Cybersecurity Lead Engineer/Architect

Title: Cybersecurity Lead Engineer/Architect Location: Chicago, Illinois, United States

SUMMARY

The Cybersecurity Lead Engineer/Architect is the firm’s most senior individual contributor in security, joining a lean security operations team responsible for the continued evolution, design, and advancement of the firm’s cybersecurity program. This role deliberately blends high-level strategy and security architecture direction with hands-on implementation engineering: setting the technical vision, reference architectures, and standards while personally building, configuring, and hardening the controls that bring them to life. The role safeguards the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of firm data and systems in alignment with organizational policies and regulatory expectations, leading the design and implementation of security architecture, controls, and technical solutions across the enterprise while proactively identifying risks and recommending strategic improvements.

This individual operates as a highly self-directed contributor within a team responsible for cybersecurity and enterprise risk. The role requires independent assessment of emerging threats, evaluation of control effectiveness, prioritization of initiatives, and ownership of security-focused projects and architectural roadmaps from concept through execution. The Cybersecurity Lead Engineer/Architect regularly collaborates with infrastructure, software engineering, and service desk teams to drive measurable improvements in the firm’s security posture.

As an onsite/hybrid employee, you are expected to be in the office on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Architect, design, implement, and continuously enhance security controls across endpoint, network, cloud, identity, and SDLC, operating hands-on from design through deployment and tuning.
• Lead security-focused projects, including scoping, planning, execution, stakeholder communication, and documentation.
• Own and optimize core security tooling (Application security, AI security, endpoint protection, IDS/IPS, SIEM, vulnerability management, cloud security, etc.), ensuring effective configuration and continuous improvement.
• Develop and implement automation to enhance threat detection, alerting, response workflows, ticket creation, and reporting metrics.
• Partner with cross-functional technology teams to embed secure design principles and hardening standards into infrastructure, cloud platforms, and application development (DevSecOps).
• Lead the firm’s AI security program, establishing governance, guardrails, and technical controls that secure the enterprise’s adoption and use of AI
• Partner with product and software engineering teams to enable secure AI engineering and development, embedding threat modeling, secure-by-design patterns, and safeguards.
• Monitor compliance with cybersecurity policies and regulatory requirements; identify gaps and drive remediation efforts.
• Serve as a technical escalation point during incident response and contribute to post-incident analysis and control improvements.
• Identify emerging threats, tools, and technologies and recommend strategic direction for the cybersecurity program.

EDUCATION, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or equivalent practical experience.
• 8+ years of progressive experience in cybersecurity or information security engineering roles, including time in a lead, principal, or security architect capacity.
• Demonstrated experience implementing and engineering security controls in enterprise environments.
• Experience leading or independently managing technical security projects.
• Strong familiarity with CIS Framework and system hardening standards.
• Hands-on experience securing and monitoring cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, etc.).
• Deep understanding of common security controls including DLP, MFA, encryption, intrusion detection, and mobile device/application management.
• Strong scripting and automation skills (PowerShell, Python, or similar) with software engineering experience preferred
• Experience designing and maintaining centralized logging and SIEM solutions.
• Ability to independently assess risk, define problems, and implement practical, scalable solutions.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to influence stakeholders and represent the security function effectively.
• Proven experience designing enterprise security architecture and reference architectures, balancing strategic, roadmap-level direction with hands-on implementation.
• Experience securing AI/ML systems and enterprise AI adoption, including familiarity with AI-specific risks (e.g., prompt injection, data leakage, model abuse) and frameworks such as the NIST AI Risk Management Framework and the OWASP Top 10 for LLM Applications.
• Experience threat modeling and partnering with software and product engineering teams to enable secure AI and application development.
• Experience in financial services or investment management preferred.
• Relevant security certifications (CISSP, CISM, GIAC, AWS Security, etc.) are a plus.

AT A GLANCE - GCM’s CYBERSECURITY & RISK TEAM

• Oversees the firm’s Cybersecurity, Risk Management, Business Continuity, Change Management, and Disaster Recovery programs.
• Collaborates with IT and business teams to embed security best practices across the enterprise.
• Participates in client meetings, regulatory examinations, and security due diligence processes.
• Utilizes Agile principles to prioritize, plan, and execute cybersecurity initiatives.
• Maintains a strong team culture centered on accountability, ownership, and continuous improvement.