Director of Security Architecture, Threat Modeling and Security Champions

You Lead the Way. We’ve Got Your Back.

With the right backing, people and businesses have the power to progress in incredible ways. When you join Team Amex, you become part of a global and diverse community of colleagues with an unwavering commitment to back our customers, communities and each other. Here, you’ll learn and grow as we help you create a career journey that’s unique and meaningful to you with benefits, programs, and flexibility that support you personally and professionally.

At American Express, you’ll be recognized for your contributions, leadership, and impact—every colleague has the opportunity to share in the company’s success. Together, we’ll win as a team, striving to uphold our company values and powerful backing promise to provide the world’s best customer experience every day. And we’ll do it with the utmost integrity, and in an environment where everyone is seen, heard and feels like they belong.

Join Team Amex and let's lead the way together.

How will you make an impact in this role?

American Express is seeking a Director of Security Architecture, Threat Modeling and Security Champions Program with proven strong technical competence in developing, building and maintaining security architectures, secure design & secure coding patterns. The Director for Security Architecture, Threat Modeling and Security Champions Program leads a team of security architects and threat modeling engineers in developing comprehensive security patterns across TRIS, to enhance the organization’s security posture.

The B40, Director of Security Architecture, Threat Modeling and Security Champions supports the security champion practice by evangelizing security architecture, secure design and secure coding controls.

Primary Responsibilities: 

• Establish, build and implement security architecture and security by design frameworks.
• Formalize security architecture artifacts and establish future state architecture profiles.
• Build and implement processes to review and adopt security architectures in alignment with the enterprise architecture function. Collaborate with enterprise architecture to ensure that security architectures are aligned with enterprise architecture outcomes.
• Lead the development and delivery of holistic TRIS enterprise security architecture decision records for appropriate placement in the Enterprise Architecture Portal.
• Build and implement an integrated threat-driven architecture program that serve as inputs to the security architecture design process.
• Lead the design, development and automation of comprehensive secure design patterns and secure coding standards.
• Lead the simplification and delivery of TRIS integrated secure design patterns and threat library uplifts.
• Lead the socialization and integration of security architecture, design patterns and secure coding standards with enterprise architecture and engineering teams.
• Ensure ongoing security governance and follow-through of issued security requirements with application owners to ensure identified requirements are implemented.
• Lead control validation and implementation of threat-based countermeasures against outputs of scanning tools to enable auditability and verifiability.
• Implement and operationalize security architecture and threat modeling GenAI assistants and Copilots.
• Consistently enable strong developer and customer experience when liaising with application teams.

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, information systems, cybersecurity, or a related field.

Security and Technical Experience:

• 15+ years of information security strategy, architecture, design and security solutioning experience.
• Direct hands-on experience with security architecture and threat modeling frameworks.
• Direct hands-on experience with implementing information security controls.
• Strong familiarity with IAM, cryptography, application security, cloud and infrastructure security controls.
• Experience with industry security standards and frameworks.
• Full stack knowledge of application, database architectures and programming languages.

Preferred Security Certifications

• CISSP, CISM, CISA, ISSAP, SABSA, TOGAF, SANS GIAC certifications.

Key Behaviors/Competencies:

• Autonomous, self-directed, team Player, strong technical thinker.
• Strong planning, execution and collaborative skills
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Takes personal responsibility for learning and upskilling. Acquires strategies for gaining new knowledge, behaviors and skills. Builds on and applies existing knowledge. Engages in learning from others, inside and outside the organization.
• Demonstrates flexibility within a variety of changing situations, while working with individuals and groups.
• Builds and demonstrates strong business acumen.

We back our colleagues and their loved ones with benefits and programs that support their holistic well-being. That means we prioritize their physical, financial, and mental health through each stage of life. Benefits include:

• Competitive base salaries 
• Bonus incentives 
• Support for financial-well-being and retirement 
• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability benefits (depending on location) 
• Flexible working model with hybrid, onsite or virtual arrangements depending on role and business need 
• Generous paid parental leave policies (depending on your location) 
• Free access to global on-site wellness centers staffed with nurses and doctors (depending on location) 
• Free and confidential counseling support through our Healthy Minds program 
• Career development and training opportunities

American Express is committed to providing an inclusive and accessible work environment in which all people who apply for positions or who work for or on behalf of Amex are treated with dignity and respect and are provided with equal treatment with respect to employment, regardless of that person's age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, race, colour, ancestry, ethnic or national origin, citizenship, religion or creed, marital status, family status, pregnancy, disability, record of offences, social condition or origin, political beliefs, association or activity or other factors prohibited under applicable Human Rights legislation (the “Prohibited Grounds”).   If you have a disability and need accommodation, please speak with the Recruiter for more information.

Offer of employment with American Express is conditioned upon the successful completion of a background verification check, subject to applicable laws and regulations.