Principal, Security Engineering and Operations

Northern Trust Corp.; Munster; On-site; EUR 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible work culture

Reasonable accommodation

Philanthropy involvement

Job summary

Northern Trust Corp. in Ireland seeks a Principal, Security Engineer to lead and shape enterprise security platforms across the organisation.

You will set technical direction, mentor engineers and ensure controls meet regulatory standards in a complex financial environment. The role demands deep hands-on experience with SSE/SASE, IPS, vulnerability management, integration with ServiceNow and strong scripting skills.

Qualifications

• Fifteen plus years in information technology, cybersecurity, cloud, or platform engineering with enterprise-scale security ownership.
• Hands-on with SSE/SASE platforms (ZTNA, secure web gateway, policy) and next-gen firewalls.
• Experience integrating security tools with ServiceNow, SIEM and reporting workbooks.
• Strong ability to brief executives, collaborate across teams and influence risk decisions.

Responsibilities

• Serve as technical authority for security platform engineering and governance.
• Design, engineer and operate security tools across zero-trust, SASE/SSE, network, and cloud services.
• Define patterns, runbooks, standards and metrics for risk reduction and compliance.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives and mentor engineers while engaging with audits.

Skills

Security architecture

Technical leadership

Cloud security

Networking fundamentals

Vulnerability management

Automation / IaC

SSE / SASE

ZTNA

SaaS security

Scripting (Python)

Scripting (PowerShell)

REST / JSON

ServiceNow integration

Tools

Python

PowerShell

REST/JSON

ServiceNow

Job description

About Northern TrustAs a global leader in innovative wealth management, asset servicing, asset management and banking services, Northern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS) is proud to guide the world’s most successful individuals, families, corporations and institutions.Since 1889, we have aligned our efforts with our three guiding Principles That Endure: Service, Expertise, and Integrity. Together, they reflect the three cornerstones of business conduct which we strive to instill in our employees, whom we call partners, and to provide to our clients and the communities we serve worldwide.With more than 135 years of financial experience and over 24,000 partners, we serve the world’s most sophisticated clients using leading technology and exceptional service.The Principal, Security Engineer is a senior individual contributor and technical lead responsible for shaping, engineering and operationalizing enterprise security platforms across Northern Trust. This role goes beyond hands-on administration: it sets technical direction, defines durable engineering patterns, mentors engineers, influences cross-functional partners and ensures security platforms operate with the reliability, evidence quality and control discipline expected in a regulated financial institution. The role suits an engineer who can move comfortably between executive-level risk discussions, architecture decisions and deep technical troubleshooting.What You'll DoTechnical Lead Across Security Platform DomainsServe as the technical authority for security platform engineering decisions and operational governance.Design, engineer and operate security tools spanning zero-trust, SASE/SSE, network, vulnerability & exposure management, AI guardrails, and SaaS.Define engineering patterns, implementation standards and operational runbooks that enable consistent adoption across business units and technology teams.Develop maturity models and metrics to measure assurance and compliance.Coordinate cross-functional security initiatives across engineering, infrastructure, and application teams.Key DeliverablesDesign, Engineer, Coordinate and Operate: Intrusion prevention(IPS) across next-gen firewallsVulnerability scanning platforms and unified vulnerability management(UVM) layerEnterprise SASE / SSE security platformsSecure web gateway, CASB, and cloud access protectionSaaS application protection and monitoringSecure remote access and internet traffic inspectionBrowser isolation and modern web threat preventionAI gateway controls that govern how users and applications consume LLMs and AI servicesServiceNow integrations (Vulnerability Response, ITSM, CMDB)Own technical outcomes for platform health, upgrades, capacity, resilience, lifecycle management and vendor escalations across the stack.Define and publish metrics on coverage, control effectiveness, SLA adherence, tool health, control performance and measurable risk reduction.Support audits and regulatory exams (PCI-DSS, SOX, GLBA, OCC/FFIEC) by ensuring controls are designed for evidence quality, traceability and repeatable operation.Author runbooks and executive-ready documentation that can be used by engineering, operations, risk and audit stakeholders.Lead evaluation of new capabilities, proofs of concept and tool rationalization efforts, with clear recommendations based on risk reduction, operational fit, cost and control outcomes.What You'll BringTypically 15+ years of experience in information technology, cybersecurity, cloud, infrastructure, network security or platform engineering, with demonstrated ownership of enterprise-scale security platforms.Proven ability to operate as a senior technical leader: setting direction, influencing without direct authority, mentoring engineers and making sound tradeoffs across security, reliability, usability and compliance.Deep hands-on experience with at least one SSE/SASE platform, including ZTNA, secure web gateway policy, segmentation, connector architecture and operating model design.Working knowledge of IPS/next-gen firewall platforms and signature tuning.Strong networking fundamentals: TCP/IP, routing, DNS, TLS/PKI, proxies and tunneling (IPsec/GRE), and segmentation.Experience with vulnerability management tooling.Familiarity with identity integration: SAML/OIDC, Entra ID, conditional access.Scripting and API skills (Python, PowerShell, REST/JSON).Experience integrating security tools with ServiceNow, SIEM platforms and enterprise reporting workflows.Excellent communication skills, including the ability to brief senior stakeholders, document technical decisions, support audit inquiries and drive alignment across teams you do not directly manage.Experience working in a regulated environment with control evidence, operational resilience, risk acceptance, issue management and audit/regulatory response expectations.Nice to HaveExposure to AI/LLM security controls:AI gatewaysPrompt-injection defensesOWASP Top 10 for LLM ApplicationsMITRE ATLASServiceNow Vulnerability Response or USEM implementation experience.Low-code automation or Terraform/IaC.Prior experience in financial services, banking, asset servicing, wealth management or another highly regulated industry.Work AuthorizationApplicants must have the right to work in Ireland at the time of application and for the duration of employment.Please note that Northern Trust is unable to provide employment permit sponsorship for this role. This includes Critical Skills Employment Permits, General Employment Permits, Intra-Company Transfer Employment Permits, Stamp 1G permissions, and other employment permits under Irish immigration frameworks.Working with UsAs a Northern Trust partner, you will be part of a flexible and collaborative work culture, which has a strong history of financial strength and stability. Movement within the organization is encouraged, senior leaders are accessible, and you can take pride in working for a company committed to an inclusive workplace and assisting the communities we serve.Philanthropy is deeply rooted in Northern Trust’s history and is an essential element of our culture. Employees around the world give their time and talent to work for the greater good of their communities.Reasonable AccommodationNorthern Trust is committed to working with and providing adjustments to individuals with health conditions and disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please email our HR Service Center at [e-mail], or alternatively you can discuss your individual requirements with the recruiter you are working with.