Principal Security Architect - Internet Edge (DMZ/PAZ) & API Security

About this role:
Wells Fargo is seeking a Principal Engineer to serve as the foremost technical authority responsible for designing, securing, and advancing the enterprise's Publicly Accessible Zone (PAZ/DMZ) architecture as part of the company's large-scale Data Center Migration and Transformation Strategy.
This Principal Engineer will lead the strategy and resolution of highly complex technical challenges across Network Security, Cybersecurity, CTO Architecture, Digital, and multiple lines of business. The role operates with significant independence, owning the DMZ Neighborhood workstream under the Path to Production (P2P) pillar, and will directly influence transformation outcomes tied to secure ingress/egress, external user experience, and enterprise security posture.
The position requires deep expertise across API security, network and application security, reverse proxy, firewall design, secure connectivity, multi-cloud, and modern DevOps pipelines. The engineer will partner across diverse technical domains to design a secure, scalable DMZ environment, drive architectural alignment, and reduce friction for applications migrating to the new data-center neighborhood.
This Principal Engineer role sits at the Executive Director (ED) level, with high organizational visibility and cross-enterprise impact, and is placed skip-level to the Chief Development and Experience Officer.
In this role, you will:

• Act as an advisor to leadership to develop or influence applications, network, information security, database, operating systems, or web technologies for highly complex business and technical needs across multiple groups
• Lead the strategy and resolution of highly complex and unique challenges requiring in-depth evaluation across multiple areas or the enterprise, delivering solutions that are long-term, large-scale and require vision, creativity, innovation, advanced analytical and inductive thinking
• Translate advanced technology experience, an in-depth knowledge of the organizations tactical and strategic business objectives, the enterprise technological environment, the organization structure, and strategic technological opportunities and requirements into technical engineering solutions
• Provide vision, direction and expertise to leadership on implementing innovative and significant business solutions
• Maintain knowledge of industry best practices and new technologies and recommends innovations that enhance operations or provide a competitive advantage to the organization
• Strategically engage with all levels of professionals and managers across the enterprise and serve as an expert advisor to leadership

Required Qualifications:

• 7+ years of Engineering experience, or equivalent demonstrated through one or a combination of the following: work experience, training, military experience, education

• Deep technical expertise in designing and securing Publicly Accessible Zones (DMZ/PAZ) at enterprise scale
• Extensive experience with network security architecture, including segmentation, secure protocol enforcement, traffic inspection, and firewall configuration
• Strong knowledge of reverse proxy design, load balancers, API gateways, and secure ingress/egress patterns
• Hands-on experience with API security, web security, and application protection technologies
• Expertise across multi-cloud environments such as Azure, GCP, and OpenShift
• Strong understanding of DevOps pipelines, CI/CD workflows, and the ability to identify and eliminate friction in Path to Production
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex technical initiatives across multiple domains
• Proven capability to drive architectural strategy with minimal oversight
• Ability to analyze complex requirements and define secure, scalable, high-performance solutions

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience designing modern, cloud-ready DMZ or external connectivity architectures
• Background in cloud-native development and container platforms
• Strong understanding of enterprise security frameworks and regulatory requirements
• Experience conducting architectural assessments, developing roadmaps, and introducing new technical patterns
• Ability to influence senior leaders and align multiple technology teams around a unified architecture
• Strong communication skills for explaining complex technical concepts to technical and non-technical audiences
• Experience leading or contributing to enterprise architecture governance forums
• Track record of innovation-challenging the status quo and driving modernization
• Experience mentoring engineers and building reusable architectural standards, patterns, and documentation

Job Expectations:

• The Principal Engineer is expected to:
  Design & Maintain the Enterprise Publicly Accessible Zone
  • Own the technical architecture of the new DMZ Neighborhood for the data center migration
  • Design secure, scalable ingress/egress patterns for external traffic
  • Configure and optimize firewalls, reverse proxies, load balancers, and related infrastructure
  • Ensure enterprise-wide alignment with security, performance, and transformation goals
  Lead Cross-Functional Strategy & Governance
  • Drive architectural governance across Network Security, Cybersecurity, CTO Architecture, Digital, and LOB tech teams
  • Represent the DMZ architecture in design reviews, assessments, and cross-functional forums
  • Embed DMZ and external-connectivity requirements across all LOBs
  Guide Long-Term Planning & Innovation
  • Conduct architectural assessments, define roadmaps, and propose next-generation patterns
  • Drive the long-term strategy for secure external connectivity and cloud readiness
  • Influence enterprise direction in PAZ/DMZ design and modernization
  Provide Operational and Incident Leadership
  • Ensure availability, reliability, and compliance of the DMZ Neighborhood
  • Lead incident response related to DMZ infrastructure
  • Conduct root cause analysis and drive corrective actions
  Create Standards, Documentation & Mentorship
  • Develop architecture diagrams, runbooks, and technical standards
  • Mentor engineers and contribute to knowledge-sharing across Technology
  • Promote reusable patterns and improve onboarding efficiency

Pay Range
Reflected is the base pay range offered for this position. Pay may vary depending on factors including but not limited to demonstrated examples of prior performance, skills, experience, or work location. Employees may also be eligible for incentive opportunities.
$159,000.00 - $305,000.00
Benefits
Wells Fargo provides eligible employees with a comprehensive set of benefits, many of which are listed below. Visit Benefits - Wells Fargo Jobs for an overview of the following benefit plans and programs offered to employees.

• Health benefits
• 401(k) Plan
• Paid time off
• Disability benefits
• Life insurance, critical illness insurance, and accident insurance
• Parental leave
• Critical caregiving leave
• Discounts and savings
• Commuter benefits
• Tuition reimbursement
• Scholarships for dependent children
• Adoption reimbursement

Posting End Date:
15 Feb 2026
* Job posting may come down early due to volume of applicants.
We Value Equal Opportunity
Wells Fargo is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other legally protected characteristic.
Employees support our focus on building strong customer relationships balanced with a strong risk mitigating and compliance-driven culture which firmly establishes those disciplines as critical to the success of our customers and company. They are accountable for execution of all applicable risk programs (Credit, Market, Financial Crimes, Operational, Regulatory Compliance), which includes effectively following and adhering to applicable Wells Fargo policies and procedures, appropriately fulfilling risk and compliance obligations, timely and effective escalation and remediation of issues, and making sound risk decisions. There is emphasis on proactive monitoring, governance, risk identification and escalation, as well as making sound risk decisions commensurate with the business unit's risk appetite and all risk and compliance program requirements.
Applicants with Disabilities
To request a medical accommodation during the application or interview process, visit Disability Inclusion at Wells Fargo .
Drug and Alcohol Policy
Wells Fargo maintains a drug free workplace. Please see our Drug and Alcohol Policy to learn more.
Wells Fargo Recruitment and Hiring Requirements:
a. Third-Party recordings are prohibited unless authorized by Wells Fargo.
b. Wells Fargo requires you to directly represent your own experiences during the recruiting and hiring process.