Senior Security Architect

About the Role

Acuative Middle East is seeking a Senior Security Architect to join their team in Makkah, with operations spanning Jeddah and Makkah. This full-time role is central to ensuring security is integrated into IT projects from initiation to go-live, applying the organization's Secure by Design (SbD) framework. The Senior Security Architect acts as the primary security subject matter expert and point of contact for project leads, solution architects, and project managers.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the security SME for assigned projects across all SbD phases: initiation, service profiling, design, build, assurance, and go-live approval.
• Engage with project proponents to explain the SbD process, assist with requests, and complete service profiling to determine project risk levels.
• Define security requirements based on the controls matrix, requirements catalog, applicable policies, and regulations.
• Review high-level and low-level designs for security alignment and architecture principles, addressing and tracking design issues.
• Conduct threat modeling for new or significantly altered solutions.
• Perform security architecture assurance to confirm built solutions match endorsed designs and all required controls are in place.
• Provide security endorsement at project gates (*, procurement, infrastructure build, go-live) and maintain decision evidence.
• Coordinate with Information Security teams (Privacy, SOC, Vulnerability Management, Cyber Assurance) to gather inputs, relay them to projects, and ensure timely delivery of outputs.
• Run cyber risk assessments for projects, consolidating findings from design reviews, threat models, scans, assurance checks, and penetration tests.
• Record findings in the risk register with ratings, recommended controls, risk owners, and treatment plans, presenting risks to stakeholders for formal acceptance or treatment.
• Maintain and improve security architecture practice assets, including templates, controls matrix, and the reusable security requirements catalog.
• Develop and maintain reusable security architecture patterns, such as SaaS and SSO integration with Microsoft Entra ID.
• Map controls to regulatory requirements (NCA ECC, CCC, PDPL) and the organization's security roadmap, identifying and proposing improvements to the SbD framework.
• Review changes submitted to the Change Advisory Board (CAB) for security impact and alignment with architecture standards.
• Prepare security requirements for RFPs, vendor security questions, and evaluate security sections of vendor proposals and contracts.

Mentorship and Quality Assurance

This role involves mentoring other Security Architects on SbD delivery, risk assessment, and stakeholder engagement. Responsibilities include reviewing deliverables such as requirements, design reviews, assurance evidence, and risk entries before issuance. The Senior Security Architect also serves as an escalation point for complex, high-risk, or disputed projects.

Qualifications and Experience

• A minimum of 5-10 years of experience in security architecture or a related field.
• Demonstrated expertise in applying Secure by Design (SbD) principles.
• Strong understanding of security controls, risk assessment methodologies, and regulatory compliance (NCA ECC, CCC, PDPL).
• Experience with threat modeling, vulnerability management, and penetration testing coordination.
• Proficiency in reviewing technical designs (HLD, LLD) for security implications.
• Ability to coordinate effectively with various information security teams and project stakeholders.

Work Environment

This is a full-time position based in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, covering operations in Jeddah and Makkah. The role requires collaboration with diverse IT and information security teams within Acuative Middle East.