Lead Security Architect

ZipRecruiter; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 172,000 - 216,000; Full time

Job summary

ZipRecruiter is seeking a Lead Security Architect to build a forward-looking cybersecurity team. The role involves designing secure, scalable architectures across diverse environments, overseeing security strategies, and collaborating with teams to ensure security best practices. Ideal candidates will have extensive cybersecurity experience and a strong educational background in Computer Science.

Benefits

Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life insurance

Free testing for employees and their immediate families

401k benefits

Generous employee referral program

Qualifications

• 12 years of progressive experience in cybersecurity.
• 5 years in security architecture or senior-level engineering role.
• Industry certifications: CISSP, AWS Certified Security – Specialty.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and implementation of enterprise-wide security architecture strategies.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to embed security into infrastructure.
• Champion the use of security automation and tools.

Skills

Security architecture

Threat modeling

Security automation

Risk assessment

Collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science

Master's degree in Computer Science

Tools

Python

Terraform

Lambda

SIEM platforms

Job description

Job DescriptionJob Description

POSITION SUMMARY:

We are building a forward-looking cybersecurity team and are seeking a highly skilled, business and technology-savvy Lead Security Architect to join our high-performing team. In this dynamic, fast-paced environment, you will be responsible for designing and implementing secure, scalable architectures across cloud, containerized, and on-premises environments. You will play a key role in shaping our security strategy for modern platforms across AWS, Networks, OT, and SaaS platforms. You will develop Security Reference Architectures to guide consistent, secure technology adoption. This position also supports the secure integration of SaaS platforms such as Google Workspace and Salesforce, while ensuring alignment with enterprise security standards. Collaboration with cross-functional teams is essential to embed security across the entire technology stack. Hands-on experience with security automation is required, along with proficiency in Python or a comparable scripting , to drive operational efficiency and consistency.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Lead the development and implementation of enterprise-wide security architecture strategies and frameworks

• Develop and maintain threat model and security reference architectures for AWS and on-premises environments, with a strong emphasis on Zero Trust principles, and access management (IAM), encryption, secure access controls, SIEM and XDR platforms.

• Partner with Engineering, DevOps, IT, and Compliance teams to ensure secure system design and security-by-default principles are embedded into infrastructure and applications

• Collaborate with DevOps and engineering teams to embed security into CI/CD workflows and Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) processes

• Establish and enforce security best practices in containerized environments (e.g., EKS, ECS) and AI-enabled applications, including workload protection, runtime monitoring, and secrets management.

• Support the secure design, development, and deployment of AI/ML solutions and data pipelines, ensuring robust controls around model access, training data, and infrastructure

• Champion the use of security automation and playbooks using tools such as Python, Lambda, Terraform, and others to streamline security testing, threat detection, and remediation workflows.

• Evaluate and recommend security tools, platforms, and automation approaches that align with business goals and security requirements.

• Perform architectural risk assessments for new and existing systems, and provide actionable guidance and mitigation strategies for identified risks.

• Work closely with the Incident Response team to ensure security architecture is aligned with current and emerging threat landscapes.

• Participate in design reviews, conduct threat modeling exercises, and contribute to architecture governance and decision-making processes.

• Influence the development of security policies and standards to align with industry best practices and regulatory frameworks (e.g., HIPAA, NIST, CISA, FDA).

• Stay current on industry trends, emerging threats (including AI-driven threats), and technologies to continuously enhance the organization's security posture.

• Serve as a trusted technical and strategic advisor to executive leadership on security architecture, technology risks, and mitigation strategies.

• Mentor and provide guidance to security engineers and developers on secure design principles and architectural best practices.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Security, Engineering, or a related field required

• Master's degree in Computer Science, specifically in Information Security or a related discipline is strongly

• Minimum of 12 years of progressive experience in cybersecurity, including at least 5 years in a security architecture or senior-level engineering role

• Deep experience in threat model, design, PoC, and implement large scale enterprise solutions (ideally in Healthcare or financial sectors)

• Proven ability to design and implement security controls aligned with compliance frameworks such as HIPAA, NIST, and CIS.

• Extensive hands-on experience in AWS cloud security, network security, with extended knowledge on Zero Trust, Data Protection, and Appsec

• Strong understanding of enterprise and access management (IAM) systems, Data Protection, including platforms like Okta, SailPoint, VDI, and Active Directory (AD).

• Expert experience with SIEM platforms, XDR, and cloud- threat detection tools.

• Expert experience in web application security, OWASP, API security, and secure design and testing

• Hands-on experience with security automation is required, along with proficiency in AI assisted development, familiar with Python, Cursor, Lambda, Terraform, or a comparable scripting and infrastructure-as-code (IaC) tool, to drive operational efficiency and consistency.

• Industry certifications : CISSP, CCSP, AWS Certified Security – Specialty, AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional, or AWS Certified Advanced Networking – Specialty (or equivalent).

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, able to translate complex security concepts for technical and non-technical audiences.

• Ability to influence stakeholders and drive alignment across multiple teams.

• Strategic thinker with a passion for security innovation, continuous improvement, and building scalable defenses.

The pay range is listed and actual compensation packages are based on a wide array of factors unique to each candidate, including but not limited to skill set, years & depth of experience, certifications and specific office location. This may differ in other locations due to cost of labor considerations.Remote USA$172,400—$215,450 USD

OUR OPPORTUNITY

Natera is a global leader in cell-free DNA (cfDNA) testing, dedicated to oncology, women's health, and organ health. Our aim is to make personalized genetic testing and diagnostics part of the standard of care to protect health and enable earlier and more targeted interventions that lead to longer, healthier lives.

The Natera team consists of highly dedicated statisticians, geneticists, doctors, laboratory scientists, business professionals, software engineers and many other professionals from world-class institutions, who care deeply for our work and each other. When you join Natera, you'll work hard and grow quickly. Working alongside the elite of the industry, you'll be stretched and challenged, and take pride in being part of a company that is changing the landscape of genetic disease management.

WHAT WE OFFER

Competitive Benefits - Employee benefits include comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life and plans for eligible employees and their dependents. Additionally, Natera employees and their immediate families receive free testing in addition to fertility care benefits. Other benefits include and baby bonding leave, 401k benefits, commuter benefits and much more. We also offer a generous employee referral program!

For more information, visit www.natera.com.

Natera is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to ensuring a diverse and inclusive workplace environment, and welcome people of different backgrounds, experiences, abilities and perspectives. Inclusive collaboration benefits our employees, our community and our patients, and is critical to our mission of changing the management of disease worldwide.

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply, and will be considered without regard to , , , , or expression, , , genetics, , veteran status, or any other legally protected status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with applicable laws.

If you are based in California, we encourage you to read this important information for California .

Link: https://www.natera.com/notice-of-data-collection-california-/

Please be advised that Natera will reach out to candidates with a @natera.com email domain ONLY. Email communications from all other domain names are not from Natera or its employees and are fraudulent. Natera does not request interviews via text messages and does not ask for personal information until a candidate has engaged with the company and has spoken to a recruiter and the hiring team. Natera takes cyber crimes seriously, and will collaborate with law enforcement authorities to prosecute any related cyber crimes.

For more information:
- BBB announcement on job scams
- FBI Cyber Crime resource page