Security Architect

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP); Leeds; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is seeking a Security Architect to lead secure architecture design across large-scale digital services used by millions. You will guide secure-by-design approaches, collaborate with agile teams, and produce artefacts that support governance and secure engineering practices.

You'll influence senior stakeholders, shape architecture standards, and mentor colleagues to grow organisational security capability within the Corporate Centre Services function.

Qualifications

• Proven experience as a Security Architect in complex, large-scale digital or government environments.
• Strong understanding of secure-by-design principles and enterprise architecture.
• Experience working in agile, multidisciplinary teams delivering user-centric services.
• Ability to influence senior stakeholders and communicate complex security concepts.
• Shaping architecture standards, roadmaps and governance frameworks.
• Mentoring others and developing organisational capability.

Responsibilities

• Leading the design and delivery of secure architectures with security controls embedded from the outset of product development.
• Developing secure solution options during discovery and inception to inform design decisions.
• Collaborating with Solution Architects and agile teams to produce secure, value-for-money designs aligned to user needs.
• Creating security architecture artefacts and documentation to support governance and secure engineering practices.
• Ensuring designs comply with the Digital Blueprint, EA standards, and product roadmaps.
• Providing expert security guidance across the full product lifecycle, including assurance activities.
• Owning and evolving security product roadmaps and contributing to reusable security patterns.

Skills

Security architecture

Cloud-native security

Agile teams collaboration

Stakeholder influence

Governance & roadmaps

Job description

As our Security Architect, you will use your technical knowledge, architecture design knowledge and development skills to help secure services used by millions of people against cyber threats. DWP is a huge and complex organisation. We have unique architectural and security challenges that you won't find in other roles. The reason for this vacancy is for a security architect to provide advice and guidance to this team. This role will involve our Corporate Centre Services function. We also welcome applications from candidates from a range of backgrounds including those with academic, consultancy and military experience, who hold a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification or a Master's degree in Information Security or willing to work towards obtaining either qualification as this will support your career development. The Security Architect will provide guidance and advice ranging from scoping IT Health Checks, providing guidance in risk assessment, providing security guidance, checking the cloud posture management platform for vulnerabilities. Each team is made up of a number of architects, so relationships will need to be built with other teams, the security community and the design authority. Key responsibilities include:

• Leading the design and delivery of secure architectures, ensuring security controls are embedded from the outset of product development.
• Developing and recommending secure solution options during discovery and inception to inform design decisions.
• Collaborating with Solution Architects and agile teams to produce secure, value-for-money designs aligned to user needs.
• Creating clear security architecture artefacts and documentation to support governance and enable secure engineering practices.
• Ensuring all designs comply with the Digital Blueprint, Enterprise Architecture standards, and agreed product roadmaps.
• Providing expert security guidance across the full product lifecycle, including assurance activities such as control self-assessments.
• Owning and evolving security product roadmaps, contributing to Digital Blueprint improvements and reusable security patterns.
• Build organisational security capability through mentoring, sharing best practice, and supporting the growth of the Architecture community.

Qualifications

• Has proven experience as a Security Architect within complex, large-scale digital or government environments.
• Has a strong understanding of secure-by-design principles, enterprise architecture and cloud-native security.
• Has experience working in agile, multidisciplinary teams delivering user-centric services.
• Has the ability to influence senior stakeholders and communicate complex security concepts clearly.
• Can demonstrate experience of shaping architecture standards, roadmaps and governance frameworks.
• Has a passion for mentoring others and developing organisational capability.