Senior Information Security Architect

Who We Are

Join a team that puts its People First! Since 1889, First American (NYSE: FAF) has held an unwavering belief in its people. They are passionate about what they do, and we are equally passionate about fostering an environment where all feel welcome, supported, and empowered to be innovative and reach their full potential. Our inclusive, people-first culture has earned our company numerous accolades, including being named to the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® list for nine consecutive years. We have also earned awards as a best place to work for women, diversity and LGBTQ+ employees, and have been included on more than 50 regional best places to work lists. First American will always strive to be a great place to work, for all. For more information, please visit www.careers.firstam.com.

What We Do

We are seeking an experienced and highly skilled Senior Security Architect to join our growing Information Security team. This role will actively participate in designing, implementing, and overseeing the security architecture of complex systems ensuring their integrity, confidentiality, and availability. You will also play a key role in security architecture design reviews, collaborate with Technology Governance Board, and create and maintain security documentation to support compliance, risk assessment and security posture improvement. The ideal candidate will develop and articulate a robust security strategy encompassing network, application, identity, data and cloud environments, ensuring proactive management of cyber risks. This role requires significant experience with cloud security, specifically with Azure and AWS to safeguard cloud-based infrastructure & applications.

What You'll Do

• Collaborate closely with IT infrastructure, application development, DevSecOps, and business teams to embed security principles throughout technology development and deployment phases.
• Play a key role in security architecture design reviews and create and maintain baseline security documentation to support compliance, risk management and security posture improvement.
• Actively participate in Technology Governance Board to evaluate new technologies, access their security risks, and provide recommendations for adoption to meet First American’s security policies and compliance requirements.
• Architect and implement security controls for cloud environment leveraging best practices for securing AWS and Azure infrastructure, services and applications.
• Stay up to date with the latest cloud security trends, tools, and services applying them to our cloud security strategy.
• Work with Cybersecurity and other technology teams to enhance security controls and capabilities.
• Maintain expertise in security regulations and frameworks (e.g., NIST, ISO 27001, PCI DSS) to design systems and processes that protect data and demonstrate adherence to industry standards.
• Formulate and communicate a comprehensive security architecture strategy to safeguard First American’ information and data assets, focusing on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
• Continuously monitor emerging threats and industry standards to evolve our security posture.
• Define, document, and promote security architecture and technical standards across First American.
• Lead the design and implementation of comprehensive security strategies for networks, applications, identity, data and cloud environments, effectively countering existing and emerging threats.
• Cross train a team of Cybersecurity Architects providing cyber technical leadership across cybersecurity domains.
• Direct hands-on design reviews and implementation assessments of security solutions across network, application, identity, data and cloud domains.
• Assess security risks in existing and planned systems, establishing technical security standards and governance processes.
• Recommend design patterns and security best practices for technology implementations.
• Support the development of reference architectures and associated reusable work products and assessment assets including detailed designs that provide deployable building blocks.
• Research, evaluate, and recommend state-of-the-art security technologies and tools.

WHAT YOU'LL BRING

• Required Education, Experience, Certification/Licensure
• BA/BS degree in Computer Information Systems, Computer Science or equivalent experience is required. Training courses, seminars, certifications or other security related education experience preferred.
• 5+ years of experience in information security, with at least 3 years in security architectures in collaboration with diverse stakeholders.
• Proven experience in designing and reviewing complex security architectures for cloud, on-premises and hybrid environments.
• Strong experience in leading security architecture design reviews and collaborating with cross-functional teams.
• CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Certified Professional) Certification required. AWS and Azure certifications would be good to have.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES (KSAs)

• Must have knowledge of Information Security best practices in Microsoft Entra ID, AWS, and Azure
• Must have the ability to document security baselines and best practices on emerging technologies.
• Must have the ability to understand Threat Modeling of our applications and infrastructure to provide guidance on risk as it relates to vulnerabilities.
• Deep understanding of defense-in-depth strategies, zero-trust models, identity and access management (IAM), threat modeling, key management techniques, vulnerability assessment techniques, and secure coding practices.
• Excellent knowledge of WAF, NG Firewalls, intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS), network segmentation, VPNs, network access control (NAC), DMZ design, and DDoS mitigation.
• Demonstrated experience with secure software development lifecycles (SDLCs), static/dynamic application security testing (SAST/DAST), API security, and secure coding techniques.
• Proficient in cloud security models (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS), cloud-native security tools, encryption and key management, privileged access management (PAM), security posture and compliance within cloud environments.
• Demonstrated knowledge of NIST Cybersecurity Framework, ISO 27001/27002, PCI DSS and other relevant industry guidelines.
• The ability to take concepts from frameworks and benchmarks and apply them practically to the design of security solutions. This includes mapping controls, risk assessment techniques, and documentation in alignment with standards.
• Capacity to align security objectives with broader business and Cybersecurity goals, effectively quantifying risks and prioritizing initiatives for optimal impact.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. The ability to translate technical concepts for non-technical audiences and secure buy-in at the executive level.

Salary Range: $145,000.00-$193,300.00
This hiring range is a reasonable estimate of the base pay range for this position at the time of posting.  Pay is based on a number of factors which may include job-related knowledge, skills, experience, business requirements and geographic location

Disclaimer
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. All personnel may be required to perform duties outside of their normal work hours and/or responsibilities from time to time, as needed.

What We Offer

By choice, we don’t simply accept individuality – we embrace it, we support it, and we thrive on it! Our People First Culture celebrates diversity, equity and inclusion not simply because it’s the right thing to do, but also because it’s the key to our success. We are proud to foster an authentic and inclusive workplace For All. You are free and encouraged to bring your entire, unique self to work. First American is an equal opportunity employer in every sense of the term.

Based on eligibility, First American offers a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, 401k, PTO/paid sick leave and other great benefits like an employee stock purchase plan.