Security Principal Architect

Intercity; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

33 days holiday

Annual pay reviews

All-company bonus scheme

Death in service cover

Employee assistance programme

Company pension

Structured learning & certifications

Strong career progression

Job summary

Intercity is seeking an experienced security architecture professional to design and lead secure, resilient and scalable technology solutions across the organisation. The successful candidate will define security architecture principles, translate business and technology requirements into robust security controls, and provide expert guidance across cloud, infrastructure, applications, data and identity.

The role involves defining standards, developing secure architectures, leading across hybrid

Qualifications

• Relevant degree or equivalent professional experience in cyber security or information security.
• Professional certification such as CISSP, CISM, SABSA, CCSP, GIAC, TOGAF or equivalent.

Responsibilities

• Define security architecture principles, standards and reference architectures.
• Develop secure solution architectures aligned with objectives, risk appetite and regulatory requirements.
• Provide leadership across cloud, on‑premises, hybrid infrastructure, applications, networks, data and identity.
• Assess technologies to identify security risks and opportunities for improvement.
• Conduct threat modelling and security risk assessments with mitigations.
• Translate complex security requirements into practical, cost‑effective solutions.
• Collaborate with engineering, product, data, risk, compliance and delivery teams throughout the lifecycle.
• Advise on identity management, encryption, secrets management and security monitoring.
• Support secure‑by‑design and DevSecOps practices.
• Document security decisions in architecture repositories and records.
• Monitor threats and regulatory developments and assess impact.
• Provide leadership during security incidents and remediation activities.
• Contribute to security strategy, roadmaps, policies and continuous improvement.
• Present risks and recommendations to technical and non‑technical stakeholders.

Skills

Security architecture

Cloud security

Threat modelling

Risk management

Communication skills

Security governance

Leadership

Education

Relevant degree or equivalent

Professional security certification

Job description

We are seeking an experienced security architecture professional to design and lead secure, resilient and scalable technology solutions across the organisation. The successful candidate will define security architecture principles, translate business and technology requirements into robust security controls, and provide expert guidance across cloud, infrastructure, applications, data and identity.

Key Responsibilities

• Define, maintain and communicate enterprise security architecture principles, standards, patterns and reference architectures.
• Develop secure solution architectures aligned with business objectives, risk appetite, regulatory requirements and industry best practice.
• Provide security architecture leadership across cloud, on-premises, hybrid infrastructure, applications, networks, data and identity platforms.
• Assess proposed technologies, designs and third-party services to identify security risks, dependencies and opportunities for improvement.
• Conduct threat modelling, security risk assessments and design reviews, recommending appropriate mitigating controls.
• Translate complex security requirements into practical, cost-effective and implementable technical solutions.
• Collaborate with engineering, infrastructure, product, data, risk, compliance and delivery teams throughout the solution lifecycle.
• Advise on identity and access management, privileged access, encryption, secrets management, network security, endpoint protection and security monitoring.
• Support the development and implementation of secure-by-design and DevSecOps practices.
• Ensure security architecture decisions are documented, governed and traceable through appropriate architecture repositories and design records.
• Monitor emerging threats, technologies, vulnerabilities and regulatory developments, assessing their potential impact on the organisation.
• Provide technical leadership during security incidents, investigations and remediation activities where required.
• Contribute to security strategy, roadmaps, policies, standards and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Present security risks and recommendations clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders, including senior leadership.

Skills And Experience

• Proven experience in a senior security architecture, cyber security architecture or enterprise security architecture role.
• Strong knowledge of security architecture frameworks, principles, design patterns and risk management methodologies.
• Practical experience designing secure cloud solutions across platforms such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services or Google Cloud Platform.
• Strong understanding of application security, infrastructure security, network architecture, data protection and identity and access management.
• Experience with threat modelling methodologies and security frameworks such as SABSA, TOGAF, NIST Cybersecurity Framework, ISO 27001 or CIS Controls.
• Knowledge of secure software development, DevSecOps, vulnerability management and security testing practices.
• Experience assessing third-party suppliers, technology products and outsourced services from a security perspective.
• Ability to balance security requirements with usability, performance, delivery timelines and commercial considerations.
• Excellent stakeholder management, communication, influencing and technical writing skills.
• Experience working in complex, regulated or highly available environments.

Desirable Qualifications And Certifications

• Relevant degree or equivalent professional experience in cyber security, information security, computer science, technology or a related discipline.
• Professional certification such as CISSP, CISM, SABSA, CCSP, GIAC, TOGAF or an equivalent security architecture qualification.
• Experience with security architecture tools, enterprise architecture repositories and risk management platforms.
• Knowledge of relevant UK and international legislation and regulations, including the UK GDPR, Data Protection Act 2018, NIS Regulations and sector-specific requirements.

Personal Attributes

• Strategic and analytical, with the ability to connect business objectives to technology and security outcomes.
• Pragmatic and solutions-focused, with a strong commitment to secure-by-design principles.
• Confident working independently and collaboratively across multidisciplinary teams.
• Comfortable challenging assumptions and influencing decisions through clear evidence and sound judgement.
• Committed to continuous learning and maintaining awareness of the evolving cyber security landscape.

What we offer

• 33 days holiday (including bank holidays), increasing annually up to five additional days
• Annual pay reviews
• Holiday buy scheme
• All-company bonus scheme
• Death in service cover
• Employee assistance programme
• Company pension
• Active social calendar
• A strong focus on developing our people through structured learning, funded certifications and real career progression

Equal opportunities

Intercity is an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to a fair, inclusive and unbiased recruitment process for every candidate. We make reasonable adjustments throughout our process - if you need any support at any stage, just let us know.

Pre-employment checks

As a specialist in secure technology solutions and a certified ISO27001 and Cyber Essentials Plus organisation, all successful candidates will be subject to pre-employment checks as part of our onboarding process.

Your data

Any personal information you share with us will be handled securely and in line with the UK Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR. We will keep your application for six months after the close of the campaign unless you tell us you are happy for us to hold it longer. You may also be invited to share voluntary, anonymous information about your background for equal opportunities monitoring - this has no bearing on your application.

For our full privacy policy or to exercise your data rights, contact our Data Protection Officer at [e-mail] or on 0808 500 1436.