Senior Information Security Engineer

SUMMARY:
A leading financial services organisation is seeking a Senior Information Security Engineer to join its growing technology team.

POSITION INFO:
This is a strategic, hands-on role responsible for designing, implementing, and optimising advanced security architectures across hybrid infrastructure, applications, and cloud environments. The successful candidate will act as a technical security leader, driving engineering initiatives, leading complex incident response efforts, and strengthening enterprise-wide security posture.
This opportunity is ideal for a senior security professional who combines deep technical expertise with strategic thinking and leadership capability.

Key Responsibilities

Security Architecture & Engineering

• Design and implement advanced security controls across on-prem, cloud, and SaaS environments (Azure, Microsoft 365).
• Define and enforce security architecture standards.
• Review new technology integrations for compliance and security alignment.
• Configure and maintain enterprise firewalls and Web Application Firewalls (WAF).
• Champion secure development lifecycle practices and conduct advanced application security assessments.

Security Operations Leadership

• Oversee and optimise tools including SIEM, EDR, DLP, firewalls, vulnerability management platforms.
• Develop automation strategies for threat detection and response (PowerShell, Python).
• Establish operational playbooks and mentor junior engineers.
• Collaborate with outsourced SOC providers and manage SLAs and performance metrics.
• Integrate SOC services into the broader security operations framework.

Incident Response & Threat Management

• Lead major incident investigations, forensic analysis, and root cause determination.
• Act as escalation point for critical security events.
• Drive proactive threat hunting and advanced analytics initiatives.

Vulnerability & Patch Management

• Define and manage enterprise vulnerability management strategy.
• Deliver executive-level reporting on risk exposure and remediation progress.

Identity & Access Management

• Architect and enforce identity governance using Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD).
• Implement zero-trust and privileged access management strategies.

Compliance & Risk Advisory

• Ensure alignment with ISO 27001, NIST CSF, CIS benchmarks, POPIA, GDPR, FSCA.
• Lead technical audits, penetration testing engagements, and red/blue team exercises.
• Provide authoritative guidance on risk mitigation strategies.

Executive Reporting

• Deliver strategic dashboards, risk metrics, and board-level presentations.
• Recommend and implement continuous security posture improvements.

Qualifications & Experience

Education & Certifications

• Diploma or Bachelor’s degree in IT, Computer Science, or related field.
• CISSP, CISM, or equivalent senior-level certifications.
• Microsoft security certifications (e.g., Cybersecurity Architect Expert / SC-series) advantageous.

Experience

• 7+ years in cybersecurity or security engineering roles.
• Minimum 3 years in a senior/lead capacity.
• Expert-level experience with SIEM, EDR, firewalls, DLP, vulnerability management platforms.
• Hands-on firewall configuration and WAF deployment experience.
• Strong cloud security expertise (Azure, Microsoft 365).
• Experience leading incident response and security architecture projects.
• Strong scripting and automation skills (PowerShell, Python).

Advantageous

• Exposure to Hillstone technologies, NGINX, Microsoft Intune, Microsoft Purview, and advanced SIEM solutions.

Key Competencies

• Strategic and analytical thinker.
• Strong documentation and organisational skills.
• Able to mentor and develop junior engineers.
• Excellent communication skills (technical and executive-level).
• Results-driven with strong troubleshooting capability.
• Highly ethical, resilient, and committed to continuous improvement.
• Able to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

What’s On Offer

• Permanent opportunity within a growing financial services environment.
• Hybrid working model.
• Strategic leadership exposure.
• Opportunity to influence enterprise-level security architecture.
• Market-related remuneration aligned to seniority and expertise.