Security Engineering Manager

SmartBiz Bank; Northbrook (IL); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

Equity participation where applicable

Employer-paid medical/dental/vision/Li

401(k) retirement plan

Flexible vacation policy

Job summary

SmartBiz Bank is seeking an experienced Security Engineering Manager to lead our security engineering function and define the company’s security strategy. This hands-on role has no direct reports and reports to the Director of DevOps and IT, working with CTO and teams across Engineering, IT, Risk, and Compliance.

You will prioritize security improvements, build monitoring and incident response capabilities, and mature vulnerability management and identity security across cloud, apps, and

Qualifications

• 8+ years in information security with hands-on engineering.
• Experience leading or significantly influencing a security program in a regulated environment.
• Strong AWS/cloud security knowledge and Kubernetes security experience.
• Deep understanding of IAM, network security, encryption, secrets management.
• Solid AppSec and secure-SDLC experience.
• Hands-on vulnerability management and incident response exposure.
• Familiarity with NIST CSF, CIS Controls, FFIEC guidance, GLBA and banking security.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute the security engineering strategy and roadmap with executive alignment.
• Lead security for cloud infra, apps, identity, endpoints, and developer platforms.
• Design and implement security controls, architectures, and preventive/detective measures.
• Prioritize security initiatives by risk, impact, and resources; balance delivery speed.
• Mature application security practices including threat modeling and design reviews.
• Own vulnerability management across apps, cloud, containers, and third-party software.
• Improve identity and access security and secrets management with least privilege.
• Develop security monitoring, logging, detection, and incident response capabilities.
• Drive incident response through containment, root-cause analysis, and improvements.
• Perform security architecture reviews for new apps, infra, vendors, and initiatives.
• Create security standards, guardrails, and playbooks for secure delivery.
• Support regulatory exams, risk assessments, and translate requirements into controls.
• Communicate security posture and roadmap progress to technical and executive audiences.
• Build security documentation, procedures, and training to foster a security culture.

Skills

AWS/cloud security

Kubernetes security

AppSec & secure-SDLC

Vulnerability management

Threat modeling

Incident response

Security architecture

Identity and access security

Tools

SIEM

SAST/DAST/DAST

SCA

Secrets scanning

CI/CD security

IaC tooling

Job description

Company Overview

SmartBiz Bank offers a broad range of business banking solutions to small businesses across the U.S. – solutions built specifically to serve the dynamic needs of entrepreneurs and foster the growth of the small business community. SmartBiz Bank’s commitment to transparency and personalized customer service offers an unparalleled banking experience, ensuring small businesses have the financial services they need to grow and thrive. Headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, with an additional office in Austin, Texas, we are proud to serve both our local and national small business communities.

Position Overview

Security is a critical part of how SmartBiz Bank designs, builds, and operates its technology. We are looking for an experienced Security Engineering Manager to lead our security engineering function and help define and execute the company’s security strategy.

This is a hands‑on individual contributor role with no direct reports. Reporting to the Director of DevOps and IT, you will lead security strategy and priorities in close partnership with the CTO and Director of DevOps and IT while remaining directly involved in the technical work required to improve our security posture.

Success in this role requires strong technical judgment, thoughtful prioritization, and the ability to work effectively across Engineering, DevOps, IT, Risk, Compliance, and other teams to get things done. You will need to identify and prioritize the security improvements that will have the greatest impact, balancing security and risk‑management requirements with available resources and the needs of the business. You should be comfortable operating in a regulated environment where practical, risk‑based decision‑making is essential.

How You Will Make An Impact

• Define and execute the security engineering strategy and roadmap in close partnership with the CTO and Director of DevOps and IT.
• Serve as the technical security leader for cloud infrastructure, applications, identity, endpoints, and developer platforms.
• Design, implement, and continuously improve security architecture and preventive and detective controls across our cloud environment.
• Continuously assess and prioritize security initiatives based on risk, impact, effort, and available resources, focusing on the improvements that will have the greatest impact on the company’s security posture.
• Build strong partnerships across Engineering, DevOps, IT, Risk, and Compliance to drive security improvements that require coordination and execution across teams.
• Mature application security practices including threat modeling, security design reviews, SAST, SCA, DAST, secrets scanning, vulnerability triage, and remediation.
• Own and mature vulnerability management across applications, cloud infrastructure, containers, endpoints, and third‑party software.
• Strengthen identity and access security through least privilege, privileged‑access controls, secure service identities, authentication controls, and secrets management.
• Develop and improve security monitoring, logging, detection, alerting, and investigation capabilities.
• Lead technical security incident response, including investigation, containment, remediation, root‑cause analysis, and post‑incident improvements.
• Perform security architecture reviews for new applications, infrastructure, SaaS platforms, vendors, and major technology initiatives.
• Establish practical security standards, policies, and technical guardrails that enable teams to operate securely without unnecessarily slowing delivery.
• Support regulatory examinations, audits, risk assessments, and compliance initiatives by translating requirements into effective technical controls.
• Develop meaningful security metrics and communicate security posture, material risks, priorities, incidents, and roadmap progress to technical and executive audiences.
• Build and maintain security documentation, standards, procedures, playbooks, and incident‑response processes.
• Help build a strong security culture through security awareness, engineering education, and partnership across the organization.

Who You Are

• 8+ years of experience in information security/security engineering, with meaningful hands‑on engineering experience.
• Experience owning or significantly influencing a security engineering program in a regulated environment.
• Strong AWS/cloud security knowledge.
• Experience securing Kubernetes/containerized environments.
• Deep understanding of IAM, network security, encryption, secrets management and cloud security architecture.
• Strong AppSec and secure‑SDLC experience.
• Hands‑on vulnerability‑management experience.
• Experience with SIEM, security telemetry, detection engineering and incident response.
• Familiarity with Infrastructure as Code and CI/CD security.
• Experience working in regulated financial‑services environments and familiarity with cybersecurity and regulatory frameworks such as NIST CSF, CIS Controls, FFIEC guidance, GLBA, and related banking security requirements.
• Strong communication skills, particularly translating technical risk for executives.

Opportunities & Benefits at SmartBiz Bank

• Mission‑driven culture focused on small business banking.
• Competitive compensation and equity participation where applicable.
• Employer‑paid medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance for eligible employees and dependents.
• 401(k) retirement plan.
• Flexible vacation policy.

-- SmartBiz Bank is an Equal Opportunity employer and proud to provide equal employment opportunity to all job seekers without regard to any status protected by applicable law. California residents can learn more about how we use your

California residents can learn more about how we use your information by visiting https://sites.google.com/view/smartbizloans-employment-ccpa