Security and Network Architect

IT Security & Network Architect Position Overview:
The IT Security & Network Architect serves as the county's technical authority for designing, implementing, and evolving an integrated network and security architecture, ensuring infrastructure and security operate as a unified ecosystem that protects systems, networks, and digital assets from emerging threats.
Acting as a strategic partner to the Infrastructure Manager, this role provides senior-level architectural guidance for modernizing and sustaining the county's infrastructure, exercising dotted-line technical leadership over network and security staff to influence standards, design decisions, and operational alignment.
The position develops security policies, oversees network and security architecture, ensures regulatory compliance, and collaborates with internal teams, legal, law enforcement, and external partners to align architectural decisions with organizational risk tolerance, operational requirements, and long-term strategy.

Key Responsibilities:

IT Security Architecture & Network Design:

Develop, implement, and maintain the county's enterprise security and network architecture, ensuring both domains are intentionally designed together to be secure, resilient, scalable, and adaptable to evolving threats and business needs.

Design and develop network architectures that inherently incorporate security controls, including segmentation, access controls, encryption, and monitoring, rather than treating security as a separate or downstream function.

Produce and maintain detailed network and security architecture diagrams, standards, and documentation that establish a consistent design framework across the county.

Ensure network security measures are integrated at all layers to protect against unauthorized access, data breaches, and service disruptions.

Risk Assessment & Security Protocols:

Identify, assess, and mitigate security and infrastructure risks across all IT systems and platforms, with a focus on how network design choices impact overall security posture.

Create, enforce, and maintain security policies, standards, and procedures that align with federal, state, and local regulations and are operationally achievable within the network environment.

Define and guide the implementation of security technologies such as firewalls, intrusion detection/prevention systems, encryption tools, identity and access management, and secure network segmentation.

Incident Response & Security Improvements:

Lead and coordinate the architectural response to security incidents, ensuring that network and security teams work in alignment during investigation, containment, and remediation efforts.

Develop and maintain incident response and recovery strategies that reflect real-world network dependencies and infrastructure constraints.

Stay informed of emerging cybersecurity and infrastructure threats, trends, and technologies, applying threat intelligence to proactively strengthen both network and security architectures.

Drive continuous improvement of monitoring, detection, and response capabilities to reduce risk and improve resilience.

Strategic Collaboration, Influence & Technical Leadership:

Serve as a key strategic advisor to the Infrastructure Manager, supporting long-term planning, architectural decisions, and modernization initiatives where network and security are deeply intertwined.

Provide dotted-line technical leadership and guidance to network and security staff, influencing design decisions, implementation approaches, and adherence to architectural standards.

Act as a unifying force between infrastructure, security, and operations teams to ensure solutions are aligned, sustainable, and defensible.

Collaborate with internal stakeholders, law enforcement agencies, and external partners to ensure architecture decisions meet operational, regulatory, and public-sector requirements.

Project Management & Reporting:

Lead and oversee complex, cross-functional infrastructure and security initiatives from conception through implementation, ensuring alignment with architectural standards, timelines, budgets, and risk management objectives.

Prepare and present architectural, risk, and security posture updates to leadership and stakeholders, translating complex technical concepts into actionable insights.

Competencies:
The following competencies are key to success in this role, enabling effective contribution, collaboration, and adaptability in a dynamic work environment.

Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

Ability to assess and mitigate security risks across IT systems and platforms.

Proficiency in leading the response to security incidents, including investigation, containment, and remediation.

Ability to communicate complex security concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Strong knowledge of security frameworks and industry best practices.

Expertise in network architecture and security design principles.

Excellent project management skills with a focus on cybersecurity initiatives.

Ability to work collaboratively across teams and departments.

Physical Requirements:
The position requires the ability to sit, stand, and walk for extended periods.
It involves frequent use of hands and fingers for typing, writing, and operating office equipment.
Occasional lifting of objects up to 25 pounds may be necessary.
The role also requires the ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing and may involve attending evening and weekend meetings as required.
Prolonged computer use may pose a risk for eye strain or repetitive motion injuries.

Environmental Conditions and Work Hazards:
The work environment is primarily office-based, with occasional field visits to various sites.
Employees may be exposed to typical office conditions, including computers, printers, and office equipment.
During site visits or meetings, there may be occasional exposure to outdoor environments.
The role may involve stress due to proj.