Application Security Architect – Cloud & DevSecOps

CliftonLarsonAllen LLP; Milwaukee (WI); On-site; USD 130,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision benefits

401k

Job summary

CLA is seeking an Application Security Architect to join our technology team in Milwaukee. You will lead secure design reviews for cloud, hybrid, and on-premise solutions, document risks and mitigations, and ensure secure software supply chains across DevOps.

You will provide technical security leadership across Development, Cloud, Platform, Data, and IT, and help build reusable security standards and a Cloud Security Posture Management practice.

Qualifications

• 7 years of general IT experience.
• 4 years in security of IT systems.
• 2 years in security design/strategy.
• Bachelor's degree required or equivalent.

Responsibilities

• Lead secure design reviews for application, cloud, and hybrid solutions.
• Document risks, mitigations, owners, and exceptions.
• Review architecture and data-flow diagrams for trust boundaries.
• Develop reusable security standards and guardrails.
• Provide security leadership across multiple teams.

Skills

Security architecture

Cloud security

DevOps security

CI/CD pipelines

GitHub Actions

Infrastructure as code

Container security

Threat modeling

Risk management

Security leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Azure

Security tooling

Job description

CLA is a top 10 national professional services firm where our purpose is to create opportunities every day, for our clients, our people, and our communities through industry-focused wealth advisory, digital, audit, tax, consulting, and outsourcing services. We are seeking an Application Security Architect to join our growing technology team.

How You’ll Create Opportunities

In this role, you will:

• Lead and participate in secure design reviews for proprietary, commercial, cloud, and hybrid solutions.
• Document identified risks, required mitigations, risk owners, exceptions, and residual-risk decisions.
• Review system interaction diagrams and detailed logical, functional, physical, and data-flow diagrams.
• Identify trust boundaries, security boundaries, integration points, administrative interfaces, data stores, and external dependencies.
• Develop reusable security standards, assessment patterns, review templates, control baselines, and architectural guidance.
• Establish and build a Cloud Security Posture Management practice by coordinating the appropriate people, processes, technology, governance, and service expectations.
• Assess cloud permissions, secrets management, deployment architecture, infrastructure as code, container images, orchestration configurations, and cloud-native deployment patterns.
• Identify opportunities to prevent configuration issues and policy violations before deployment through policy-as-code, automated validation, and reusable engineering guardrails.
• Provide technical security leadership across Development, Cloud, Platform, Product, Data, Information Technology, Enterprise Architecture, and Risk teams.
• Connect code, pipeline, identity, integration, data, and cloud architecture risks to practical security controls and business outcomes.
• Distinguish mandatory security requirements from recommendations and risk-based enhancements.
• Escalate unresolved material risks through established risk-acceptance processes.
• Communicate technical risks, required controls, exceptions, ownership, and residual risk to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Build strong partnerships, improve developer engagement with Application Security, and influence teams without direct authority.

What You’ll Need

• Experience leading or supporting secure design reviews for application, cloud, commercial, and hybrid solutions.
• Experience reviewing technical architecture, system interaction, and data-flow diagrams.
• Experience with application security architecture, cloud security, DevOps security, and security engineering.
• Knowledge of CI/CD pipelines, GitHub Actions and workflows, infrastructure as code, containers, and software supply-chain security.
• Experience assessing cloud permissions, secrets management, deployment architecture, container images, orchestration configurations, and cloud-native deployment patterns.
• Experience connecting technical security risks to practical controls and business outcomes.
• Ability to communicate technical risks and security requirements to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Ability to build relationships and influence cross-functional teams without direct authority.

Preferred Qualifications

• Professional certification such as CISSP, CCSP, or a comparable security, cloud, DevOps, or architecture credential.
• Experience with Azure cloud services, cloud-native security patterns, and enterprise cloud identity platforms.
• Experience with Black Duck Polaris or a comparable software composition analysis and application security platform.
• Experience with Cloud Security Posture Management, container security, policy-as-code, artifact integrity, secrets management, and automated compliance controls.
• Experience conducting threat modeling, architecture risk analysis, secure design reviews, vulnerability management, and risk-acceptance activities.
• Experience working with NIST security and risk-management frameworks.
• Familiarity with API security, integration platforms, citizen-development governance, and secure container orchestration patterns.

Job Requirements

• 7 years of general IT experience required.
• 4 of which are with security of IT systems, and 2 with security design/stratgy.
• Bachelor's degree is required.
• Combination of relevant experience, education, and training may be accepted in lieu of degree.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

CLA is an equal opportunity employer

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status, protected veteran status, national origin, or any other characteristic protected by law.

If you require reasonable accommodation

When completing an application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please contact [e-mail].

Wellness at CLA

To support our CLA family members, we focus on their physical, financial, social, and emotional well-being and offer comprehensive benefit options that include health, dental, vision, 401k and much more.

• health
• dental
• vision
• 401k
• much more

About CLA

CLA exists to create opportunities for our clients, our people, and our communities through industry-focused wealth advisory, digital, audit, tax, consulting, and outsourcing services. With nearly 9,000 people, more than 120 locations, and a global vision, we promise to know you and help you. For more information visit our website. Investment advisory services are offered through CliftonLarsonAllen Wealth Advisors, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor.

CLA's privacy policy is available to be viewed on our website.

Start your inspired career

When you join CLA, you’ll have the opportunity to design your own inspired career. Career growth is about having new experiences and lots of exposure to different roles that stretch your comfort zone, expand your skills, and shape you as a leader. It’s not so much about climbing a ladder or acquiring new titles — it’s the discovery of your strengths and the outer reaches of your true potential. At CLA, you have the freedom to explore many opportunities, including your choice of industry specialization, service capability, career path, and mobility. Watch our video to see why people join CLA.

Wellness at CLA

Wellness is shaped by our promise to know you and help you. We create opportunities for our people to live well and be happy by focusing on their physical, financial, social, and emotional well-being.