VP, AI Security Architect Lead

Synchrony; United States; Hybrid; USD 230,000 - 340,000; Full time

Job summary

Synchrony is seeking a VP, AI Security Architect Lead who will define and drive the enterprise security architecture strategy for AI/ML, GenAI, and emerging AI technologies. You will establish practical guardrails, reusable patterns, and scalable assurance capabilities to enable secure innovation while protecting data across the AI lifecycle.

The role partners across Cybersecurity, Technology, Data, AI/ML Engineering, Cloud, Risk, and Business, translating AI threats into actionable architecture

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in a related field.
• Significant leadership experience in security architecture initiatives.
• Practical knowledge of modern AI architectures (LLMs, RAG, embeddings).
• Strong foundation in IAM, application/API security, cloud security, data protection, and software supply-chain security.
• Familiarity with OWASP Top 10 for LLM Apps, MITRE ATLAS, NIST AI RMF, and Zero Trust.
• Experience designing enterprise-scale architectures on AWS, Azure, or GCP.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute the enterprise AI Security Architecture strategy and guardrails.
• Create reusable security patterns for Generative AI and enterprise AI platforms.
• Lead security architecture assessments across cloud, SaaS, data, and applications.
• Embed security-by-design across the AI lifecycle with threat modeling and testing.
• Align AI threat-modeling with MITRE ATLAS and OWASP guidance; translate into controls.

Skills

Leadership

Security architecture

Cloud security

DevSecOps

Risk management

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Information Technology, Engineering, or equivalent

Tools

AWS

Azure

Google Cloud Platform

CI/CD security tools

Job description

Role Summary/Purpose:

The VP, AI Security Architect Lead will define and drive the enterprise security architecture strategy for Artificial Intelligence, Generative AI, Machine Learning, and emerging AI technologies. This leader will establish practical guardrails, reusable patterns, and scalable assurance capabilities that enable secure innovation while protecting company, customer, and sensitive data. Serving as a trusted advisor across Cybersecurity, Technology, Data, AI/ML Engineering, Cloud, Risk, and the Business, the role will translate evolving AI threats into actionable architecture and engineering requirements. The leader will advance AI security from point-in-time reviews to security-by-design through automation, threat modeling, testing, and continuous assurance across the AI lifecycle.

Our Way of Working

We're proud to offer you flexibility. At Synchrony, our way of working allows you to have the option to work from home near one of our Hubs or come into one of our offices. Occasionally you will be required to commute or travel for in person engagement activities such as business or team meetings, training and culture events.

Essential Responsibilities:

• Define and execute the enterprise AI Security Architecture strategy, principles, standards, reference architectures, and guardrails.
• Create reusable security patterns for Generative AI, copilots, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), model and inference APIs, autonomous or agentic AI, and enterprise AI platforms.
• Lead security architecture assessments for high-impact AI solutions across cloud, SaaS, API, data, application, and enterprise technology environments.
• Embed security-by-design across the AI lifecycle, including development, deployment, integration, monitoring, and retirement.
• Establish an AI threat-modeling approach aligned with MITRE ATLAS and OWASP guidance, translating threats into actionable controls and engineering requirements.
• Define controls for model access, identities, service accounts, secrets, APIs, prompts, training and retrieval data, outputs, plugins, tools, and third-party AI services.
• Partner with engineering teams and other stakeholders to automate architecture reviews, threat modeling, control validation, and security testing.
• Assess emerging risks such as prompt injection, data poisoning, sensitive information disclosure, insecure tool interaction, excessive agency, model manipulation, and AI supply-chain compromise.
• Advise senior technology and cybersecurity leaders, clearly communicating architecture decisions, material risks, trade-offs, and recommended actions.
• Build alignment across Cybersecurity, Enterprise Architecture, Cloud, Application Security, Data, AI/ML Engineering, Responsible AI, Privacy, Legal, Compliance, Risk, and Business teams.
• Evaluate emerging AI security technologies and conduct focused proofs of concept to validate enterprise applicability

Qualifications/Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related discipline, or equivalent relevant experience.
• Significant experience in cybersecurity, security architecture, cloud security, application security, or enterprise architecture, including leadership of complex security initiatives.
• Practical knowledge of modern AI architectures, including Large Language Models, RAG, vector databases, embeddings, model gateways, AI agents, orchestration frameworks, managed AI services, and model or inference APIs.
• Strong foundation in identity and access management, application and API security, cloud security, data protection, secrets and key management, DevSecOps, and software supply-chain security.
• Knowledge of AI security and risk frameworks such as the OWASP Top 10 for LLM Applications, MITRE ATLAS, NIST AI Risk Management Framework, and Zero Trust principles.
• Experience designing or reviewing enterprise-scale architectures on AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform.
• Demonstrated ability to convert technical risks into architecture standards, reusable patterns, engineering requirements, and executive recommendations.
• Proven success influencing senior stakeholders and driving alignment across organizational boundaries.
• Executive-level written, verbal, presentation, and stakeholder-management skills.

Desired Characteristics:

• Experience securing platforms such as Amazon Bedrock, Azure OpenAI, Microsoft Copilot, or comparable enterprise AI services.
• Familiarity with NIST AI RMF, MITRE ATLAS, OWASP guidance, ISO/IEC 42001, and evolving AI governance expectations.
• Ability to move confidently between deep technical architecture, engineering execution, risk discussions, and executive strategy.
• Experience building reference architectures, security blueprints, automated guardrails, and scalable control-assurance capabilities.
• Financial-services cybersecurity, regulatory, risk-management, or data-protection experience is a plus.
• Strategic, collaborative, and execution-oriented leadership st