Senior Application Security Analyst

Job Description

Job Description:\n\n The mission of Washington Health Benefit Exchange (Exchange) is to radically improve how Washington residents secure health insurance through innovative and practical solutions, an easy-to-use customer experience, our values of integrity, respect, equity and transparency, and by providing undeniable value to the health care community. The Exchange is a public-private partnership that operates Washington Healthplanfinder, the eligibility and enrollment portal used by one in four Washington residents to obtain health and dental coverage. Through this platform, and with support from a Customer Support Center and statewide network of in-person navigators and brokers, individuals and families can shop, compare and enroll in private, qualified health plans (as defined in the Affordable Care Act) or enroll in Washington Apple Health, the state Medicaid program. The Exchange embraces the following equity statement adopted by our Board of Directors: Equity is fundamental to the mission of the Washington Health Benefit Exchange. The process of advancing toward equity and becoming anti-racist is disruptive and demands vigilance to dismantle deeply entrenched systems of privilege and oppression. While systemic racism is a root cause of many societal inequities, we must also use an intersectional approach to address all forms of bias and oppression, which interact with and often exacerbate racial inequities. To be successful, we must recognize the socioeconomic drivers of health and focus on people and places where needs are greatest. As we listen to community, we must hold ourselves accountable to responding to recommendations to remedy inequitable policies, systems, or practices within the Exchange s area of influence. Our goal is that all Washingtonians have full and equal access to opportunities, power and resources to achieve their full potential. SUMMARY The Senior Application Security Analyst plays a key role in protecting WAHBE’s data and applications by ensuring security controls are effectively integrated throughout the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) across both cloud and on-premises environments. Operating under the guidance of the Application Security Lead, this role serves as a senior technical contributor and collaborates closely with delivery teams, DevOps, architects, IT, and external partners to implement and sustain secure software development practices. This position is responsible for executing application security assessments, threat modeling, and vulnerability management, while supporting risk assessments and ensuring alignment with WAHBE’s security policies and regulatory requirements. The Senior Application Security Analyst helps drive the adoption and continuous improvement of the Secure Software Development Lifecycle (SSDLC) by integrating automated security controls, conducting code reviews, and promoting secure coding standards. Key responsibilities include identifying and mitigating application security risks, supporting incident response activities, and providing actionable guidance to delivery teams for remediation. The role also contributes to strengthening overall application security posture by addressing emerging threats, supporting compliance efforts, and ensuring security best practices are consistently applied across the organization. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES • Serve as a senior subject matter expert for application security across Microsoft Azure and cloud-native architectures including hybrid and multi-cloud environments • Perform and coordinate application security assessments, code reviews to align with WAHBE security policies, industry standards (NIST, OWASP), and regulatory compliance (e.g., Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Internal Revenue Service (IRS)), including API and microservices security assessments • Support the implementation and continuous improvement of the Secure Software Development Lifecycle by integrating security controls and best practices into development and deployment processes • Collaborate with the Delivery team, architects, DevOps engineers to embed security into all phases of the SDLC, including participation in threat modeling, security requirement reviews, and architecture discussions • Review application and solution architectures to identify security weaknesses, attack surfaces, and insecure design patterns, and provide remediation recommendations • Perform security design reviews for web applications, APIs, microservices, containers, and serverless technologies to ensure secure implementation practices are followed • Develop, document, and enforce secure coding standards, secure design guidelines, and application security procedures to ensure consistent and secure development practices • Enhance and lead the Application Security and Penetration Testing program, including performing security and penetration testing and integrating automated security testing into CI/CD pipelines to ensure continuous and effective validation of application security • Conduct vulnerability triage, validation, and risk analysis using security tools, threat intelligence, and manual analysis, including false-positive review and remediation prioritization • Track remediation activities for identified application vulnerabilities and work with development teams to ensure timely resolution or appropriate risk acceptance documentation • Provide technical guidance for remediation planning and recommend compensating controls when immediate remediation is not feasible • Support monitoring and reporting activities by preparing vulnerability metrics, remediation status updates, trend analysis, and risk reports for leadership and stakeholders • Develop and deliver secure coding awareness sessions, technical guidance, and application security training materials for development and engineering teams • Review Requests for Change (RFCs), product enhancements, and system modifications from a security perspective to ensure security impacts and requirements are addressed • Continuously monitor the cloud and on-premise environment for security events, anomalies, and potential threats, and conduct thorough investigations to identify root causes and impacts, containment and recovery from security breaches, and preparation of incident reports, including post-incident analysis and lessons-learned • Partner with Compliance, Risk Management, Audit, Infrastructure Security, and DevOps teams to support audits, regulatory compliance efforts, and secure cloud adoption initiatives • Ensure procedures, processes and technologies align with WAHBE security policies and regulatory compliance (e.g., CMS, IRS) • Work closely with delivery teams to ensure security requirements are factored into user stories and case development (including misuse, abuse, and confuse cases within Agile methodology) • Assess the security posture of new enterprise solutions to be procured by identifying security risk and providing secure cloud adoption guidance • Provide technical security consultation and assessments for cloud environments and containers, with an emphasis on following best practices and conducting comprehensive technical analysis • Collaborate with WAHBE DevOps Team to integrate application security into CI/CD pipeline as part of SSDLC and enforce security in deployment workflows • Assist in maintaining and updating WAHBE Security policies, procedures, and standards ensuring ongoing SSDLC adoption • Collaborate with internal stakeholders, vendors, and external partners to ensure security integration and ongoing compliance, maintaining synchronization with the Security objectives • Assist Application Security Lead in reviewing existing security capabilities and assist in defining roadmap and strategy for security enhancements • Provide regular briefings to Application Security Lead and Information Security Manager (ISM), escalating issues and blockers as necessary • Provide technical guidance on secure development and vulnerability management activities • Stay current on industry trends, emerging threats, and relevant technologies, and communicate key insights to the Application Security Lead • Perform other duties as assigned within the scope of application security QUALIFICATIONS Required: • Seven (7) years of information security experience in specialized roles such as, but not limited to security architecture and design, security control implementation penetration testing, application security, vulnerability management, incident response • Demonstrated knowledge of secure SDLC, secure architecture design, application security concepts, and cloud- architecture including DevSecOps practices and shift-left security integration • Experience performing application security code reviews, roles and permissions matrix reviews, and practical application risk assessments, including manual and automated secure code reviews • Experience working with common vulnerability assessment tools such as Nessus, Rapid7, Nmap, and Burp Suite, including Static Application Security Testing (SAST), Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST), and Software Composition Analysis (SCA) tools • Advanced understanding of emerging cybersecurity threats, including application-layer attacks, API abuse, and software supply chain vulnerabilities • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to “think outside the box” • Experience integrating security in infrastructure-as-code, CI/CD pipelines, and the software development lifecycle, including implementation of automated controls and continuous monitoring and security gates and pipeline enforcement policies • Demonstrates strong interpersonal and collaboration skills, effectively partnering with internal management, staff, and cross-functional teams as well as external partners and vendors Desired: • Bachelor’s degree in engineering, security or a technology related or closely allied field • Experience working with application security methodologies such as OWASP • Demonstrated experience in information security, data security, privacy, and data management, including secure handling of Personally Identifiable Information (PII), application-level encryption, and key management • Experience defining secure architectural requirements, security controls, and configuration standards in compliance with regulatory requirements • Experience working with threat modeling frameworks such as STRIDE and MITRE ATT&CK, including application-specific threat modeling, attack path analysis, and abuse case analysis • Experience developing, reviewing, and updating security standards, procedures, awareness and training, including secure coding standards and developer training programs • Demonstrates a solid understanding of the functions and operations of Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems, Endpoint Detection & Response • Demonstrated experience in managing cyber incident response, including coordination with development teams for rapid patching and hotfix deployment • Advanced understanding of emerging cybersecurity threats, including application-layer attacks, API abuse, and software supply chain vulnerabilities APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS This position will be open until we find a suitable number of candidates to review. If interested, please submit an application with a cover letter as soon as possible. The Exchange reserves the right to close the recruitment at any time. SALARY INFORMATION Full Salary Range: $98,842.00 to $148,263.00 annually, with midpoint at $123,552.00. Hiring Range: $113,668.00 and $123,552.00 annually. This is an estimate of where a qualified candidate can expect to receive an offer. The actual salary offer will consider candidate experience, skills, qualifications, internal equity, and the market. Our compensation policy reserves the salary range above the midpoint for employees who are meeting and exceeding expectations and for growth and development, up to the maximum. BENEFITS Take a peek at our benefits package. WORKING CONDITIONS Core business hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. There are times where irregular hours will be required. The preferred duty station is our Olympia, Washington headquarters. The nature of this role relies heavily on remote and in-person collaboration. While a hybrid remote and on-site schedule may be considered, the position will require flexibility to allow for in-office availability as business needs dictate. Travel requirements will be limited, however there may be occasions where an employee is required to travel and work irregular hours to attend meetings or trainings. Duties of this position require the use of standard office furniture and equipment, including setup for remote work. The employee is responsible for providing and maintaining a safe, ergonomic, and secure workspace at their remote location. The working conditions and physical demands are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS A criminal background screen will be conducted for candidates under final consideration, and if hired, every five years of employment where highly sensitive data is processed or maintained by the position. The incumbent in this role will also be required to complete a federal fingerprint background check. The results of these background screens must meet the Exchange’s eligibility standards. OTHER INFORMATION The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and levels of work being performed. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of responsibilities, duties and skills of personnel so classified. This is not an employment agreement or contract. Management has the exclusive right to alter this job description at any time without notice. The Washington Health Benefit Exchange is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. We participate in E-Verify. You can view the Department of Justice's Right to Work poster here.