Security Architect - Leeds - Hybrid

W Talent; Leeds; Hybrid; GBP 72,000 - 88,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Good benefits

Job summary

W Talent is seeking a Lead Security Architect for a prestigious financial services client in Leeds. This permanent, hybrid role requires on-site presence about 50% of the time and offers flexible hours and strong benefits.

You will shape security architecture, drive governance, and partner with delivery teams to embed controls across the project lifecycle, while communicating complex choices to senior stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Proven track record delivering secure designs and leading multi-team programs.
• Experience shaping security architecture and governance across large estates.
• Strong communication with senior stakeholders and delivery teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead security architecture and drive secure-by-design delivery across projects.
• Define and evolve security patterns, principles, standards, and roadmaps.
• Govern architecture reviews and ensure alignment with policies and standards.
• Partner with solution architects and SMEs to embed controls across delivery.

Skills

Security architecture

Threat-informed security

Architecture governance

Stakeholder leadership

Security patterns

Cross-team collaboration

Communication skills

NIST framework

MITRE ATT&CK

ISO 27001

CISSP certification

CISM certification

Job description

I am recruiting for a Lead Security Architect for our very well established client within the Financial Services industry.

This position offers a flexible hybrid role, where you will only need to attend site approx. 50% of the time, with flexibility on working hours.

Lead Security Architect

Permanent

Location: Leeds - Hybrid working model

Salary: to £80,000 + Good Benefits

Key skills:

• Champion a modern security posture - threat informed and focused on measurable reduction of attack surface.
• Security architecture strategy & guardrails – define and evolve the security patterns, principles, standards, and roadmaps that guide projects and platforms.
• Secure-by-design delivery – partner with solution architects, SMEs and delivery teams to embed controls and use threat-led thinking throughout discovery, design, build, and delivery; ensure designs meet policy and technical standards.
• Act as senior architectural voice for high impact initiatives, aligning security capabilities to business outcomes and risk profiles, and shaping option analysis with clear trade-offs.
• Architecture governance – drive effective design reviews and signoffs; document how solutions interact with the wider enterprise and ensure compliance with our delivery and assurance frameworks.
• Cross-Technology influence – collaborate across Technology and business domains to translate strategy into target designs, balancing resilience with productivity and simplification.
• Partner with our Assurance team to land the right controls at the right stages, ensuring risk is actively surfaced and owned.
• Communicate complex security choices simply - at meetings/workshops, in option papers, and roadmaps that influence senior stakeholders and unblock decisions.
• Breadth and depth in IT/security architecture, with a track record delivering secure designs and steering multiteam programmes.
• Stakeholder leadership—comfortable influencing senior leaders and guiding engineers/SMEs; strong documentation and communication skills.

Desirable Skills:

• Knowledge of well-known Frameworks (e.g., NIST, MITRE ATT&CK, ISO 27001) and the ability to apply them pragmatically within delivery.
• Team leadership experience either as a virtual team or direct line management experience.
• Relevant certifications (e.g., CISSP, CISM).