Job Title: Security Architect with Java exp
Location: Austin`, TX
Duration: Contract
Role Summary
We are looking for a Security Architect to own the security architecture and design assurance of enterprise web applications and services. You will review and define application security architecture, identify design-level weaknesses, specify the correct target-state design, and establish reusable secure-design patterns and assurance standards that engineering teams build to.
This is a design-authority role. The emphasis is on architectural judgement trust boundaries, identity and authorization models, and data-protection design rather than on tool operation or test execution.
Key Responsibilities
Security architecture and design review
Review the security architecture of enterprise applications and services: trust boundaries, identity and tenancy models, authorization models, and sensitive-data flows
Conduct threat modelling (STRIDE or equivalent) with engineering teams and derive prioritized, testable review plans from the model
Identify design-level weaknesses that automated tooling does not surface perimeter and gateway bypass, internal-trust assumptions that fail under external exposure, loss of end-user identity across service-to-service hops, and client-side-enforced tenant isolation
Review authentication and authorization architecture: OAuth2/OIDC usage, token validation completeness, service-to-service authentication, and object- and function-level authorization across roles and tenants
Review data-protection design: encryption in transit and at rest, key management, secrets handling, and logging hygiene for sensitive data
Review platform architecture: container and Kubernetes security posture, infrastructure-as-code, and cloud IAM least privilege
Target-state design and patterns
Specify target-state designs for architectural weaknesses, not problem statements alone
Develop and publish reusable secure-design patterns and reference architectures for adoption across engineering teams
Act as the design authority engineering teams consult before implementing security remediation
Feed systemic recommendations into SDLC and CI/CD controls to prevent recurrence
Assurance and standards
Define security review standards, assessment criteria and scoring or rating models, and defend them under challenge
Assess applications against those standards and produce the resulting assurance findings and ratings
Provide technical direction and quality assurance for a small security review team, including offshore members
Mentor engineers in architecture-level security review
Stakeholder engagement
Partner with central information security functions on assessment scope, coverage and findings
Advise application owners and engineering leads on remediation design and prioritization
Escalate risks and blockers clearly and early
Required Skills and Experience
10+ years in application or product security, including time in a named security architect or design authority role on enterprise systems
Demonstrable track record of identifying design-level security weaknesses and specifying target-state designs that were adopted
Experience authoring reference architectures or secure-design patterns used by multiple engineering teams
Experience on, or running, an architecture or design review board or equivalent design gate
Threat modelling at architecture level, including facilitating sessions with teams new to the practice
Java and Spring Boot secure design and code review, including Spring Security and API gateway layers; awareness of reactive/non-blocking codebases
Identity and access architecture OAuth2/OIDC, JWT validation, federated enterprise identity providers, service-to-service authentication (HMAC-signed requests, app-to-app token exchange), session and token lifecycle
Multi-tenant authorization architecture broken object- and function-level authorization, tenant isolation design and verification
Cloud and container security architecture Kubernetes and Helm, container hardening, infrastructure-as-code review, cloud IAM across at least two major providers
Working knowledge of OWASP ASVS, OWASP Top 10, OWASP API Security Top 10, and CVSS v4.0
Experience handling confidential or regulated data under a formal classification scheme
Ability to build the security model of a proprietary or undocumented internal framework from its source code
Strong written communication designs, findings and rationale must be actionable by engineers
Ability to influence without direct authority, and to work credibly with both central security functions and delivery teams
Preferred:
AI / LLM application security architecture retrieval-augmented generation design, tenant isolation on retrieval, prompt and template provenance, treating model output as untrusted, agent and tool credential scope, Model Context Protocol (MCP) exposure
Hands-on security testing or penetration testing background, sufficient to validate and demonstrate a finding
API security architecture and authorization-matrix testing
Software supply chain, SBOM and dependency risk management
Experience establishing a security assurance programme where no formal process previously existed
Familiarity with enterprise CI/CD security gates (SAST, SCA, secrets scanning)
Certifications
Demonstrable architectural depth is weighted above certification. One or more of the following is expected:
CISSP, CSSLP, CISSP-ISSAP, or SABSA
Valuable additions: CCSP, CKS, OSCP, GWAPT, or a recognized threat-modelling credential
