Telecommunications Cybersecurity Architect at Southern Company in Atlanta, GA

SCS Technology Security

Enterprise Security Architecture

Job Description

Telecommunications Cybersecurity Architect

Schedule: M-F

Location: Hybrid 50% in office – Atlanta or Birmingham

Position Summary:

Southern Company, a major U.S. energy firm, is seeking an experienced security architect and technical leader, to design creative solutions and reduce risk. The candidate will directly support the company’s efforts to mitigate real and potential cyber threats to the company’s facilities, personnel, technology, operations, and brand – including critical electric and gas utility infrastructure and its privately owned telecommunications network. In this role, the potential for individual impact is substantial and has high visibility within the corporate leadership and governance.

This role will have responsibility for designing and implementing technology and processes that support the strategic direction for the Telecommunications Security team. This role will focus on modern telecommunications network and infrastructure security and execute projects that align with the strategic roadmap. Interested applicants should be well rounded in their understanding and application of different security and technology platforms; in areas such as identity, networking, endpoint, data, monitoring, cloud, and/or application security. Qualified candidates need to be able to align strategy and execution to increase cybersecurity maturity, anticipate future requirements for complex fiber optic, cellular, and satellite environments, drive initiatives via influence and relationships into business processes, keep up with current security trends, be focused on results, and be a self-starter.

This position is responsible for ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the company’s information assets. This will be accomplished by:

Establishing and implementing an information security framework and technical architecture.
Designing, developing, and implementing information security solutions.
Driving modern network and infrastructure security practices, such as ZTNA, IaC, SDN, SSE, etc.
Providing information security expertise and consulting.
Work with Industry Groups, Conferences/Training Events, Lobbying Organizations, and Telecommunications Peers to further cybersecurity in the overall industry.

While Southern Company is headquartered in Atlanta, we bring energy to homes and businesses across the country. We’ve made our name as a leading producer of clean, safe, reliable, and affordable energy, and we approach each day as a vital step in building the future of energy. We’re always looking ahead, and our innovations in the industry—from new nuclear to deployment of electric transportation and renewables —help brighten the lives and businesses of millions of customers nationwide. Our team is critical to building the future of energy with secure, resilient, and sustainable cyber solutions.

Job Responsibilities:

Design and implement guardrails to secure modern telecommunications networks and infrastructure with a variety of vendors and device types.
Continuously seek opportunities to enhance the security posture of network-based technologies, including but not limited to: Zero Trust Network Architecture (ZTNA), Secure Service Edge (SSE), Software-Defined Networking (SDN), and Infrastructure as Code (IaC).
Align forward thinking strategy with business goals to integrate and raise the bar on security practices and solutions.
Assist in the ongoing development of Southern Company’s security architecture – identify areas of opportunity, research alternatives, and recommend solutions.
Develop creative solutions to meet business needs and solve highly complex problems while ensuring appropriate security controls and best practices are implemented.
Partner with others to identify and resolve information security issues.
Plan, develop, coordinate, and lead information security projects for a team of cybersecurity professionals focused on telecommunications security.
Help customers learn, understand, and apply information security concepts, processes, and technologies.
Maintain current knowledge and advance expertise of information security and telecommunications concepts, technologies, and practices.
Mentor and coach others to strengthen cybersecurity principles and best practices to outside operational areas.
Actively participate in industry groups, conferences/training events, lobbying organizations, and engaging industry peers to further develop security in the telecommunications industry
Establish and maintain excellent working relationships and partnerships across the Technology Organization, business partners, and external vendors and suppliers.
Create an environment that fosters accountability, innovation, and engagement at all levels.

Requirements and qualifications:

Minimum

Broad experience of telecommunications network design and practice.
Hands-on experience designing, architecting, and implementing various information security tools/products such as PKI, Full Packet Capture, Next-Generation Firewalls, HSM’s, SIEM, Multi-Factor Authentication, IDS/IPS, Database Encryption, Privileged Identity Management, Cloud Posture Management, etc.
Competency in APIs (Rest, Graph), VMware, and/or Kubernetes.
Broad experience promoting security as a business enablement function using influence, metrics, documentation, strong verbal communication, and presentation skills.
Working knowledge of cloud and traditional security network architectures.
Ability to develop and lead a project from concept through implementation and anticipate potential problems.
Experience developing, prioritizing and executing group action items with minimal direction or oversight.
Ability to perform detailed information security risk assessments and recommend mitigating controls.
Must pass NERC CIP & Insider Threat Protection background checks.

Preferred Qualifications

Deep expertise with 4G/5G cellular and/or wired telecommunications networks.
Technical knowledge of various telecommunications networks and vendor platforms including Cisco, Nokia, Ciena, etc.
Industry certifications such as: CISSP, CCSP, CISA, GIAC, OSCP, CRISC, CCNP, etc.
At least 7 years of experience playing a key role in building technical programs.
Experience with information security frameworks such as: NIST, OWASP, 3GPP, ATIS, etc.
Familiarity with nation state, sophisticated criminal, and supply chain threats.
Up-to-date knowledge of current hacking techniques, vulnerability disclosures, and data breach incidents.
Experience with cybersecurity analysis and analytic tradecraft.