Principal Enterprise Security Architect - Director

Role Description The Principal Enterprise Security Architect is a global technical and strategic authority responsible for shaping, governing, and evolving the Enterprise Security Architecture (ESA) strategy and roadmaps across the organization. This role ensures that the enterprise remains secure, resilient, and future‑ready, with particular emphasis on cloud, AI/agentic systems, regulatory compliance, and innovation. Operating as a forward‑looking strategist and hands‑on expert, the Principal Enterprise Security Architect will drive proactive planning, anticipate emerging threats, and embed security into every layer of the enterprise technology stack. They will play a critical role in future‑proofing the enterprise security posture by integrating cutting‑edge security capabilities and ensuring alignment with global financial services regulatory expectations. This role will have up to 10% domestic/international travel during the fiscal year. Role Objectives Define and mature the global enterprise security architecture strategy, ensuring alignment with business goals, risk appetite, and regulatory obligations. Develop and maintain multi‑year security roadmaps, integrating emerging technologies, regulatory shifts, and industry best practices. Proactively plan for future‑state architecture capabilities to address AI/agentic system security, zero trust, and cloud‑native resilience. Act as a senior advisor to the Head of Enterprise Security Architecture, CISO, and Technology leaders. Drive enterprise‑wide architectural governance, ensuring consistency across global regions, platforms, and regulatory jurisdictions. Champion innovation and future‑proofing, continuously evaluating new technologies. Evaluate cloud‑native services and emerging technologies, recommending secure integration strategies. Define guardrails, standards, and patterns that ensure scalable and resilient security strategy. Architect enterprise controls for AI/ML systems, mitigating risks such as adversarial attacks, data poisoning, model drift, and prompt injection. Design governance models for agentic systems (autonomous AI agents) to ensure safety, accountability, and alignment with regulatory expectations. Embed AI risk management frameworks (NIST AI RMF, EU AI Act) into enterprise security strategy. Partner with AI/ML, data science, and enterprise architecture teams to ensure secure innovation in AI adoption. Support regulatory reviews and audits, providing enterprise‑level architectural evidence and strategic risk insights. i.e. NYSDFS, FRB, FFIEC, GDPR, CCPA, etc. Conduct proactive risk‑based architecture reviews for global initiatives, cloud migrations, digital transformation, and AI deployments. Represent security architecture in enterprise‑wide architecture boards, steering committees, and governance forums. Collaborate with enterprise architects, technology strategists, and regional security teams to ensure global alignment. Mentor and develop future security architects, raising organizational technical depth and strategic foresight. Qualifications and Skills Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Security, or related field (or equivalent experience). 12+ years of progressive cybersecurity experience, with extensive exposure to enterprise and cloud security architecture. Demonstrated experience developing and executing enterprise security strategies and roadmaps in a global, regulated financial services environment. Proven track record of leading proactive planning, future‑proofing security capabilities, and driving innovation. Proven expertise across multiple domains including cloud security (Azure, AWS, GCP), data protection (KMS/HSM, PKI, tokenization, data masking, data residency), network architecture, application security, identity & access management, and zero trust. Application & API Security: DevSecOps integration, API gateways, container/Kubernetes security. Infrastructure & Network Security: Segmentation, cloud‑native firewalls, IDS/IPS, VPNs. AI/Agentic Security: Adversarial ML defense, AI pipeline security, model governance, agentic system controls, NIST AI RMF alignment. Strong knowledge of enterprise architecture frameworks (e.g., TOGAF, SABSA, Zachman) and security frameworks (e.g., NIST CSF, CIS, CRI Profile, CISA, ISO 27001). Deep understanding of regulatory and compliance obligations in highly regulated industries (NYDFS 23 NYCRR 500, FFIEC, GDPR, ISO 27001, NIST CSF) Exceptional communication and influencing skills; able to work with executives, regulators, and engineers alike. Preferred certifications include CISSP, CISM, CISA, CRISC, SABSA, TOGAF, CCSP, AWS/Azure/GCP Security, NIST AI RMF Practitioner, GIAC Artificial Intelligence Security (AIS), or equivalent emerging certifications. Additional Requirements SMBC’s employees participate in a Hybrid workforce model that provides employees with an opportunity to work from home, as well as from an SMBC office. SMBC requires that employees live within a reasonable commuting distance of their office location. Prospective candidates will learn more about their specific hybrid work schedule during their interview process. Hybrid work may not be permitted for certain roles, including, for example, certain FINRA‑registered roles for which in‑office attendance for the entire workweek is required. SMBC provides reasonable accommodations during candidacy for applicants with disabilities consistent with applicable federal, state, and local law. If you need a reasonable accommodation during the application process, please let us know at View email address on click.appcast.io. EOE, including Disability/veterans #J-18808-Ljbffr SMBC