Director, Cyber Security Development & Automation

VulnU; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 165,000 - 288,000; Full time

Job summary

Northern Trust seeks a Director of Cyber Security Development & Automation to lead a team delivering full-stack security applications and automation that protect clients, data, applications, infrastructure and emerging AI workloads.

You will set strategic direction for security development, translate cyber risk priorities into an executable roadmap, and ensure the team builds scalable, secure, audit-ready solutions while partnering across security, risk, audit and business teams.

Qualifications

• 15 years of experience across cybersecurity, software engineering, security automation, cloud engineering, platform engineering, infrastructure automation or related technology disciplines, including 5 years of meaningful leadership experience running large development teams.
• Proven ability to shape engineering culture and deliver complex capabilities through influence, accountability and clear prioritization.
• Strong understanding of how development and automation can be used to protect enterprise environments, improve control execution, reduce operational risk and create measurable security outcomes.
• Ability to set technical direction, evaluate architecture, challenge design decisions, manage delivery tradeoffs and communicate effectively with both engineering teams and senior stakeholders.
• Working knowledge of modern development practices, Python-based automation, API integrations, CI/CD, cloud-native services, workflow orchestration and operational supportability.
• Experience with LLM-enabled solution patterns, AI agent workflows, retrieval-augmented generation, prompt engineering, model evaluation, AI guardrails and secure use of enterprise AI platforms.
• Demonstrated ability to deliver in a regulated environment with strong attention to audit-ready evidence, access controls, change management, testability, resiliency and production support.

Responsibilities

• Lead Security Development and Automation Strategy.
• Lead a team of developers and automation engineers responsible for building security capabilities that reduce cyber risk and strengthen control execution.
• Set the vision, roadmap and delivery priorities for development of AI-enabled applications, agents, API integrations, and reusable automation patterns.
• Translate enterprise security needs into a balanced portfolio of development initiatives that improve threat response, vulnerability management, evidence collection, control validation and operational resilience.
• Provide technical leadership and management oversight to ensure solutions are secure, reliable, observable, scalable and aligned to enterprise architecture and risk expectations.
• Partner with security architecture, platform engineering, cloud security, IAM, threat, governance and operations teams to establish standards and adoption plans for automation capabilities.
• Recruit, coach, mentor and develop senior technical talent, creating clear expectations for engineering excellence, collaboration, accountability and measurable delivery outcomes.

Skills

Cybersecurity leadership

Software engineering

Automation & AI

Cloud engineering

Python automation

CI/CD pipelines

LLM-enabled patterns

Stakeholder management

Tools

ServiceNow

Azure AI Foundry

Azure Functions

Logic Apps

GitHub Actions

Terraform

Job description

The Director, Cyber Security Development & Automation leads a team of developers and automation engineers responsible for delivering full-stack security applications and automation capabilities that protect Northern Trust’s clients, data, applications, infrastructure and emerging AI workloads. This role sets the strategic direction for security development and automation, translates cyber risk priorities into an executable roadmap, and ensures the team builds scalable, secure, resilient and audit-ready solutions. The Director partners across security, technology, risk, audit and business teams to prioritize high-value automation and development opportunities, guide architecture and delivery, manage stakeholder expectations, and develop technical talent capable of advancing Northern Trust’s cyber defense capabilities at enterprise scale.What You'll Do:Lead Security Development and Automation StrategyLead a team of developers and automation engineers responsible for building security capabilities that reduce cyber risk, improve operational consistency and strengthen control execution.Set the vision, roadmap and delivery priorities for development of AI-enabled applications, agents, API integrations, and reusable automation patterns.Translate enterprise security needs into a balanced portfolio of development initiatives that improve threat response, vulnerability management, evidence collection, control validation and operational resilience.Provide technical leadership and management oversight to ensure solutions are secure, reliable, supportable, observable, scalable and aligned to enterprise architecture and risk expectations.Partner with security architecture, platform engineering, cloud security, IAM, threat, governance and operations teams to establish standards, guardrails, handoffs and adoption plans for automation capabilities.Key DeliverablesOwn and manage the delivery portfolio for development and automation capabilities that help Northern Trust protect critical services and data, including:Security workflow automation programs that accelerate discovery, response, remediation and control validationReusable integration patterns that connect security platforms, enterprise data sources and operational systems of recordAI-enabled applications and agentic workflows that improve security decision support while respecting enterprise controls, approvals and data protection requirementsLLM-based vulnerability scanning, remediation support and secure coding capabilities delivered with appropriate governance and measurable outcomesEstablish responsible AI engineering practices for security use cases, including approved platforms, model governance, prompt and retrieval standards, testing, evaluation, observability and exception handling.Manage prioritization, capacity, delivery commitments and stakeholder communications across multiple concurrent automation initiatives.Ensure production automation solutions include strong authentication, authorization, secrets handling, logging, exception management, change control, auditability and operational support models.Drive documentation, architecture reviews, runbooks, decision logic, reusable patterns and operational handoffs so capabilities can be governed, supported and improved over time.Influence platform roadmaps, vendor integrations and automation investments based on risk reduction, control effectiveness, resiliency, stability, reuse and total cost of ownership.Recruit, coach, mentor and develop senior technical talent, creating clear expectations for engineering excellence, collaboration, accountability and measurable delivery outcomes.What You'll Bring15 years of experience across cybersecurity, software engineering, security automation, cloud engineering, platform engineering, infrastructure automation or related technology disciplines, including 5 years of meaningful leadership experience running large development teams.Proven ability to shape engineering culture and deliver complex capabilities through influence, accountability and clear prioritization.Strong understanding of how development and automation can be used to protect enterprise environments, improve control execution, reduce operational risk and create measurable security outcomes.Ability to set technical direction, evaluate architecture, challenge design decisions, manage delivery tradeoffs and communicate effectively with both engineering teams and senior stakeholders.Working knowledge of modern development practices, Python-based automation, API integrations, CI/CD, cloud-native services, workflow orchestration and operational supportability.Experience with LLM-enabled solution patterns, AI agent workflows, retrieval-augmented generation, prompt engineering, model evaluation, AI guardrails and secure use of enterprise AI platforms.Demonstrated ability to deliver in a regulated environment with strong attention to audit-ready evidence, access controls, change management, testability, resiliency and production support.Nice to HavePrior experience leading innovation teams in financial services or another highly regulated industry.Experience managing globally distributed technical teams, building engineering operating models, establishing delivery metrics and aligning work to risk reduction, control maturity and business outcomes.Familiarity with ServiceNow workflows, Vulnerability Response, SecOps, CMDB, ITSM integrations or similar enterprise workflow platforms.Experience with Azure AI Foundry, Azure Functions, Logic Apps, GitHub Actions, Terraform, CI/CD pipelines or cloud-native automation patterns.Experience building or leading automation programs for vulnerability management, exposure management, threat response, identity security, network security or cloud security operations.Salary Range:$164,600 - 288,000 USDSalary range is a good faith estimate of base pay. Northern Trust provides a comprehensive benefits package including retirement benefits (401k and pension), health and welfare benefits (medical, dental, vision, spending accounts and disability), paid time off, parental and caregiver leave, life & accident insurance, and other voluntary and well-being benefits. Northern Trust also provides a discretionary bonus program that may include an equity component.Work AuthorizationApplicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for employment-based visa sponsorship now or in the future. Northern Trust will not sponsor applicants for U.S. work visa status for this opportunity (no sponsorship is available for H-1B, L-1, TN, O-1, E-3, H-1B1, F-1, J-1, OPT, CPT or any other employment-based visa).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 MyHRHelp ntrs.com, or alternatively you can discuss your individual requirements with the recruiter you are working with.