Cyber Systems Security Engineering Prin - E6

The Cyber Systems Security Engineer Principal will serve as the senior cybersecurity technical authority for the UAE Cybersecurity Center of Excellence. The role will define and govern secure architectures, engineering practices, accreditation strategies, and technical integration across a complex, multi-partner, five-year program. Working with program leadership, UAE stakeholders, and local and international delivery partners, this position will ensure the Center's platforms, services, and operating model are secure, resilient, compliant, interoperable, scalable, and ready for sustainable UAE ownership.

Key responsibilities include:

• Serve as the principal cybersecurity engineering advisor and technical authority for architecture, systems security engineering, risk management, accreditation, integration, and technical readiness.
• Develop and maintain the program's cybersecurity engineering strategy, reference architectures, security design principles, technical standards, engineering governance, and system security lifecycle processes.
• Translate UAE policy, mission needs, contractual obligations, data-sovereignty requirements, and recognized cybersecurity frameworks into requirements, controls, architecture decisions, verification methods, and operating procedures.
• Lead secure architecture and engineering across the National Maturity Dashboard, Learning Experience Platform, readiness and reporting capabilities, innovation platforms, audit services, threat intelligence, and future sectoral SOC capabilities.
• Apply systems security engineering throughout requirements analysis, architecture development, design reviews, implementation, integration, testing, deployment, sustainment, and Build-Operate-Transfer activities.
• Establish and guide risk-management and accreditation approaches aligned with applicable UAE requirements, NIST RMF, the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, NIST SP 800-series guidance, and ISO/IEC 27001.
• Lead threat modeling, attack-surface analysis, control allocation, security trade studies, vulnerability analysis, and technical risk assessments for cloud, enterprise IT, OT/ICS, data, and interconnected platform environments.
• Define secure integration patterns for identity and access management, role-based access, encryption, logging and monitoring, APIs, data exchange, privacy, data residency, configuration management, and third-party connections.
• Advise on SOC design and modernization, threat intelligence, SIEM/SOAR integration, incident response, cyber-physical security, and operational resilience for government, defense, and critical-infrastructure use cases.
• Lead technical interchange meetings, architecture reviews, cybersecurity working groups, design and readiness reviews, control reviews, test-readiness reviews, and executive technical briefings.
• Evaluate partner designs and deliverables for technical adequacy, security, interoperability, compliance, scalability, and alignment with the Center's target operating model.
• Identify and resolve critical cross-pillar technical issues and dependencies; develop recovery and corrective-action plans for architecture, integration, accreditation, cybersecurity, and delivery challenges.
• Develop technical roadmaps supporting capability maturity, platform convergence, emerging technology adoption, commercialization opportunities, and evolution of the UAE cybersecurity ecosystem.
• Mentor engineers, architects, analysts, and UAE counterparts; establish playbooks, reusable patterns, training, and knowledge-transfer mechanisms that enable independent local operations.
• Represent the program with senior government, defense, industry, academic, and technology stakeholders and support capture, proposals, solution development, and program expansion.

• Bachelor's degree in cybersecurity, computer science, information technology, systems engineering, engineering, or a related discipline, with extensive relevant cybersecurity and systems-engineering experience.
• Demonstrated experience serving as a senior cybersecurity engineer, architect, technical fellow, chief engineer, CTO, CISO, or equivalent technical authority for complex government, defense, intelligence, critical-infrastructure, or commercial programs.
• Extensive knowledge of cybersecurity architecture, systems security engineering, governance, risk management, accreditation, security operations, and enterprise technology modernization.
• Experience developing secure system and enterprise architectures across complex, interconnected environments that may include on-premises systems, hybrid cloud, software platforms, networks, data services, and cyber-physical or operational technology.
• Demonstrated experience applying NIST RMF and NIST SP 800-series controls or equivalent risk and accreditation methods to obtain or maintain authorization in complex or high-risk environments.
• Experience designing, implementing, modernizing, or governing Security Operations Centers and associated monitoring, threat intelligence, incident response, SIEM, SOAR, and resilience capabilities.
• Experience with cybersecurity control frameworks and regulatory or contractual requirements such as NIST Cybersecurity Framework, NIST SP 800-171, ISO/IEC 27001, DFARS, ITAR, EAR, SOX, PCI-DSS, or comparable standards.
• Demonstrated ability to translate policy, mission, regulatory, contractual, and customer requirements into secure architectures, engineering requirements, implementation plans, verification evidence, and operational controls.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary and matrixed teams of cybersecurity engineers, architects, IT professionals, software or platform teams, operations personnel, and external partners.
• Experience identifying and resolving unusually complex and sensitive technical issues, developing executable courses of action, and advising senior or executive leadership on cybersecurity risk and investment decisions.
• Strong understanding of identity and access management, network security, cloud security, data protection, secure interfaces, logging and monitoring, vulnerability management, configuration management, and incident response.
• Demonstrated experience leading architecture reviews, security design reviews, technical risk assessments, accreditation activities, technical recovery efforts, or major modernization initiatives.
• Strong executive communication, facilitation, and technical writing skills, including the ability to communicate complex engineering and cyber-risk issues to government, business, and technical audiences.
• Experience working across international organizations, partners, regulatory environments, or data-sovereignty requirements and collaborating effectively across cultures and time zones.
• Ability and willingness to work in or travel regularly to the UAE and support in-country customer, partner, engineering, and program activities.
• Ability to satisfy applicable security-clearance, export-control, information-handling, and customer-access requirements for a defense-related international program.

• Advanced degree in computer science, cybersecurity, information systems, technology management, systems engineering, or a related discipline.
• Current professional certifications such as CISSP, CCISO, CEH, CND, GIAC, CCSP, SABSA, TOGAF, or comparable cybersecurity and architecture credentials.
• Current or recent U.S. Top Secret clearance, SCI eligibility, or experience supporting highly classified and sensitive missions.
• Prior experience as a technical fellow, distinguished engineer, chief cyber engineer, enterprise architect, CIO, CTO, deputy CISO, or equivalent senior technical leader.
• Experience working with UAE or GCC government, defense, cybersecurity, critical-infrastructure, academic, or commercial stakeholders.
• Knowledge of UAE cybersecurity governance, data-protection, data-sovereignty, critical-infrastructure, cloud, accreditation, and entity-assurance requirements.
• Experience with international frameworks and requirements such as Australia's Essential Eight, UK cybersecurity practices, cross-border data residency, or multinational technology and trade compliance.
• Experience leading Microsoft 365, Azure, AWS, secure cloud, hybrid-cloud, zero-trust, or enterprise digital-transformation initiatives.
• Experience with cybersecurity maturity dashboards, readiness platforms, audit and accreditation programs, entity assessments, professional competency assessments, or national-level cyber metrics.
• Experience with OT/ICS security, cyber-physical systems, critical-infrastructure protection, bio-cybersecurity, or other specialized mission environments.
• Experience recovering complex programs, conducting return-to-green assessments, rebuilding customer confidence, and aligning leadership, people, process, technology, and delivery.
• Experience managing large cybersecurity portfolios, R&D investments, technology roadmaps, budgets, and geographically distributed technical organizations.
• Demonstrated contribution to business growth through technical capture, proposals, solution development, customer shaping, innovation, or commercialization of cybersecurity capabilities.
• Experience developing cybersecurity professionals through mentoring, formal instruction, curriculum development, research, publications, or university engagement.
• Experience supporting executive, board, national-security, law-enforcement, or high-visibility government stakeholders in sensitive operational environments.