Global Director of Application Security

About Northern Trust:

Northern Trust, a Fortune 500 company, is a globally recognized, award-winning financial institution that has been in continuous operation since 1889.

Northern Trust is proud to provide innovative financial services and guidance to the world's most successful individuals, families, and institutions by remaining true to our enduring principles of service, expertise, and integrity. With more than 130 years of financial experience and over 22,000 partners, we serve the world's most sophisticated clients using leading technology and exceptional service.

About the Role

Northern Trust is seeking a Global Director of Application Security to lead the enterprise strategy, governance, and modernization of application security. This leader will define policies and standards, embed security into modern development practices, and drive the transition from traditional (pre-AI) application security models to AI-enabled, post-AI security capabilities.

This is a highly visible leadership role requiring a hands-on, technically credible leader who can partner with engineering and security teams to deliver secure software at scale in a complex, global financial environment.

What You'll Do

Own the Application Security Strategy

Define and execute the enterprise Application Security vision, roadmap, and operating model aligned to business and technology priorities.

Establish Governance & Standards

Develop and enforce application security policies, standards, and controls across the software development lifecycle (SDLC), including APIs, CI/CD pipelines, and software supply chain.

Lead the AI Security Transformation

Shape how the organization evolves from traditional development security to AI-assisted and AI-generated development models, including guardrails, validation, and governance.

Drive Secure Dev Sec Ops  Practices

Partner with engineering and platform teams to embed security into CI/CD pipelines using scalable, automated, developer-friendly approaches (SAST, DAST, SCA, IaC, secrets, etc.).

Lead and Scale a High-Impact Team

Manage an initial team of 4 direct reports (North America) and ~10 contractors, building a high-performing, technically strong organization.

Engage and Influence Leadership

Act as a senior advisor to cybersecurity and technology leadership, communicating risk, strategy, and progress to executive stakeholders.

Deliver Measurable Risk Reduction

Define KPIs and drive improvements in vulnerability management, remediation velocity, and overall application security posture.

What We're Looking For

Required

10+ years in application security, cybersecurity, or software engineering

5+ years leading application security or Dev Sec Ops  programs at enterprise scale

Experience defining and enforcing security policies, standards, and governance

Strong technical depth in secure software development and modern SDLC practices

Proven ability to influence engineering teams and senior stakeholders

Experience leading small, high-impact teams including contractors

Preferred

Hands-on experience developing software in large enterprises with mature Dev Ops / CI/CD pipelines

Background in software engineering, architecture, or platform engineering

Experience with :

SAST, DAST, SCA

Software supply chain security

API and cloud-native application security

CI/CD pipeline security and automation

Familiarity with AI-assisted development and its security implications

Financial services or regulated industry experience

Why This Role Matters

You will define the future of Application Security at Northern Trust-modernizing how secure software is built and governed while positioning the organization for the next generation of AI-driven development and risk management.

Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for employment-based visa sponsorship now or in the future. Northern Trust will not sponsor applicants for U.S. work visa status for this opportunity (no sponsorship is available for H-1B, L-1, TN, O-1, E-3, H-1B1, F-1, J-1, OPT, CPT or any other employment-based visa)

Salary Range:

$164, USD

Salary range is a good faith estimate of base pay. Northern Trust provides a comprehensive benefits package including…