Job Description
Responsibilities
Security Strategy & Leadership
- Define and execute the application security roadmap, ensuring alignment with enterprise security strategy and compliance obligations.
- Champion secure-by-design and DevSecOps practices across backend, frontend, mobile, cloud, and integration teams.
- Partner with engineering, product, and security stakeholders to balance speed-to-market with security and compliance.
- Stay ahead of emerging threats, tools, and frameworks relevant to application security.
Secure SDLC & DevSecOps Enablement
- Embed security into every stage of the software development lifecycle (SDLC).
- Oversee deployment of application security testing tools (SAST, DAST, IAST, SCA) within CI/CD pipelines.
- Drive adoption of secure coding practices, threat modelling, and code reviews.
- Establish policies and playbooks for secure development and release management.
Governance, Risk & Compliance
- Ensure applications comply with regulatory and industry standards (e.g., PCI DSS, GDPR, POPIA, ISO 27001, SOC 2).
- Oversee secure design reviews, penetration testing, and vulnerability remediation.
- Govern API security, identity management, and encryption standards across platforms.
- Partner with enterprise GRC (Governance, Risk & Compliance) to manage audits and security certifications.
Leadership & People Development
- Lead and mentor application security engineers, DevSecOps specialists, and secure coding champions.
- Build organizational expertise in secure development, cloud-native security, and API security.
- Foster a culture of security-first engineering through training, awareness, and technical leadership.
- Develop career pathways and succession planning for security-focused engineering talent.
Stakeholder & Vendor Management
- Collaborate with DevOps, cloud, and software engineering leads to ensure security alignment across platforms.
- Partner with external vendors and consultants for pen testing, code audits, and security toolchains.
- Represent application security in architecture boards, risk committees, and executive forums.
- Manage vendor relationships for AppSec platforms, scanners, and monitoring tools.
Qualifications
Education & Certifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Security, or related field (mandatory).
- Postgraduate qualification (MSc in Cybersecurity, MBA) – advantageous.
- Professional Certifications (preferred/required): CISSP, CISM, or CISA; CSSLP, GWAPT, or OSWE; AWS/Azure/GCP Security certifications, Kubernetes Security Specialist; SAFe Practitioner, Scrum Master (advantageous).
Experience
- 8–12 years’ experience in software or security engineering, with at least 3–5 years in an application security leadership role.
- Proven track record in embedding security into large-scale enterprise software delivery.
- Hands-on experience with secure coding, API security, cryptography, and OWASP Top 10.
- Experience implementing SAST, DAST, IAST, and SCA tools into CI/CD pipelines.
- Strong exposure to cloud-native architectures, microservices, and containerized environments.
- Experience managing security audits, regulatory compliance, and third-party risk assessments.
Core Skills & Competencies
- Deep expertise in application security frameworks, secure SDLC, and DevSecOps.
- Strong knowledge of threat modelling, risk assessment, and security design reviews.
- Leadership ability to build and mentor security-focused engineering teams.
- Excellent stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to influence engineering and executive leadership.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities with a proactive, prevention-first mindset.