Lead Architect – Application Security
$297,600–$446,400 year
On-siteSeattle, Washington, United States or San Jose, California, United States
Job Summary
Define cross-portfolio application security architecture strategy covering WAF, DDoS mitigation, AI Security, and identity-aware access across SaaS, hardware, and cloud-native platforms. Establish architectural principles, patterns, and roadmaps that guide how security capabilities are designed, integrated, and delivered. Lead architectural modernization efforts to evolve monolithic capabilities into composable, API-driven services within a SaaS-native control plane. Champion architectural governance and threat modeling to ensure scalability, observability, and secure-by-default practices are institutionalized. Drive cross-functional alignment across product, engineering, and infrastructure teams to ensure seamless security across hybrid, multicloud, and edge deployments. Mentor senior architects and engineers while representing F5's technical vision in customer briefings and industry forums.
Required Qualifications
- 20+ years of experience in software and security architecture roles
- at least 10 years focused specifically on application-layer security
- Proven track record architecting complex security systems in domains such as WAAP, API security, DDoS mitigation, bot protection, and malware detection
- Deep understanding of L7 protocols (HTTP/2, HTTP/3, WebSockets, gRPC) and application security standards (OWASP Top 10, NIST, MITRE ATT&CK)
- Strong technical understanding of TLS, certificate management, identity and access protocols (OAuth2, OIDC, SAML), and secure session management
- Familiarity with zero trust architectures, policy-as-code, multi-tenant SaaS designs, and runtime enforcement in container-based platforms (Kubernetes, Istio, Envoy)
- Demonstrated ability to set architectural strategy across product boundaries and influence senior engineering and product leadership
- Experience designing and implementing distributed cloud solutions at scale
- Understanding of containers and orchestration technologies
- Broad understanding of coding and programming languages
- Extensive knowledge of the software development process and corresponding technologies
- Excellent understanding of design patterns and architectural styles
- Proficient knowledge of the operation and development designs of agile software
- Hybrid: Employees within 30 commutable miles of an F5 office are required to work from the office a minimum of 30 business days per quarter
Desired Qualifications
- Strong soft skills, including attention to detail, problem-solving and communication skills
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