Application Security Head

Overview

The role is tasked with leading and advancing the organization's cybersecurity products and solutions. It demands a strategic leader with vast experience in cybersecurity to promote innovation and align security measures with business objectives.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the direction and execution of application security initiatives aligned with corporate goals and risk mitigation.
• Develop and implement comprehensive lifecycle security strategies—from design to deployment and ongoing management.
• Manage, mentor, and build a team of security engineers and analysts to foster a strong security culture.
• Collaborate closely with senior leadership, development, product, and IT teams to prioritize security efforts.
• Assess application security postures and identify risks such as data breaches and vulnerabilities.
• Proactively detect threats and evaluate architectural risks posed by cyber adversaries.
• Recommend and oversee remediation strategies to reduce exposure.
• Embed security practices across the software development lifecycle, including secure coding, design, testing, and deployment.
• Conduct code reviews, static and dynamic analysis, and penetration tests to uncover vulnerabilities.
• Guide developers on integrating secure coding standards and security controls.
• Supervise security testing including automated scans, vulnerability assessments, and penetration testing.
• Select and manage security tools like SAST, DAST, and Software Composition Analysis to identify weaknesses.
• Track remediation progress of vulnerabilities and ensure timely resolution.
• Ensure application compliance with standards such as GDPR, PCI DSS, HIPAA, and SOC 2.
• Develop and enforce policies, standards, and best practices for secure software development and deployment.
• Conduct regular audits of applications and security controls and report metrics to management and auditors.
• Lead investigation and response to security incidents, identifying root causes and preventing recurrence.
• Stay informed on evolving threat vectors, vulnerabilities, and attack techniques to adapt defenses.
• Coordinate with cybersecurity teams to communicate impact and mitigation among stakeholders.
• Conduct training sessions to raise security awareness among developers, QA, and related teams.
• Promote secure coding principles and increase organizational security culture.
• Work collaboratively with infrastructure security on network, endpoint, and cloud security integration.
• Facilitate red team exercises to test application resilience under real-world attacks.
• Implement automation tools to optimize security testing and vulnerability management workflows.
• Continuously evaluate security practices, tools, and processes for efficiency and coverage improvements.
• Assess and manage security risks of third-party applications and vendors.
• Evaluate supplier and contractor security compliance to ensure organizational protection.

Technical Expertise

• Expertise in application security strategy and secure SDLC leadership.
• Proficiency in DevSecOps processes and integrating security tools.
• Experience with threat modeling and secure architectural design.
• Strong skills in vulnerability management and application security testing.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, IT, Cybersecurity or related discipline.
• Preferred: Master's degree or certifications in Cybersecurity or Technology Management.
• Industry certifications like CISSP, CISM or equivalents strongly desired.
• Additional credentials in emerging tech and innovation management are a plus.
• Minimum 15 years of proven leadership experience in cybersecurity.
• Demonstrated success driving innovation and technology advancement in cyber product development.