Principal AI & Cloud Security Engineer (Remote only within WA, ID, OR)

Banner Bank; United States; Remote; USD 135,000 - 178,000; Full time

Job summary

Banner Bank seeks a Principal AI & Cloud Security Engineer to shape secure AI adoption and Azure cloud strategies across the organization. You will guide security architecture, guardrails, and governance for scalable AI workflows and enterprise applications.

You will lead threat modeling, secure code reviews, and tooling across Defender for Cloud, Monitor, and Sentinel while embedding security into the SDLC and IaC practices. Strong Azure expertise required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field (Required).
• 8+ years in security engineering, secure SDLC, threat modeling, and Azure cloud security (Required).
• Experience in financial services or banking environments (Preferred).
• Security certifications such as CISSP, Azure Security Engineer, GIAC, or similar (Preferred).
• Strong knowledge of Azure security, AI/ML security, and agentic systems.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead the enterprise security strategy and architecture for AI-powered systems and Azure cloud environments.
• Establish and govern security controls, guardrails, and runtime protections for AI workflows.
• Lead threat modeling for AI and Azure workloads and mitigate cloud vulnerabilities.
• Evaluate AI-generated and cloud-integrated code for security, correctness, and performance.
• Architect and oversee security tooling and monitoring (Defender for Cloud, Monitor, Sentinel) at scale.
• Embed security governance into SDLC and Azure DevSecOps pipelines (Policy, Key Vault, IaC).
• Research emerging AI and cloud security threats and translate insights into enterprise strategies.
• Mentor engineering teams on secure AI adoption and enterprise security standards.

Skills

Azure cloud security

Secure SDLC

Threat modeling

Security certifications

DevSecOps

Python/Go/Rust/C/C++

Data protection

Zero-trust architecture

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/ Cybersecurity/ IT/ Engineering

Master's degree

Tools

Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Azure Monitor

Microsoft Sentinel

Terraform

Bicep

ARM templates

Job description

More than 135 years ago, we started with core values that never go out of style: listen, learn and help businesses and individuals reach their goals. These core values shape our culture, and we were recently Great Place to Work Certified because of our outstanding workplace culture and employee experience. As well, our financial strength and stability are key reasons Forbes named us one of the Best 100 Banks in America for the ninth consecutive year.

With more than $16 billion in assets and 135 branch locations throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California, we understand our role in the economy and take that responsibility seriously. In addition to offering a source of capital to personal banking clients and businesses of all sizes, we place a high importance on employee volunteerism and donate millions of dollars each year to community organizations.

As our Principal AI & Cloud Security Engineer, you'll play a critical role in shaping how we securely adopt and scale AI-powered solutions and Azure cloud technologies across the organization. This senior individual contributor role sets the strategic direction for AI and cloud security, helping development, infrastructure, and security teams build innovative solutions that are secure, resilient, and compliant. If you're passionate about emerging technologies, security architecture, and influencing enterprise-wide standards, we'd love to hear from you.

In this role you'll

• Define and lead the enterprise security strategy and architecture for AI-powered systems and Azure cloud environments, including identity, network security, data protection, and secure cloud and hybrid designs.

• Establish and govern security controls, guardrails, and runtime protections for agentic AI workflows, including tools such as Claude, GitHub Copilot, and custom AI agents.

• Lead threat modeling efforts for AI systems and Azure-hosted workloads, identifying and mitigating risks associated with adversarial inputs, cloud vulnerabilities, autonomous agents, and emerging attack vectors.

• Evaluate AI-generated and cloud-integrated code for security, quality, correctness, and performance, and define enterprise standards for secure code review practices.

• Architect and oversee security tooling and monitoring capabilities that evaluate, monitor, and harden AI agents and Azure resources at scale using technologies such as Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Azure Monitor, and Microsoft Sentinel.

• Embed security governance into the software development lifecycle and Azure DevSecOps pipelines through Security Posture Management, Azure Policy, Key Vault, and Infrastructure-as-Code standards.

• Research emerging AI and cloud security threats, regulations, and industry trends, translating insights into actionable strategies and enterprise security improvements.

• Mentor and influence engineering teams on secure AI adoption, cloud security best practices, and enterprise security standards.

What we're looking for

• You have a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field (Required). An equivalent combination of education and experience can be considered in lieu of a degree.

• You have a Master's degree (Preferred).

• You have 8+ years of experience in security engineering, secure SDLC, threat modeling, and Azure cloud security, including designing and governing security controls for AI/ML, generative AI, and agentic systems in enterprise cloud environments (Required).

• You have experience within financial services or banking environments (Preferred).

• You hold industry-recognized security certifications such as CISSP, Azure Security Engineer, GIAC, or similar credentials (Preferred).

What helps you shine

• You communicate complex security concepts clearly and effectively to both technical and non-technical audiences.

• You excel at analyzing emerging threats and translating risks into practical enterprise security strategies.

• You bring deep expertise in Azure cloud security, including Microsoft Entra ID, network security, data protection, defense-in-depth, and zero-trust architecture.

• You understand how to secure and govern AI/ML platforms, large language models, and agentic AI architectures.

• You have hands-on experience evaluating AI-generated outputs and implementing guardrails, validation controls, and runtime protections.

• You possess advanced secure coding and DevSecOps experience across modern programming languages such as Python, Go, Rust, or C/C++.

• You have strong knowledge of Cloud Security Posture Management and Infrastructure-as-Code solutions including Bicep, ARM, and Terraform.

• You understand regulatory, risk, and security considerations common within financial services environments.

Travel

• Up to 20% travel may be required.

Our Company Values

• Do the right thing
• Mutual respect
• Teamwork
• Honesty and integrity

What Our Team Says

I have the opportunity to learn and grow every day in my current role. I love the work life balance, knowing that we work hard, and strive for high performance but we are celebrated.

Compensation & Benefits

• Targeted starting salary range (based on geography & experience): $135,000 - $178,000
• Comprehensive employee benefits, including: medical, dental, vision, LTD, STD and life
• Paid vacation time, sick time and 11 company paid holidays
• 401k (with up to 4% match)
• Tuition reimbursement

Review Banner's employee benefits at: Employee Benefits | Banner Bank

Banner Bank is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to diversity in the workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, marital status, age, disability or protected veteran status.

Banner Bank does not accept unsolicited resumes from agencies and/or search firms for any job postings. Resumes submitted to any Banner Bank employee by a third-party agency and/or search firm without a valid written and signed search agreement, will become the sole property of Banner Bank. No fee will be paid if a candidate is hired for a position as a result of an unsolicited agency or search firm referral.