Principal IT Security Architect

If you're passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you're committed to working hard to play your part in building that future-consider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:

Grade:
Technical 412 Pay Range: $ - $

• Lead the design and implementation of enterprise security architecture across cloud, network, and application environments
• Partner with engineering teams to embed security standards throughout the systems development lifecycle
• Identify, exploit, and remediate security vulnerabilities through testing, tooling, and infrastructure build code review
• Provide leadership across areas the security team
• Drive cloud security initiatives, including hardening AWS infrastructure and reducing misconfigurations
• Develop and implement policy-as-code to automate compliance and security enforcement
• Analyze cyber threats and create detection rules based on indicators of compromise and attack frameworks such as MITRE ATT&CK

• 10+ years of experience in information security across multiple domains
• Deep technical expertise in cloud security, particularly AWS services such as EC2, VPC, IAM, and S3
• Experience integrating security into CI/CD pipelines and Dev Sec Ops  practices
• Hands‑on experience with SIEM tools, intrusion detection systems, and endpoint protection solutions
• Strong scripting and automation skills using languages such as Python or Bash
• Proven ability to lead complex security initiatives and influence enterprise risk management strategies
• Strong analytical, communication, and problem‑solving skills

• 15+ years of information security experience
• Experience implementing AWS native security tools like Guard Duty, Security Hub, Macie, and Inspector
• Experience with container security and orchestration platforms

Equivalent relevant experience performing the essential functions of this job may substitute for education requirements.

At WGU, our mission drives everything we do, including how we hire. Our interview experience is designed to give qualified candidates the opportunity to show their best work through meaningful conversations and collaboration. We thoughtfully review every application and invite forward the candidates whose experience and potential best align with the role and our mission.

• Introductory call
• Technical interview with team
• Hiring manager interview

This is a full‑time, in‑office position at WGU's office in Raleigh, NC.

While we welcome applicants from all backgrounds, WGU is not able to provide visa sponsorship for this role.

Full‑Time Regular Positions (classified as regular and working 40 standard weekly hours):
This is a full‑time, regular position (classified for 40 standard weekly hours) that is eligible for bonuses; medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity…