Principal Security Engineer

The Principal Security Engineer is responsible for defining and governing the organization's technology strategy, architecture standards, and technology roadmaps across cloud platforms, developer ecosystems, AI technologies, security, and infrastructure services. This role serves as a trusted advisor to executive leadership and provides strategic direction for the design, implementation, and operation of enterprise-scale technology solutions. 

The Principal Security Engineer will lead architecture initiatives spanning Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), GitHub Enterprise, AI platforms, identity services, developer tooling, and cloud governance frameworks while ensuring alignment with business objectives, security requirements, compliance obligations, and financial management goals.  

Key Responsibilities 

Enterprise Architecture & Strategy 

• Develop and maintain enterprise architecture standards, principles, reference architectures, and multi-year technology roadmaps. 

• Guide strategic technology investment decisions and provide architectural leadership to business and technology executives. 

• Lead architecture governance reviews and ensure alignment of technology solutions with enterprise objectives. 

• Evaluate emerging technologies and establish adoption strategies that balance innovation, security, scalability, and cost. 

Multi-Cloud Architecture & Governance 

• Own enterprise cloud architecture and governance across AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). 

• Design and maintain cloud landing zones, network architectures, identity models, security controls, and management frameworks. 

• Establish enterprise standards for Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, Bicep, CloudFormation), automation, and cloud operations. 

• Lead cloud modernization, migration, platform engineering, and transformation initiatives. 

• Develop and maintain cloud governance, FinOps, and operational excellence programs across all cloud providers. 

• Architect secure environments for regulated workloads, including AWS GovCloud and other compliance-sensitive environments. 

GitHub Enterprise & Developer Platform Management 

• Own the architecture, governance, administration, and strategic direction of the organization's GitHub Enterprise platform. 

• Manage GitHub Enterprise licensing, billing structures, organizational hierarchy, repository governance, and platform security. 

• Lead enterprise adoption and governance of GitHub Copilot, AI-assisted development platforms, and modern software engineering capabilities. 

• Establish standards for source code management, CI/CD platforms, developer workflows, and software supply chain security. 

• Partner with engineering leadership to improve developer productivity, platform reliability, and developer experience. 

• Define governance controls for enterprise AI coding assistants and developer tool ecosystems. 

AI Platforms, Governance & Innovation 

• Develop enterprise architectures for AI platforms, generative AI services, foundation models, and AI-enabled business capabilities. 

• Establish governance frameworks for responsible AI adoption, security, compliance, and risk management. 

• Partner with business and engineering teams to enable secure adoption of emerging AI technologies. 

• Evaluate and govern enterprise AI platforms including commercial and cloud-native AI services. 

Security Architecture 

• Establish enterprise security architecture standards across cloud, infrastructure, applications, AI, and developer platforms. 

• Define patterns and controls for identity and access management, privilege management, secrets management, and DevSecOps. 

• Partner with cybersecurity, product security, and engineering organizations to implement security-by-design practices. 

• Ensure architecture decisions support regulatory, contractual, and industry compliance requirements.  

Financial Management & Operational Excellence 

• Lead cloud financial management (FinOps) initiatives across AWS, Azure, GCP, GitHub Enterprise, and AI platforms. 

• Establish governance for consumption, budgeting, licensing, chargeback/showback, and cost optimization. 

• Identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency through automation, standardization, and platform consolidation. 

• Drive continuous improvement programs that reduce technical debt while improving scalability and reliability. 

Leadership & Stakeholder Management 

• Act as a senior technical advisor to executive leadership and technology teams. 

• Lead cross-functional architecture initiatives involving infrastructure, security, software engineering, product, and operations teams. 

• Mentor architects, engineers, and technical leaders across the enterprise. 

• Build strong partnerships with business stakeholders, vendors, and strategic technology partners.  

Required Qualifications 

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Technology, or related field. 

• 15+ years of experience in enterprise architecture, cloud architecture, infrastructure engineering, or technology leadership roles. 

• Deep hands-on expertise with AWS, Azure, and GCP architecture, governance, and operations. 

• Experience administering and governing GitHub Enterprise at enterprise scale. 

• Experience with GitHub Copilot, AI tooling, developer platforms, and software delivery ecosystems. 

• Strong knowledge of enterprise security architecture, cloud security, identity and access management, and governance frameworks. 

• Experience leading cloud migration, transformation, and modernization initiatives. 

• Strong executive communication and stakeholder management skills. 

• Proven ability to balance technology innovation, risk management, and business outcomes.  

Preferred Qualifications 

• AWS Solutions Architect Certification. 

• Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Certification. 

• Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect Certification. 

• Experience with Terraform, Bicep, PowerShell, Python, automation platforms, and API integration. 

• Experience with AI governance, LLM platforms, and enterprise AI enablement. 

• FinOps, ITIL, Security+, or similar architecture and governance certifications.