Zero Trust Security Architect: ZTNA, ZIA/ZPA & SASE

Cognizant; Topeka (KS); On-site; USD 134,000 - 155,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance

Paid holidays plus Paid Time Off

401(k) plan and contributions

Long-term/Short-term Disability

Paid Parental Leave

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Job summary

Cognizant is seeking an experienced Zero Trust Security Architect to lead the design, implementation, and optimization of secure connectivity across global cloud and hybrid environments. Focus areas include ZTNA, Zscaler, cloud VPN architectures, SASE, and SSE to enable secure operations and support M&A initiatives.

The role requires deep cloud security expertise, identity-aware networking, and hands-on experience designing scalable Zero Trust environments with strong architecture leadership and

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in Security Architecture, Network Security, Cloud Security, or Enterprise Security Engineering roles.
• Strong expertise in Zero Trust Architecture, Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), Identity-Aware Access Controls, and Secure Connectivity solutions.
• Extensive hands-on experience with Zscaler technologies including ZIA, ZPA, DLP, policy management, and cloud-delivered security services.
• Experience designing enterprise cloud VPN, remote access, hybrid-cloud networking, and secure connectivity architectures.
• Strong understanding of SASE, SSE, cloud-native security architectures, and modern network security principles.
• Experience working with AWS, Azure, or multi-cloud environments, including cloud security, networking, identity, and connectivity services.
• Strong knowledge of enterprise identity systems, federation, MFA, RBAC, and least-privilege access models.
• Experience supporting M&A security integration initiatives and enterprise-scale network transformation projects.
• Deep understanding of security frameworks and compliance requirements including PCI-DSS, SOX, GDPR, and Zero Trust best practices.
• Strong architecture documentation, stakeholder management, communication, and technical leadership skills.
• Relevant certifications such as CISSP, Zscaler Certifications, AWS Security Specialty, Azure Security Engineer, CCSP, or equivalent are highly desirable.

Responsibilities

• Design and maintain enterprise Zero Trust security architectures spanning identity, endpoints, applications, networks, cloud platforms, and data access pathways.
• Architect secure connectivity solutions including cloud VPN, site-to-site VPN, remote access, ZTNA, and hybrid-cloud access models.
• Design, implement, and optimize Zscaler capabilities including Secure Internet Access (ZIA), Private Access (ZPA), DLP, traffic inspection, threat prevention, and policy enforcement.
• Define identity-aware access models based on least-privilege principles and Zero Trust security frameworks.
• Lead secure integration and connectivity planning for new business platforms and enterprise technology initiatives.
• Architect network, application, and security integration strategies for mergers and acquisitions, including discovery, segmentation, access controls, migration planning, and target-state architecture development.
• Conduct threat modeling, security risk assessments, and architecture reviews focused on access flows, trust boundaries, and data protection requirements.
• Develop architecture standards, reference architectures, design patterns, implementation roadmaps, and reusable security artifacts.
• Collaborate with cloud engineering, infrastructure, security, and application teams to embed security controls and governance requirements into technology solutions.
• Evaluate and recommend Zscaler, SASE, SSE, VPN, and Zero Trust technologies based on business, security, scalability, and operational requirements.
• Provide architecture oversight, design reviews, and implementation guidance to ensure solutions align with enterprise security standards.
• Define and monitor security metrics, effectiveness measurements, and continuous improvement initiatives to strengthen enterprise security posture.

Skills

Zero Trust Architecture

ZTNA

Zscaler ZIA

Zscaler ZPA

Cloud VPN

SASE/SSE

Identity-Aware Access

M&A Security

Security Architecture

AWS/Azure multi-cloud

Tools

Zscaler Suite

DLP

Job description

Cognizant is seeking an experienced Zero Trust Security Architect to lead the design, implementation, and optimization of secure connectivity across global cloud and hybrid environments. Focus areas include ZTNA, Zscaler, cloud VPN architectures, SASE, and SSE to enable secure operations and support M&A initiatives.

The role requires deep cloud security expertise, identity-aware networking, and hands-on experience designing scalable Zero Trust environments with strong architecture leadership and