AWS Security Architect: Cloud Security & DevSecOps Leader

GCS Recruitment; United States; Remote; USD 123,984 - 206,640; Full time

Job summary

GCS Recruitment is seeking an experienced AWS Security Architect to lead security design across our AWS estate, establishing secure standards and driving best practices while ensuring scalable, compliant deployments.

Collaborating with Cloud Engineering, Platform, DevOps and Cyber Security teams, you will provide strategy and hands-on guidance to embed Security-by-Design throughout the lifecycle of our AWS platforms and applications.

Qualifications

• Proven AWS Security Architect experience.
• Deep understanding of AWS cloud architecture and security best practices.
• Hands-on experience implementing AWS-native security controls across enterprise-scale environments.
• Experience designing secure multi-account AWS environments using AWS Organizations and Control Tower.
• Expertise in IAM, networking, security monitoring, encryption, secrets management, and security operations.
• Strong knowledge of Infrastructure as Code security principles using Terraform, CloudFormation, or similar technologies.
• Experience implementing DevSecOps practices and integrating security controls into CI/CD pipelines.
• Understanding of cloud security frameworks, risk management, and regulatory compliance requirements.

Responsibilities

• Define and maintain the security architecture roadmap for AWS cloud environments.
• Design secure AWS landing zones, account structures, network architectures, and operational security frameworks.
• Develop AWS security reference architectures, reusable patterns, and guardrails that support consistent deployment across teams.
• Ensure security controls are embedded into Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, CloudFormation or similar) and platform automation practices.
• Provide technical leadership on AWS-native security services.
• Design and govern identity, access management, privileged access, encryption, key management, and network segmentation strategies.
• Review solution architectures and provide security guidance for new AWS workloads and cloud transformation initiatives.
• Champion Security-by-Design principles across engineering and delivery teams.
• Embed security controls throughout CI/CD pipelines and cloud delivery processes.
• Drive the adoption of automated security testing, compliance monitoring, and policy-as-code approaches.
• Develop and enhance security guardrails to prevent misconfigurations and improve cloud security posture.
• Work with platform engineering teams to integrate security tooling into deployment pipelines and operational workflows.
• Promote secure software delivery practices and cloud-native security automation.
• Partner with Cyber Security, Risk, and Cloud Governance teams to align AWS security controls with organisational policies and regulatory requirements.
• Conduct threat modelling, security architecture reviews, and risk assessments for AWS-hosted solutions.
• Support compliance initiatives aligned to frameworks such as ISO 27001, CIS AWS Foundations Benchmark, NIST, and SOC 2.
• Ensure security monitoring, logging, detection, and response capabilities are appropriately designed and implemented across AWS environments.
• Provide expert advice on cloud security risks and remediation strategies.

Skills

AWS Security

AWS Organizations

Control Tower

Terraform

CloudFormation

IAM

Network Security

Secrets Management

Security Monitoring

DevSecOps

Policy as Code

Threat Modelling

Tools

Terraform

CloudFormation

Job description

AWS Security Architect - Contract

We are seeking an experienced AWS Security Architect to lead the design and implementation of security controls across our AWS estate. This role will be responsible for establishing secure architecture standards, driving security best practices, and ensuring AWS services are deployed in a scalable, compliant, and resilient manner.

Working closely with Cloud Engineering, Platform, DevOps, and Cyber Security teams, you will provide both strategic direction and hands-on technical guidance to ensure security is embedded throughout the lifecycle of our AWS platforms and applications.

This is a delivery-focused role that combines architecture, engineering, and governance, enabling teams to adopt AWS services securely whilst maintaining agility and operational excellence.

Key Responsibilities

AWS Security Architecture

• Define and maintain the security architecture roadmap for AWS cloud environments.
• Design secure AWS landing zones, account structures, network architectures, and operational security frameworks.
• Develop AWS security reference architectures, reusable patterns, and guardrails that support consistent deployment across teams.
• Ensure security controls are embedded into Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, CloudFormation or similar) and platform automation practices.
• Provide technical leadership on AWS-native security services
• Design and govern identity, access management, privileged access, encryption, key management, and network segmentation strategies.
• Review solution architectures and provide security guidance for new AWS workloads and cloud transformation initiatives.
• Champion Security-by-Design principles across engineering and delivery teams.

DevSecOps & Automation

• Embed security controls throughout CI/CD pipelines and cloud delivery processes.
• Drive the adoption of automated security testing, compliance monitoring, and policy-as-code approaches.
• Develop and enhance security guardrails to prevent misconfigurations and improve cloud security posture.
• Work with platform engineering teams to integrate security tooling into deployment pipelines and operational workflows.
• Promote secure software delivery practices and cloud-native security automation.

Governance, Risk & Compliance

• Partner with Cyber Security, Risk, and Cloud Governance teams to align AWS security controls with organisational policies and regulatory requirements.
• Conduct threat modelling, security architecture reviews, and risk assessments for AWS-hosted solutions.
• Support compliance initiatives aligned to frameworks such as ISO 27001, CIS AWS Foundations Benchmark, NIST, and SOC 2.
• Ensure security monitoring, logging, detection, and response capabilities are appropriately designed and implemented across AWS environments.
• Provide expert advice on cloud security risks and remediation strategies.

Desired Experience

• Proven experience as an AWS Security Architect or similar cloud-focused security role.
• Deep understanding of AWS cloud architecture and AWS security best practices.
• Strong hands-on experience implementing AWS-native security controls across enterprise-scale environments.
• Experience designing secure multi-account AWS environments using AWS Organizations and Control Tower.
• Expertise in AWS IAM, networking, security monitoring, encryption, secrets management, and security operations.
• Strong knowledge of Infrastructure as Code security principles using Terraform, CloudFormation, or similar technologies.
• Experience implementing DevSecOps practices and integrating security controls into CI/CD pipelines.
• Understanding of cloud security frameworks, risk management, and regulatory compliance requirements.

GCS is acting as an Employment Business in relation to this vacancy.