Head of Cybersecurity Engineering and Architecture

Finastra, a global leader in financial technology, is seeking a dynamic and experienced Head of Security Engineering and Architecture to lead the design, development, and implementation of comprehensive security strategies across our products, data, and identity services.

This leadership role will ensure that security principles are integrated throughout Finastra’s product development lifecycle, data management processes, and identity frameworks to protect critical assets and safeguard our clients' financial data.

Key Responsibilities:

Product Security:

• Develop and lead the implementation of a robust product security strategy that aligns with industry best practices.

• Embed security principles into the product design and development lifecycle, ensuring secure coding practices, vulnerability management, and secure deployment.

• Collaborate with product development teams to assess risks, design security solutions, and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.

• Lead initiatives in security automation and continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) security.

• Ensure security assessments, code reviews, and penetration testing of products to identify and mitigate security vulnerabilities are completed within compliance of applicable standards and and requirements.

Data Security:

• Establish and oversee data security strategies and solutions to protect sensitive financial information and ensure regulatory compliance (e.g., GDPR, PCI DSS).

• Define and enforce policies for data encryption, data masking, data loss prevention (DLP), and secure data storage.

• Work closely with the data governance team to ensure data security measures are aligned with organizational standards.

• Lead efforts in securing cloud and on-premises databases, ensuring the security of data across its lifecycle.

Identity Security:

• Drive the strategy for identity and access management (IAM) to ensure proper control over user identities and access to Finastra’s systems and data.

• Design and implement secure identity management solutions, including Single Sign-On (SSO), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), and privileged access management (PAM).

• Collaborate with IT and compliance teams to manage identity governance, ensuring adherence to access control policies and regulatory mandates.

• Lead continuous improvement efforts for identity security across internal systems and customer-facing applications.

• Drive the organization towards zero trust adoption principles.

General responsibilities include:

• Lead and mentor a team of security engineers and architects, fostering a collaborative culture of security-first thinking across the organization.

• Keep abreast of the latest security trends, technologies, and regulatory requirements in financial technology.

• Develop key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the effectiveness of security initiatives and report findings to senior leadership.

• Oversee the security architecture design, ensuring scalability, flexibility, and security resilience across the company’s technical environment.

• Coordinate with cross-functional teams, including IT, legal, compliance, and product, to ensure a holistic security approach.

• Leverage new and emerging technologies to drive effectiveness and efficiency throughout the development

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in information security, Computer Science, or a related field.

• Minimum of 15 years of experience in information security, with at least 10 years in a senior leadership or architecture role.

• Proven expertise in product security, data security, and identity security in financial services, fintech, software or regulated environments.

• In-depth knowledge of security frameworks and regulations (e.g., ISO 27001, NIST, SOC 2, GDPR, PCI DSS).

• Experience with cloud security (AWS, Azure) and security operations automation.

• Strong understanding of DevSecOps practices, secure software development life cycle (SDLC), and security architecture.

• Relevant certifications such as CISSP, CISM, or CEH are preferred.

• Strong communication and leadership skills, with the ability to drive security initiatives across diverse teams.