{"id":4044560,"url":"https://alion.io/job/astrazeneca-director-forward-deployed-security-architecture","title":"Director, Forward Deployed Security Architecture","company":{"id":13195,"name":"AstraZeneca","domain":"astrazeneca.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/astra-zeneca","size_band":"1001-5000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Workday","truth_index":{"grade":"A","score":94,"open_postings":172,"ghost_share":0.012,"stale_share":0.366,"repost_share":0.105,"time_to_fill_p50_days":19,"computed_at":"2026-11-10T06:52:35Z"}},"role":"Solutions","role_family":"Solutions","seniority":"head","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"hybrid","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Gaithersburg, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":169320,"max":222232,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":222232},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":null,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"AI Agents","optional":false},{"name":"CI/CD","optional":false},{"name":"Platform Engineering","optional":false},{"name":"Threat Modeling","optional":false},{"name":"Zero Trust","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-11-10T23:24:13Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-11-10","last_verified_at":"2026-11-10T23:24:13Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":0,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":0},"description":"WHY JOIN US?\nAt AstraZeneca, we are dedicated to being a Great Place to Work, where you are empowered to push the boundaries of science and unleash your entrepreneurial spirit. With an ambitious goal of delivering 20 new medicines by 2030, there is no better place to make a difference in medicine, for patients, and in society.\nJoin us on this exciting journey to pioneer the future of healthcare. Our inclusive culture champions diversity and collaboration, and we are always committed to lifelong learning, growth, and development. As part of our team, you'll contribute to groundbreaking advancements that will shape a healthier future for people everywhere. Be a catalyst for change at AstraZeneca, where your work will have a real impact on improving people's lives.\nRecognizing the importance of individualized flexibility, our ways of working allow employees to balance personal and work commitments while ensuring we continue to create a strong culture of collaboration and teamwork by engaging face-to-face in our offices 3 days a week. Our head office is purposely designed with collaboration in mind, providing space where teams can come together to strategize, brainstorm and connect on key projects.\nThis role is located in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Candidates must reside within commuting distance of Gaithersburg or be willing to relocate for this opportunity.\nThe Mission\n Make secure engineering practices consumable, measurable, and scalable. Drive adoption of Secure by Design cybersecurity products; provide forward-deployed security architecture support; improve cybersecurity-related developer experience; operate cybersecurity-specific decision and exception services; enable secure AI and agentic engineering; and use product intelligence and consumer feedback to continuously improve the secure path.\nAbout the Role\n The Director, Forward-Deployed Security Architecture & DevEx is a technical leader responsible for establishing and leading a team within the cybersecurity architecture function focused on engineering enablement, developer experience, AI adoption, and security architecture advisory. The role works directly with software, platform, cloud, data, AI, and operational technology teams to help them adopt secure engineering practices at scale.\nThis is not a traditional governance or review-board role. It requires a leader who combines cybersecurity architecture expertise, software-development credibility, AI experience, product thinking, and a strong focus on improving the developer and engineer experience. The role will initially operate hands-on and will build a multidisciplinary team as the capability matures.\nWhat you'll do:\nLead Secure by Design Cybersecurity Adoption\nLead adoption of secure engineering practices, reusable security solutions, and cybersecurity architecture products.\nPartner directly with engineering teams to reduce security-related friction and improve usability.\nIncrease self-service consumption of cybersecurity capabilities.\nHelp teams navigate complex application, cloud, platform, AI, data, and OT security challenges.\nAdvise teams building AI-enabled applications and agentic systems as part of Secure by Design adoption.\nSupport secure adoption of AI-assisted software development and emerging engineering practices.\nUse adoption measures and engineering feedback to identify friction and improve cybersecurity architecture products.\nLead Forward-Deployed Cybersecurity Architecture\nAct as a trusted cybersecurity architecture advisor to engineering teams.\nProvide security architecture guidance for complex and high-impact initiatives.\nHelp teams apply cybersecurity requirements to real-world delivery challenges.\nTurn recurring security architecture questions into reusable solutions and guidance.\nOwn Cybersecurity Developer Experience (DevEx)\nDefine and improve the developer experience associated with cybersecurity requirements and controls.\nReduce friction in secure development workflows.\nPartner with engineering-platform teams to improve delivery of cybersecurity capabilities.\nEnsure cybersecurity feedback is actionable, contextual, and developer-friendly.\nOperate Cybersecurity Architecture Decision & Exception Services\nLead cybersecurity architecture decision and exception processes.\nCoordinate reviews of complex or non-standard cybersecurity scenarios.\nOversee cybersecurity decision workflows, documentation, tracking, and reporting.\nIdentify recurring cybersecurity exceptions and drive long-term solutions that reduce future demand.\nUse exception trends and service measures to improve the off-road process and expand reusable paved-road solutions.\nOperate the service without assuming enterprise architecture approval authority or business risk acceptance.\nBuild Cybersecurity Communities and Champion Networks\nEstablish security champion programs and communities of practice.\nPromote secure engineering culture across software, cloud, AI, platform, data, and OT teams.\nDevelop enablement content, learning paths, and engagement programs.\nCreate sustainable mechanisms for scaling cybersecurity expertise.\nBuild and Lead the Forward-Deployed Security Architecture Organization\nEstablish the vision, operating model, and roadmap for the function.\nRecruit and develop a high-performing multidisciplinary team.\nBuild a scalable capability spanning cybersecurity architecture, secure engineering enablement, AI security, adoption insight, and developer experience.\nCreate strong partnerships across cybersecurity, architecture, engineering, platform, AI, data, OT, and risk organizations.\nTechnical Qualifications\nBachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, information technology, cybersecurity, or a comparable discipline, or equivalent professional experience.\nSignificant experience in cybersecurity architecture, secure software development, platform engineering, developer experience, or related technical disciplines.\nStrong understanding of modern software delivery, version control, CI/CD, APIs, cloud-native architectures, containers, infrastructure as code, and policy as code.\nExperience with threat modeling, application security, cloud security, identity, Zero Trust, supply-chain security, and runtime controls.\nPractical experience with generative AI, AI-assisted development, or agentic systems and their security implications.\nAbility to engage credibly with engineering teams on code, architecture, automation, and developer workflows.\nFamiliarity with OT/ICS security and regulated or safety-sensitive environments is desirable.\nLeadership & Business Experience\nDemonstrated experience leading complex technical programs, services, or architecture functions.\nExperience establishing or scaling a new technical capability and building high-performing teams.\nProven ability to influence senior engineering, architecture, product, cybersecurity, and risk stakeholders in a matrixed global organization.\nExperience applying product thinking to internal technology or cybersecurity capabilities, including roadmaps, adoption measures, consumer feedback, and product intelligence.\nStrong executive communication, stakeholder management, and organizational-change skills.\nAbility to balance cybersecurity outcomes with engineering velocity, operational resilience, safety, and consumer experience.\nExperience in pharmaceuticals, life sciences, healthcare, critical infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, or another regulated industry is preferred.\nSO, WHAT’S NEXT?\nTo be considered for this exciting opportunity, please complete the full application on our website at your earliest convenience - it is the only way that our Recruiter and Hiring Manager can know that you feel well qualified for this opportunity. If you know someone who would be a great fit, please share this posting with them.\nAre you interested in working at AZ, apply today!\nAstraZeneca is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion and providing a workplace that is free from discrimination. AstraZeneca is committed to accommodating persons with disabilities. Such accommodation is available on request in respect of all aspects of the recruitment, assessment and selection process and may be requested by emailing .\n#LI-Hybrid\nThe annual base pay for this position ranges from $169,320.00 - $222,232.50 USD. Base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.\nIn addition, our positions offer a short-term incentive bonus opportunity; eligibility to participate in our equity-based long-term incentive program. Benefits offered included a qualified retirement program [401(k) plan]; paid vacation and holidays; paid leaves; and, health benefits including medical, prescription drug, dental, and vision coverage in accordance with the terms and conditions of the applicable plans.\nAdditional details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment. If hired, employee will be in an “at-will position” and the Company reserves the right to modify base pay (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, Company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.\nDate Posted\n10-Nov-2026Closing Date\n23-Nov-2026Our mission is to build an inclusive environment where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and employees. In furtherance of that mission, we welcome and consider applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of their protected characteristics. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please complete the corresponding section in the application form.","description_format":"text","description_chars":9837,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":null,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Equity","Retirement plans"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":true,"industries":["Information Security","Oncology Therapeutics","Rare Disease Therapeutics","Cardiometabolic Therapeutics"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-11-10T23:24:13Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":86,"band":"hot","label":"Hiring now","p_open":1,"p_active":0.86,"p_room":1,"age_days":0,"expected_fill_days":19,"reasons":["conf:4","win:early","comp:brand"],"computed_at":"2026-11-11T03:40:06Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":222232,"is_top_pay":false},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/astrazeneca-director-forward-deployed-security-architecture","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/astrazeneca-director-forward-deployed-security-architecture.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-11-11T03:40:06Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":3181,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-11-12T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.1,"usd":0.01,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":13195},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=13195"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fastrazeneca-director-forward-deployed-security-architecture"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":2,"usd":0.2},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fastrazeneca-director-forward-deployed-security-architecture"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.1,"usd":0.01},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fastrazeneca-director-forward-deployed-security-architecture"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/astrazeneca-director-forward-deployed-security-architecture\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fastrazeneca-director-forward-deployed-security-architecture"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":4044560}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"astrazeneca.com","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":4044560},"note":"people open to offers who fit this vacancy"}],"note":"The same data through MCP tools: https://alion.io/mcp/open needs no sign-in (compact searches, postings, people); https://alion.io/mcp with an Alion account has everything. Docs: https://alion.io/developers"}}