Architect III - Security Architect

Western Alliance Bancorporation; Columbus (OH); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical and dental insurance

401(k) matching program

Tuition assistance program

Employee volunteer program

Wellness program

Job summary

Western Alliance Bank is seeking an Architect III – Security Architect to advance enterprise cybersecurity strategy within governance forums. You will design secure architectures for applications and capabilities, review designs for compliance, and influence secure principles across the lifecycle while tracking threats and emerging trends.

The role emphasizes collaboration with EA teams, enforcing standards, and guiding risk-based decisions in a regulated financial services environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• 10+ years of related security architecture experience.
• Strong knowledge across IAM, Network, Application, Cloud, Data, AI.
• Experience designing secure cloud architectures (Azure preferred).
• Familiarity with regulatory requirements (FFIEC, PCI DSS, SOX).
• Security certifications (CISSP, CCSP, MS) desirable.

Responsibilities

• Own security solution architecture for assigned products and platforms within the Security domain.
• Develop and maintain security standards, reference architectures, and design patterns for governance and delivery.
• Translate requirements into security architecture blueprints and document designs and analyses.
• Track threats, vulnerabilities, and technology trends to keep security strategies current.
• Provide architecture guidance during solution design reviews for secure alignment.

Skills

Security architecture

Threat modeling

Zero Trust

Security governance

Communication with stakeholders

Leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

Azure

AWS

CASB

CI/CD security

Job description

Job Title: Architect III - Security Architect

Location: Block 23

What you’ll do:

An Enterprise Architecture team member responsible for advancing the organization’s business and technology strategy within the cybersecurity domain. You will participate in governance forums such as the Architecture Standards Board (ASB) and Technology Review Board (TRB), manage the business capability inventory for your domain, and develop applicable standards and patterns for ASB review and approval. Additionally, you will design and document solution architectures for applications and capabilities within your domain, ensuring they are secure, compliant, and reliable while meeting business needs. You will review solution architecture designs in TRB to ensure alignment with approved standards and patterns.

• Own security solution architecture for assigned products and platforms within the Security domain.
• Develop and maintain security standards, reference architectures, and design patterns for use in governance and solution delivery.
• Translate business and technical requirements into security architecture blueprints and document all design and analysis work.
• Track emerging threats, vulnerabilities, and technology trends to ensure security strategies remain current and effective.
• Provide architecture guidance during solution design reviews, ensuring alignment with enterprise security posture and regulatory requirements.
• Act as a security SME within EA domains, influencing architecture decisions and ensuring secure design principles and best practices are integrated early in the solution lifecycle.
• Evaluate emerging security tools and services, advising on adoption strategies and integration feasibility.

What you’ll need:

• 10+ years of related experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in a related field required.
• Strong understanding of security domains (IAM, Network, Application, Cloud, Data, AI) with depth in at least two.
• Hands‑on experience creating architecture artifacts (standards, patterns, diagrams) and supporting governance processes.
• Ability to evaluate technology landscapes and emerging threats and distill them into repeatable, secure design patterns.
• Hands‑on experience designing secure cloud architecture, with a strong emphasis on Microsoft Azure; AWS experience is also acceptable.
• Experience with threat‑modeling methodologies and ability to operationalize them within governance processes.
• Knowledge of CASB solutions, data governance and security practices, and Zero Trust principles for securing cloud, applications, and data.
• Excellent communication skills, able to engage both technical teams and business stakeholders.
• Knowledge of financial services regulatory requirements (e.g., FFIEC, PCI DSS, SOX).
• Familiarity with DevSecOps practices and CI/CD security integration.
• Security Architect Level Certifications (e.g., CISSP, CCSP, Microsoft Cybersecurity Architect Expert).
• Previous leadership experience preferred.
• Intermediate knowledge of general Financial Services or Banking is preferred.
• Intermediate knowledge of applicable regulatory and legal compliance obligations, rules and regulations, industry standards and practices.
• Advanced experience working in an architecture function with knowledge & experience developing reference architectures & patterns and supporting governance functions related to: Application Development, Cloud Compute, Storage and Networking technologies. IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, Serverless, Automation, Security.
• Advanced understanding of product management, agile principles and development methodologies and capability of supporting agile and DevOps teams by providing advice and guidance on opportunities, impact and risks, taking account of technical and architectural debt.
• Advanced speaking and writing communication skills.
• May require up to 25% travel.

Benefits you’ll love:

We offer competitive salaries, an ownership stake in the company, medical and dental insurance, time off, a great 401(k) matching program, tuition assistance program, an employee volunteer program, and a wellness program. In addition, you’ll have the opportunity to bolster your business knowledge, learning the ins and outs of how successful companies operate and manage their finances, giving you invaluable hands‑on experience to help grow your career.

About the company:

Western Alliance Bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of Western Alliance Bancorporation. Alliance Bank of Arizona, Alliance Association Bank, Bank of Nevada, Bridge Bank, First Independent Bank, and Torrey Pines Bank are divisions of Western Alliance Bank; Member FDIC. AmeriHome Mortgage is a Western Alliance Bank company.

Western Alliance Bancorporation is committed to equal employment and will consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, sex, color, religion, age, national origin, marital status, disability, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or genetic information. Western Alliance Bancorporation is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities. If you are an individual with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process and/or need an alternative method of applying, please email [e-mail] or call 602-386-2488. When contacting us, please provide your contact information and state the nature of your accessibility issue. We will only respond to inquiries concerning requests that involve a reasonable accommodation in the application process.