments.
• Experience with automation and scripting tools such as Terraform, PowerShell, Python and REST APIs.
• Experience leading technical teams and developing high-performing engineers.
• Knowledge of security frameworks and regulations including ISO 27001, NIST and GDPR.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to explain technical concepts clearly to different audiences.
• Degree‑level qualification in Cyber Security, Information Technology or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• Professional certifications such as CISSP, CISM and/or CISA would be advantageous.
• Experience operating within complex enterprise environments.

Benefits

Our benefits are designed to make health happen for our people. Viva is our global wellbeing programme and includes all aspects of our health – from mental and physical, to financial, social and environmental wellbeing. We support flexible working and have a range of family friendly benefits.

Joining Bupa in this role you will receive the following benefits and more:

• 25 days holiday, increasing through length of service, with option to buy or sell
• Enhanced pension and life insurance
• Private medical insurance
• Access to our health and wellbeing services
• Discounts on Bupa products and services

Why Bupa

We’re a health insurer and provider. With no shareholders, our customers are our focus. Our people are all driven by the same purpose – helping people live longer, healthier, happier lives and making a better world. We make health happen by being brave, caring and responsible in everything we do.