Security Design Architect in City of London

This organisation is redefining what’s possible in European defence technology, delivering speed, resilience, and technological independence at a pace that sets a new standard. They are seeking a Principal Security Specialist to take a leading role in shaping and executing security strategy across the organisation. This is not a predefined or narrowly scoped position; it is an opportunity for a senior, high-calibre security professional to define standards, build core capabilities, and operate with a high degree of autonomy in a mission-critical environment.

• Lead the design, build, and operation of a centralised SIEM capability, aggregating and analysing logs across infrastructure, networks, and applications.
• Define and drive the organisation’s approach to threat detection, log analysis, and incident response, establishing robust baselines and alerting strategies.
• Set and enforce system and application hardening standards across Linux and Windows environments, ensuring consistent and auditable security controls.
• Oversee vulnerability management practices, ensuring risks are identified, prioritised, and addressed effectively.
• Partner with Information Security and leadership to ensure alignment with regulatory and compliance frameworks (e.g. ELK Stack, OpenSearch, Wazuh, Microsoft Defender), including real-world incident detection and response.
• Establish and maintain high-quality documentation covering security controls, SIEM architecture, incident response procedures, and audit requirements.
• Deep expertise in Linux and Windows system hardening, with strong familiarity across frameworks such as CIS Benchmarks, STIGs, or equivalent.
• The ability to design pragmatic, effective security controls that balance risk with operational efficiency.

Security Clearance: Due to the nature of the work, applicants must be British citizens (or dual nationals with British citizenship) and eligible for UK Security Clearance (SC), with the potential requirement for Developed Vetting (DV).

A fast-paced, execution-focused environment where security decisions have immediate and tangible impact. Competitive compensation and meaningful equity aligned to impact and responsibility.