Director Cloud AI Security Engineering

Director Cloud AI Security Engineering at BMO

We are seeking an enthusiastic and passionate leader with strong leadership qualities and a collaborative spirit to help support our vision and mission of advancing cloud and AI security capabilities at BMO Financial Group. Our ideal candidate will be a dynamic driver for change and an experienced technical leader with a proven track record of success in security engineering.

The successful candidate will lead the day-to-day direction of the Cloud and AI Security Engineering teams, defining and enabling secure cloud infrastructure, AI/ML security frameworks, data protection strategies, and security automation capabilities to drive innovation, modernization, and delivery of robust security solutions at scale. The team is tasked with developing security patterns, architectures, and integration capabilities to protect enterprise AI systems, cloud platforms, and data assets while enabling the Enterprise AI and Data Scientist community to operate securely.

You have a proven record of building, motivating, and energizing a diverse technical team tasked with delivering complex security initiatives under tight timelines. You are a hands-on leader with a passion for continuous improvement and the ability to plan, prioritize, and structure the work of an agile team. You are a strong advocate for operational excellence and have a passion for innovation, secure product delivery, and collaboration.

Your extensive experience with security engineering, cloud services, and AI/ML platforms has equipped you to provide technical guidance and supervision to your team and contribute to the development of a multi-year security strategy for the portfolio of products under your management. The individual in this role will be expected to work collaboratively with all levels of leadership and promote a healthy work environment that fosters positive team alignment within T&O.

Responsibilities

• Manage and provide guidance to the team on the development of highly scalable, flexible, and resilient cloud and AI security frameworks, including threat detection, identity and access management, data protection, and security monitoring capabilities
• Lead the design and implementation of security architectures for Cloud Platforms, AI/ML systems, including model security, data pipeline protection, and adversarial threat mitigation
• Enhance the capacity of the Cloud and AI Security Engineering team through new hiring, coaching, training, and hands-on leadership while maintaining and fostering BMO Values
• Create and maintain a work environment that promotes client service, teamwork, performance feedback, individual recognition, mutual respect, and employee satisfaction, ensuring quality hiring, training, and succession planning processes that encompass the company's diversity commitment
• Oversee the day-to-day work of the Cloud and AI Security Engineering team, including security product evaluation, deployment, security pattern development and enhancement, security service integration, infrastructure-as-code security automation, and security best-practice documentation
• Develop long- and short-term work plans for the Cloud and AI Security Engineering team to meet the goals set in the enterprise Cloud Security Target Architecture
• Provide consistent collaborative leadership with senior executives to help drive security goals and objectives that will improve operational efficiencies and risk posture
• Drive adherence to Agile methodologies, including playing a role of scrum lead
• Establish and maintain security standards, policies, and compliance frameworks for cloud and AI environments
• Partner with Enterprise Security, Risk Management, and Compliance teams to ensure alignment with regulatory requirements and industry standards

Required Core Skills

• At least 8 years of experience in a technical security role in a large enterprise environment
• Deep expertise in cloud security architecture, including identity management, network security, encryption, and security monitoring across major cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP)
• Strong knowledge of AI/ML security principles, including model security, data protection, adversarial machine learning, and secure ML pipelines
• Solid understanding of cloud security frameworks and standards (NIST, ISO 27001, SOC 2, CSA CCM)
• Experience leading development and support of enterprise security capabilities and platforms
• Strong understanding of Cloud Native Security Architecture, Zero Trust principles, and Security-as-Code
• Solid knowledge of Cloud Security, DevSecOps, threat modeling, and enterprise change management processes
• Strong technical leadership skills, including coaching, team building, and conflict resolution
• Experience implementing security automation, CI/CD security integration, and DevSecOps methodologies
• Advanced communication skills catered to a wide variety of audiences (e.g., written, verbal, presentation)
• A critical thinker with strong analytical and problem-solving skills and advanced multi-tasking and prioritization abilities
• Ability to engage, lead, and drive security vendors working closely with our Vendor Management function
• Organizational and strategic management skills, including budget and business planning and forecasting
• Advanced relationship management skills, including partnering and consulting with senior management and executive roles for internal and external partners
• Extensive business acumen, technical knowledge, and industry experience encompassing cloud security, AI security, and security product domains
• Relevant security certifications preferred (CISSP, CCSP, CISM, or equivalent)
• A strong team player, self-motivated with a positive attitude

Key skills/competency

• Cloud Security Architecture
• AI/ML Security
• Data Protection
• Identity and Access Management (IAM)
• DevSecOps
• Security Automation
• Threat Modeling
• Compliance Frameworks (NIST, ISO 27001)
• Leadership & Team Building
• Cloud Platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP)