Amex GBT is a place where colleagues find inspiration in travel as a force for good and – through their work – can make an impact on our industry. We’re here to help our colleagues achieve success and offer an inclusive and collaborative culture where your voice is valued.
We re looking for a Cyber Security Architect to embed security into how we design and build technology — not add it after the fact. You ll bring deep security architecture expertise to review proposed solutions and designs across the business, identify risk early through structured threat modeling and architecture review, and translate findings into clear, actionable mitigation options that engineering teams can actually implement.
This role sits at the intersection of engineering, risk management, and the technical realities of running global travel technology: booking platforms, payment flows, traveler data protection, and extensive supplier integrations. You ll partner with product, engineering, and enterprise architecture teams from the earliest design conversations, build reusable security patterns and reference architectures, and serve as the trusted technical authority when it s time to make a clear, well-reasoned call on risk versus speed.
What You ll Do
Secure solution design and architecture review
Review designs for new products, platforms, and major changes using structured threat modeling (e.g., STRIDE) to find risks, gaps, and single points of failure
Turn findings into actionable recommendations that balance risk, cost, and delivery timelines
Own the review process, define “secure enough” at each design stage, and produce reference architectures and reusable patterns
Cloud, application, and data security architecture
Set standards for cloud environments (AWS, Azure, GCP), including segmentation, workload isolation, IAM (least-privilege, zero-trust), encryption, and secrets management
Guide secure API and microservices design, including authentication, authorization, and rate limiting
Protect traveler and payment data across its lifecycle (including PCI DSS flows), championing privacy-by-design and data minimization with Privacy and Data Security Investigations teams
Third-party and supplier risk
Assess integrations with airlines, hotels, GDSs (Sabre, Amadeus, Travelport), payment processors, and other travel suppliers
Support technical due diligence for new vendors, partnerships, and acquisitions
Define secure integration patterns for fast supplier onboarding without compromising standards
AI Security Architecture
Review AI/ML implementations (traveler assistants, copilots, automation) before launch, assessing risks like prompt injection, output data leakage, and over-permissioned agents
Define guardrails and agentic AI patterns, including scoped permissions, approval workflows, audit trails, AI-specific logging and monitoring, and revocation of misbehaving agents
Set standards for model provenance and versioning, vet third-party model providers, and define when human review is required before launch
Identity Security Architecture
Define identity standards for AI agents and non-human accounts, including unique agent identities, least-privilege access, and credential lifecycle management
Assess risks specific to AI agents authenticating or acting on behalf of users, such as impersonation and token misuse
Set authorization boundaries for AI agents involved in provisioning, deprovisioning, or access reviews
Governance, standards, and influence
Maintain and evolve security architecture standards, guardrails, and design principles, creating reusable frameworks that improve the quality and speed of engineering output across teams
Align architecture decisions with frameworks and regulations (NIST CSF, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, GDPR, SOC 2) and translate technical risk and trade-offs into terms that engineering, product, and executive stakeholders can act on
Partner with the Cyber Defense team (CSIRT, CTI, Detection Engineering, Data Security Investigations) to feed incident lessons and threat intelligence into architecture decisions, and mentor engineers and junior architects on secure design
What We re Looking For
8 years in cybersecurity, with meaningful time spent in a security architecture or senior security engineering role
Hands-on experience designing or reviewing architecture for cloud-based systems (AWS, Azure, or GCP)
Strong grounding in application security, network security, and identity and access management, including least-privilege and Zero Trust principles
Experience applying threat modeling methodologies and translating findings into practical design changes
Working knowledge of relevant regulations and standards, such as PCI DSS, GDPR, or ISO 27001
Demonstrated ability to translate technical risk into terms non-technical stakeholders can act on and to influence decisions without direct authority
A bachelor s degree in a related field, or equivalent experience
Preferred
Relevant certifications such as CISSP, SABSA, TOGAF, CCSP, Microsoft Cybersecurity Architect Expert, or a cloud security specialty (Azure Security Engineer, AWS Security Specialty, Google Professional Cloud Security Engineer)
Experience supporting technical due diligence for M&A or major vendor integrations
Familiarity with DevSecOps and embedding security into CI/CD pipelines, plus security considerations for AI/ML systems (e.g., prompt injection, AI governance frameworks)
Skills and competencies
Sound judgment to weigh risk against business speed and land on a clear recommendation, not just flag problems
Comfort working at both whiteboard design and deep technical levels, with clear written and verbal communication for audiences from engineers to executives
Ability to build trust and influence teams outside your reporting line, while evaluating emerging technologies (AI-assisted booking, new payment rails) and recommending the strongest path to a future-state security architecture
Location
United States
The US national base salary range for this position is from
$104,300.00 - $193,700.00
The national range provided includes the base salary that Amex GBT expects to pay for the role. Actual base salary will be based on factors including the scope and complexity of the role and the successful candidate’s relevant experience, skills, knowledge, and work location.
In addition to base salary, the anticipated range of which is posted above, this role is eligible for a discretionary annual bonus, which rewards participants based on company and individual performance.
For information about our comprehensive US benefits programs and eligibility, please review our Benefits-at-a-Glance document.
Benefits at a glance
The #TeamGBT Experience
Work and life: Find your happy medium at Amex GBT.
Flexible benefits are tailored to each country and start the day you do. These include health and welfare insurance plans, retirement programs, parental leave, adoption assistance, and wellbeing resources to support you and your immediate family .
Travel perks: get a choice of deals each week from major travel providers on everything from flights to hotels to cruises and car rentals.
Develop the skills you want when the time is right for you, with access to over 20,000 courses on our learning platform, leadership courses, and new job openings available to internal candidates first.
We strive to champion Inclusion in every aspect of our business at Amex GBT. You can connect with colleagues through our global INclusion Groups, centered around common identities or initiatives, to discuss challenges, obstacles, achievements, and drive company awareness and action.
And much more!
A ll applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to age, sex, gender (and characteristics related to sex and gender), pregnancy (and related medical conditions), race, color, citizenship, religion, disability, or any other class or characteristic protected by law.
Click Here for Additional Disclosures in Accordance with the LA County Fair Chance Ordinance.
Furthermore, we are committed to providing reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities. Please let your recruiter know if you need an accommodation at any point during the hiring process. For details regarding how we protect your data, please consult the Amex GBT Recruitment Privacy Statement .
What if I don’t meet every requirement? If you’re passionate about our mission and believe you’d be a phenomenal addition to our team, don’t worry about “checking every box; please apply anyway. You may be exactly the person we’re looking for!