First VP, Security Architect

About UOB

United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB) is a leading bank in Asia with a global network of more than 500 branches and offices in 19 countries and territories in Asia Pacific, Europe and North America. In Asia, we operate through our head office in Singapore and banking subsidiaries in China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, as well as branches and offices. Our history spans more than 80 years. Over this time, we have been guided by our values - Honorable, Enterprising, United and Committed. This means we always strive to do what is right, build for the future, work as one team and pursue long-term success. It is how we work, consistently, be it towards the company, our colleagues or our customers.

Job Description

The Bank is seeking an experienced and hands-on technical Security Architect to provide senior-level security architecture expertise across AI, cloud, blockchain/digital assets and other emerging technologies. The role will assess solution designs, define practical security requirements, develop reusable architecture patterns and help project teams adopt new technologies securely.

The incumbent will work closely with project teams, domain architects, infrastructure architects, cloud platform teams, application teams, risk/control functions and cyber security SMEs to identify control gaps early, provide pragmatic security recommendations and support security-by-design across Group initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

1. Technical Security Architecture Review

• Perform technical security architecture reviews for complex and high-impact projects across the Group.
• Assess solution architecture, data flows, trust boundaries, identity flows, network connectivity, integration patterns, hosting models and operational controls.
• Identify security design gaps early and provide practical recommendations that can be implemented by project and engineering teams.
• Document security requirements, residual risks, assumptions, dependencies and required evidence in a clear and traceable manner.
• Support review of architecture changes, change requests and deviations from approved security patterns.

2. AI / GenAI Security Architecture

• Review AI and GenAI use cases from a security architecture perspective, including selected platform, provider, region, components, data flow, prompt/input/output handling, logging and monitoring design.
• Assess AI-specific risks such as prompt injection, data leakage, unsafe output, model or data poisoning, model theft, agent/tool abuse and AI supply chain exposure.
• Define security requirements for AI agents, RAG, AI-assisted development, model onboarding, model repositories and AI workload protection.
• Work with AI governance, engineering and security SMEs to ensure AI controls are embedded into existing SDLC, architecture review and risk assessment processes.
• Provide technical input for AI security testing requirements, guardrails and ongoing monitoring.

3. Blockchain, Digital Assets & Emerging Technology Security

• Provide security architecture review and technical advisory for blockchain, digital asset, tokenisation, custody and wallet-related designs.
• Assess security risks relating to private key protection, wallet architecture, cryptographic controls, smart contracts, transaction approval flows, on-chain/off-chain integration and public blockchain exposure.
• Review architecture considerations for emerging areas such as quantum-safe security, confidential computing, privacy-enhancing technologies and advanced cryptographic controls.
• Identify whether new security standards, review criteria or control baselines are required for emerging technology adoption.
• Collaborate with relevant SMEs where specialist cryptography, legal, regulatory, operational or infrastructure input is required.

4. Cloud & Platform Security Architecture

• Review cloud and cloud-native architectures across public cloud, private cloud, SaaS, PaaS, container platforms and Kubernetes-based workloads.
• Define security requirements for landing zones, workload isolation, network connectivity, IAM, privileged access, key management, encryption, logging, monitoring and data protection.
• Assess cloud adoption for production workloads, AI workloads and customer-sensitive data with consideration of regulatory expectations and Bank risk appetite.
• Provide technical input on sovereign cloud, multi-cloud, confidential computing, infrastructure-as-code and policy-as-code patterns.
• Work with cloud/platform teams to improve reusable cloud security patterns and control consistency.

5. Security Architecture Standards, Patterns & Technical Enablement

• Develop and maintain security architecture principles, technical standards, reusable design patterns and review checklists.
• Contribute to the Security Architecture and Technology Landscape by identifying gaps, overlaps and areas for improvement across security technology domains.
• Support security-by-design by giving clear guidance to projects during early architecture and solution-planning stages.
• Produce technical position papers or short architecture notes for new technology areas when required.
• Share practical knowledge with other security architects and project teams, without assuming formal people-management responsibility.

Requirements

• Degree in Information Security, Computer Science/Engineering or related discipline. Master Degree in Information Security or Computer Science is a plus.
• More than 15 years of cyber security experience, with strong hands-on experience in security architecture, security engineering, application security, cloud security or technology risk reviews.
• Demonstrated experience reviewing complex architecture designs in large enterprise, financial institution, regulated, cloud or technology environments.
• Strong technical knowledge across AI/GenAI, blockchain, cloud, application, API, IAM, data protection, cryptography, security monitoring and secure SDLC domains.
• Ability to read architecture diagrams, challenge design assumptions, identify control gaps and propose implementable security patterns.
• Strong hands-on technical depth and ability to work independently as a senior individual contributor.
• Balanced risk judgement, with ability to enable business innovation while maintaining security-by-design discipline.
• Practical communication style, able to explain technical security concerns clearly to architecture, engineering, project and risk stakeholders.
• Comfortable working across multiple technology domains rather than being limited to a single platform or product.
• Curiosity and ability to quickly assess new technologies where security standards are still evolving.

Preferred Domain Knowledge

• Practical understanding of GenAI, LLMs, AI agents, RAG, AI platforms and open-source AI ecosystems.
• Knowledge of AI security threats, AI threat modelling, AI red teaming, prompt injection mitigation, AI guardrails and secure AI lifecycle practices.
• Familiarity with AI model governance, model onboarding, model supply chain security and AI platform security.
• Experience with one or more major AI/cloud platforms such as Microsoft Copilot, Azure OpenAI or equivalent platforms is preferred.
• Awareness of NIST AI RMF, OWASP Top 10 for LLM Applications, MITRE ATLAS, CSA AI controls and relevant regulatory expectations.
• Blockchain/digital asset security, including custody, wallet/key management, tokenisation, smart contract controls and public blockchain risk considerations.
• Application and API security, including authentication, authorization, secure integration, secure coding, software supply chain and DevSecOps controls.

Additional Requirements

Be a Part of the UOB Family

UOB is an equal opportunity employer. UOB does not discriminate on the basis of a candidate's age, race, gender, color, religion, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, or other non-merit factors. All employment decisions at UOB are based on business needs, job requirements and qualifications. If you require any assistance or accommodations to be made for the recruitment process, please inform us when you submit your online application.

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