VP, Principal Security Engineer [Immediate Start]

Company: Synchrony Financial
Location: Kansas City
Posted on: October 31, 2025

Job Description:

Job Description Job Description: Role Summary/Purpose: We are seeking a highly experienced Principal Security Engineer to help lead highly technical projects to help improve our security engineering function. This individual will be instrumental in integrating and evolving on-premise security technologies into cloud environments, primarily AWS, while providing technical leadership across diverse teams. The ideal candidate will possess deep expertise in cybersecurity, DevOps, infrastructure, and development, combined with the ability to influence without authority and foster cross-functional collaboration. This role will play a critical part in advancing our security initiatives in the public cloud and will have significant remit to influence implementation of core security solutions. Our Way of Working We’re proud to offer you choice and flexibility. At Synchrony, our way of working allows you to have the option to work from home, near one of our Hubs or come into one of our offices. Occasionally you may be required to commute to our nearest office for in person engagement activities such as business or team meetings, training and culture events. Essential Responsibilities: - Lead efforts to ensure AWS cloud services and technologies are built and engineered with security best practices in mind. - Design and implement scalable and automated security solutions that bridge on-prem security technologies with cloud environments. - Collaborate with security and technology leadership, serving as a trusted advisor, and significantly influence the organization’s security strategy. - Drive complex security initiatives across teams, proactively identifying and leading high-impact projects to success and with efficiency. - Drives security technology innovation, challenge the status quo, and provide thought leadership. - Contribute to the development of cutting-edge security practices and technologies. - Provide strategic guidance and direction to security leadership that is adopted into the organization’s overall security strategy. - Provide input into annual budget processes, identifying areas of needed investment. - Provide mentorship, fostering a culture of continuous learning and collaboration across the organization. - Serve as a technical leader and subject matter expert, working closely with security architects and engineers, while guiding the adoption of best practices across the organization. - Collaborate with cross-functional teams to assess, prioritize, and mitigate security risks throughout the development lifecycle. - Develop nuanced technical plans, document analyses, create visual diagrams, and communicate technical projects with associated trade-offs. - Develop, maintain, and update security policies, standards, and procedures aligned with industry regulations and organizational goals. - Help to evaluate and integrate new security technologies, tools, and processes to improve the organization’s security posture while documenting requirements. - Advise and strengthen technical implementation of core services like data protection controls and network security segmentation, for example. - Act as a liaison between security teams and engineering teams to ensure security is embedded within all stages of infrastructure and application development. - Represent the security function in technical discussions, architecture reviews, and governance processes. Qualifications/Requirements: - Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 5 years of experience in Information Security, Engineering, Application Development, or related field OR in lieu of a degree, a High School Diploma/GED and minimum 9 years equivalent work experience. - Minimum 5 years of experience in an information security engineering or architect role - Minimum 2 years of experience with regulatory compliance and information security management frameworks (e.g., PCI-DSS, NIST 800-53, etc.) - Proven excellence in devising holistic security direction and strategies that encompass a wide range of technical and organizational considerations. - Outstanding interpersonal and collaboration skills, demonstrated consistent and successful collaboration across teams on cross-functional security initiatives. - Demonstrated ability solving complex and intricate security problems that demand innovative solutions. - Notable technical leader with demonstrated effective communication and influence at all levels across the organization. - Highly regarded as a subject matter expert with deep knowledge of the enterprise technology stack. - Recognized for their ability to teach, mentor, grow, and provide advice to other domain experts and individual contributors - Strong ability to adapt to evolving circumstances, technologies, and strategic priorities, while leading complex initiatives - Demonstrate strong conflict management abilities within high-impact initiatives - Perform other duties and/or special projects as assigned. Desired Characteristics: - Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), Certified Information Security Auditor (CISA), and/or Global Information Assurance Certification (GIAC) - Certified AWS Certified Security – Specialty and AWS Solutions Architect/Professional - Demonstrate an understanding of the impact of emerging business and end-user technologies have on information security requirements and architecture - Demonstrate an understanding of business needs and commitment to delivering high-quality, prompt, and efficient service to the business - Proven strong decision-making capabilities, with a proven track record of weighing the relative costs and benefits of potential actions and identifying the most appropriate one - Demonstrated technical expertise in existing security and IT systems and an ability to keep pace with changing security and IT technologies - Strong interpersonal skills, with an emphasis on demonstrating previous experience effectively influencing others at all levels within the organization and cross functionally - A team-focused mentality with proven experience to work effectively with diverse stakeholders - Demonstrated experience communicating complex and technical issues to diverse audiences, verbally and in writing, in an easily understood, and actionable manner Grade/Level: 13 The salary range for this position is 155,000.00 - 260,000.00 USD Annual and is eligible for an annual bonus based on individual and company performance. Actual compensation offered within the posted salary range will be based upon work experience, skill level or knowledge. Salaries are adjusted according to market in CA, NY Metro and Seattle. Eligibility Requirements: - You must be 18 years or older - You must have a high school diploma or equivalent - You must be willing to take a drug test, submit to a background investigation and submit fingerprints as part of the onboarding process - You must be able to satisfy the requirements of Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. - New hires (Level 4-7) must have 9 months of continuous service with the company before they are eligible to post on other roles. Once this new hire time in position requirement is met, the associate will have a minimum 6 months’ time in position before they can post for future non-exempt roles. Employees, level 8 or greater, must have at least 18 months’ time in position before they can post. All internal employees must consistently meet performance expectations and have approval from your manager to post (or the approval of your manager and HR if you don’t meet the time in position or performance expectations). Legal authorization to work in the U.S. is required. We will not sponsor individuals for employment visas, now or in the future, for this job opening. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status. Our Commitment: When you join us, you’ll be part of an inclusive culture where your individual skills, experience, and voice are not only heard – but valued. Together, we’re building a future where we can all belong, connect, and turn ideals into action. More than 50% of our workforce is engaged in our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), where community and passion intersect to offer a safe space to learn and grow. This starts when you choose to apply for a role at Synchrony. We ensure all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status. We’re proud to have an award-winning culture for all. Reasonable Accommodation Notice: - Federal law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities. Please tell us if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job or to perform your job. Examples of reasonable accommodation include making a change to the application process or work procedures, providing documents in an alternate format, using a sign language interpreter, or using specialized equipment. - If you need special accommodations, please call our Career Support Line so that we can discuss your specific situation. We can be reached at 1-866-301-5627. Representatives are available from 8am – 5pm Monday to Friday, Central Standard Time Job Family Group: Information Technology

Keywords: Synchrony Financial, Kansas City , VP, Principal Security Engineer [Immediate Start], IT / Software / Systems , Kansas City, Kansas