Director, Security Engineering

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world's population sees AP journalism every day.

About AP Cybersecurity

Trust is AP's most important asset. Every day, AP journalists, systems and customers depend on technology that must be secure, resilient and available — in newsrooms, in the field and across a global content distribution network that serves media organizations and businesses around the world.

AP's Cybersecurity team, part of the Technology organization under the Chief Technology Officer, protects AP's people, journalism, platforms and data. We build the security capabilities that let AP report from anywhere, deliver content in real time and adopt new technologies with confidence.

Why this role matters:

We are seeking a hands-on, strategic Director of Cyber Engineering to lead security engineering across product security, infrastructure and cloud security, cloud governance and network security. Reporting to the Senior Director of Cybersecurity, this is a senior leadership role within AP's security organization.

You will inherit and lead a team of established engineers, set technical direction for security engineering and turn security strategy into platforms, controls and practices that scale. You will stay close enough to the technology to review architecture, challenge designs and help solve hard problems.

Building strong partnerships across Technology and the wider AP organization will be central to this role. Security at AP succeeds through collaboration and this leader will help foster a culture where security is clearly understood, valued and built in from the start.

What you will do:

Lead Security Engineering Strategy & Architecture

• Define and execute a security engineering roadmap across products, infrastructure, cloud and network security, aligned with AP's technology and business priorities.

• Own security architecture standards and reference designs for AP's cloud, on-premises and network environments.

• Advance modern security models such as zero trust, least-privilege access and secure-by-default infrastructure.

• Evaluate emerging threats and technologies, including risks introduced by AI, and translate them into practical engineering priorities.

Product Security

• Embed security into the software development lifecycle through threat modeling, secure design reviews, code and dependency scanning, and security testing.

• Partner with product and engineering teams to integrate security into CI/CD pipelines without slowing delivery.

• Establish clear, practical secure development standards and guidance for engineering teams.

Infrastructure, Cloud Security & Governance

• Lead the security architecture and hardening of AP's cloud and infrastructure environments.

• Establish and maintain cloud governance, including policies, guardrails, configuration standards and posture management across cloud accounts and services.

• Drive security automation and infrastructure-as-code to improve consistency, reduce manual effort and scale controls.

Network Security

• Own the strategy and engineering of AP's network security controls across offices, data centers, cloud and remote workforce.

• Modernize network security architecture, including segmentation, secure remote access and perimeter controls.

Lead People & Build a Security Culture

• Lead, develop and grow a team of established security engineers, and build a culture of ownership, curiosity and continuous learning.

• Develop trusted relationships with stakeholders across Technology, product, newsroom, legal, commercial and business teams.

• Work with those partners to build and grow a security culture across AP, making secure choices the easy choices.

• Act as a senior technical leader during security incidents and turn lessons learned into lasting engineering improvements.

• Manage vendor relationships and budget for security engineering tools and services.

• Communicate risk, tradeoffs and progress clearly to technical teams, senior leadership and nontechnical audiences.

Who you are:

We expect strong candidates to bring many, but not necessarily all, of the following:

• Minimum 10+ years of experience in security engineering, security architecture or infrastructure engineering, including minimum 4+ years leading engineering teams.

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience.

• Deep hands-on experience in at least two of AP's focus areas (product security, cloud and infrastructure security, cloud governance or network security) and working knowledge of the others.

• Experience in major public cloud environments and hybrid infrastructure.

• Strong grounding in application security and DevSecOps practices in modern software environments.

• Experience designing and operating enterprise network security architectures.

• Experience with security automation, scripting or coding and infrastructure-as-code.

• Proven ability to build relationships and influence without authority across engineering, business and nontechnical teams.

• Experience leading security awareness, champions programs or other efforts to shift security culture.

• Sound risk judgment: the ability to prioritize what matters most and make pragmatic decisions with incomplete information.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with comfort presenting to senior leadership.

• Relevant certifications such as CISSP, CCSP, OSCP or cloud security certifications are a plus.

• Experience in media, journalism or other high-visibility environments; supporting a global or distributed workforce; securing AI/ML systems; or growing a small team into a larger function is especially relevant but not required.

Why This Role

AP's journalism is only as trusted as the systems behind it. AP operates at a scale and risk profile few organizations share: a global newsroom, real-time distribution to customers worldwide, and a mission that depends on accuracy and trust.

For a security engineering leader who wants to build, influence and protect something that matters, this is an opportunity to shape how one of the world's most trusted news organizations secures its people, platforms and journalism.

Location:

This role is based in New York, NY.

Why Join Us?

• A mission-driven, inclusive environment focused on both individual and collective success.
• Opportunities for professional development to help you reach your career goals.
• Access to tools, mentorship, and resources tailored to elevate your proficiency and contributions

Salary & Benefits:

The anticipated salary range for this position is $160,000 - $180,000, based on a candidate’s skills, qualifications and location. The Associated Press offers comprehensive benefits, which include:

• Competitive medical, dental and vision coverage

• Retirement benefits

• Company paid life insurance

• Paid vacation and sick days

• Paid parental leave for any new parent

• Mental well-being resources

AP seeks to build an inclusive organization grounded in respect for differences. We support all aspects of diversity and provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, marital status, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, status as a veteran, or other characteristic protected by law.