Director, Security Architecture

Cardinal Health; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 154,000 - 261,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental and vision coverage

401k savings plan

Paid time off

Health savings account (HSA)

Job summary

Cardinal Health seeks an accomplished Director of Security Architecture to lead the strategy, standards, and design practices for secure, scalable technology solutions. This role partners with executives to align security with business priorities, risk management, and enterprise GTBS strategies.

You will guide architecture reviews, governance, and tooling optimization while embedding security into the development lifecycle.

Qualifications

• Over 10 years of experience in cybersecurity, security architecture, or information security.
• Deep expertise in security architecture frameworks and secure design principles.
• Strong understanding of cybersecurity frameworks and regulatory requirements.
• Experience leading architecture reviews and guiding secure solution development.
• Ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams and influence stakeholders.
• Leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop and lead the enterprise security architecture strategy aligned with risk management and business goals.
• Establish governance frameworks to guide secure design and deployment across the organization.
• Oversee architecture review processes and enforce security standards.
• Provide proactive security guidance during solution design and development.
• Lead architecture optimization and tooling strategy for scalability and resilience.
• Mentor and develop security architecture teams.

Skills

Leadership

Security architecture

Risk management

Governance

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Decision making

Mentoring

Strategic thinking

Security strategy

Education

MBA or MS in Cybersecurity/Information Security

Professional certifications: CISSP/CCSP/SABSA/TOGAF

Job description

What Information Security and Risk contributes to Cardinal Health Information Technology oversees the effective development, delivery, and operation of computing and information services. This function anticipates, plans, and delivers Information Technology solutions and strategies that enable operations and drive business value. Information Security and Risk develops, implements, and enforces security controls to protect the organization's technology assets from intentional or inadvertent modification, disclosure or destruction. This job family develops system back-up and disaster recovery plans. Information Technology also conducts incident response, threat management, vulnerability scanning, virus management and intrusion detection and completes risk assessments.

Job Summary

The Director, Security Architecture is responsible for establishing, leading, and developing the security architecture strategy, standards, and design practices to enable secure, scalable, and resilient technology solutions across the organization. Reporting to the Vice President, Information Security & Risk, this role serves as a technical leader responsible for aligning security architecture with business priorities, risk management objectives, and enterprise GTBS strategies. This role leads all aspects of security architecture, including architecture strategy and governance, technical security standards, solution design and advisory, architecture reviews, and tooling optimization. It plays a critical role in embedding security into the development lifecycle, guiding technology investments, and ensuring that security requirements are integrated into enterprise architectures and solutions from inception through deployment.

Responsibilities

Organizational Leadership & Architecture Strategy

Develop and lead the enterprise security architecture strategy aligned with cybersecurity, risk management, and business objectives. Establish governance frameworks and processes to guide secure design, technology selection, and solution deployment across the organization. Collaborate with cybersecurity leadership, enterprise architecture, and technology teams to define target-state architecture and long-term roadmap. Serve as an advisor to leadership on security architecture priorities, risks, and investment decisions.

Security Architecture Standards & Governance

Develop, maintain, and enforce enterprise security architecture standards, including design principles, control requirements, and implementation guidelines. Ensure standards are aligned with regulatory requirements, industry frameworks, and organizational risk tolerance. Establish governance processes for adoption and enforcement of architecture standards across global cybersecurity and technology teams. Continuously update and refine standards to address emerging threats, technologies, and business needs.

Security Architecture Review & Validation

Oversee architecture review processes to evaluate solutions and system designs against security standards, risk requirements, and enterprise architecture. Ensure security risks are identified, documented, and addressed prior to implementation. Provide approval and validation of security architecture decisions, including exception handling and risk acceptance processes. Drive consistency and quality in architecture review practices across teams.

Cybersecurity Advisory for Development & Design

Provide proactive security guidance and risk-informed recommendations during solution design and development. Partner with application, engineering, and commercial technology teams to embed security requirements early in the development lifecycle. Support security-by-design reviews, pre-implementation assessments, and architecture decision-making for new initiatives and technologies. Act as a technical liaison to translate security requirements and risks for both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Security Tooling & Architecture Optimization

Assess, rationalize, and optimize the cybersecurity tooling landscape to reduce complexity, eliminate redundancies, and improve capability coverage. Ensure tooling aligns with enterprise security architecture and supports effective risk management and operational capabilities. Partner with engineering and infrastructure teams to integrate tools into the broader cybersecurity ecosystem. Drive continuous improvement of tooling strategy to support scalability, efficiency, and innovation.

Security Architecture Design & Engineering Enablement

Define and support reference architectures, design patterns, and reusable security solutions to enable secure system development. Oversee and guide the implementation of security controls within applications, infrastructure, and platforms. Support teams in designing secure solutions that balance security, performance, scalability, and usability. Promote adoption of secure-by-design principles across development and engineering teams.

Capability Mapping & Roadmap Development

Assess current and target security capabilities, mapping them to business priorities and risk requirements. Develop and maintain a phased roadmap to guide strategic security architecture investments and capability maturity. Align architecture initiatives with enterprise transformation efforts and emerging technology trends. Provide visibility into capability gaps and investment priorities to support strategic planning.

Stakeholder Engagement & Integration

Collaborate with enterprise architecture, IT, engineering, risk, and compliance teams to ensure alignment of security architecture with enterprise initiatives. Partner with BISOs and business stakeholders to integrate security into business and technology strategies. Provide guidance and support for cybersecurity requirements in projects, ensuring alignment with architecture standards. Drive consistent communication and alignment across global cybersecurity and technology teams.

Talent Leadership & Capability Development

Build and lead a high-performing security architecture team with expertise across domains such as cloud, application, infrastructure, and data security. Develop team capabilities through coaching, training, and structured career development initiatives. Foster a culture of technical excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement. Ensure alignment of team capabilities with evolving cybersecurity and business needs.

M&A Cybersecurity Strategy & Integration

Maintain a standardized cybersecurity and infrastructure playbook to support activities across the M&A lifecycle, including due diligence, integration planning, and execution. Oversee objectives, scope, roles, and processes to ensure risk-aligned CISO program engagement during acquisitions and divestitures. Lead integration planning efforts to align cybersecurity and infrastructure priorities with deal objectives, ensuring seamless integration of people, processes, and technologies. Serve as the central coordination point between acquired entities and enterprise CISO program teams to ensure alignment, communication, and execution. Provide guidance and oversight to ensure security and infrastructure risks are identified, assessed, and mitigated throughout the M&A lifecycle.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in cybersecurity, security architecture, or information security, with a focus on enterprise architecture and solution design preferred
• Deep expertise in security architecture frameworks, secure design principles, and enterprise technology environments
• Strong understanding of cybersecurity frameworks (e.g., NIST CSF, ISO 27001) and regulatory requirements
• Experience leading architecture reviews, defining standards, and guiding secure solution development
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams and influence technical and business stakeholders
• Strong leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills
• Experience in a leadership role overseeing security architecture or engineering teams
• Experience in highly regulated industries (e.g., aviation, financial services, healthcare, or government)
• Advanced degree (MBA, MS in Cybersecurity, Information Systems, or related field) preferred
• Professional certifications such as CISSP, CCSP, SABSA, or TOGAF
• Experience with cloud security architecture, DevSecOps, and modern application development practices

What is expected of you and others at this level

Provides leadership to managers and experienced professional staff; may also manage front line supervisors

Manages an organizational budget

Develops and implements policies and procedures to achieve organizational goals

Assists in the development of functional strategy

Decisions have an extended impact on work processes, outcomes, and customers

Interacts with internal and/or external leaders, including senior management

Persuades others into agreement in sensitive situations while maintaining positive relationships

Salary and Compensation

Anticipated salary range: $154,400 - $261,250

Bonus eligible: Yes

Benefits

• Medical, dental and vision coverage
• Paid time off plan
• Health savings account (HSA)
• 401k savings plan
• Access to wages before pay day with myFlexPay
• Flexible spending accounts (FSAs)
• Short- and long-term disability coverage
• Work-Life resources
• Paid parental leave
• Healthy lifestyle programs

Application Window

Application window anticipated to close: 9/23/26

Candidates who are back-to-work, people with disabilities, without a college degree, and Veterans are encouraged to apply. Cardinal Health supports an inclusive workplace that values diversity of thought, experience and background. We celebrate the power of our differences to create better solutions for our customers by ensuring employees can be their authentic selves each day.

Cardinal Health is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, pregnancy, veteran status, marital status, creed, status with regard to public assistance, genetic status or any other status protected by federal, state or local law.

Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE: CAH) is a distributor of pharmaceuticals, a global manufacturer and distributor of medical and laboratory products, and a provider of performance and data solutions for healthcare facilities. We are a crucial link between the clinical and operational sides of healthcare, delivering end‑to‑end solutions and data‑driving insights that advance healthcare and improve lives every day. With deep partnerships, diverse perspectives and innovative digital solutions, we build connections across the continuum of care. With more than 50 years of experience, we seize the opportunity to address healthcare's most complicated challenges — now, and in the future.

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