Enterprise Cybersecurity AI Architect

Enterprise Cybersecurity AI Architect 

Location: Atlanta, GA. or Birmingham, AL (onsite 4 days a week, one day remote)

Position Summary:  

Southern Company is seeking a highly skilled and visionary AI Security Architect to lead the secure design and governance of AI technologies across the enterprise.  The candidate will directly support the company’s efforts to mitigate real and potential cyber threats to the company’s facilities, personnel, technology, operations, and brand – including critical electric and gas utility infrastructure and its privately owned telecommunications network.  This role will serve as the technical authority on AI cybersecurity, responsible for protecting internally developed AI applications, securing models and data pipelines, and implementing guardrails around AI agents deployed by various teams.

This position is responsible for ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the company’s information assets. This will be accomplished by:

• Establishing and implementing an information security framework and technical architecture.
• Designing, developing, and implementing information security solutions.
• Establish and maintain security guardrails to support the safe implementation of AI and automation. 
• Providing Cybersecurity expertise and consulting.

The architect will also drive the deployment of AI-powered cybersecurity tools to enhance team efficiency and resilience. This role requires deep expertise in AI systems, adversarial threat modeling, and enterprise-grade security architecture.  Qualified candidates need to be able to align strategy and execution to increase cybersecurity maturity, anticipate future requirements for complex traditional, hybrid, and multi-cloud environments, drive initiatives via influence and relationships into business processes, keep up with current security trends, be focused on results, and be a self-starter.   

Job Responsibilities:      

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate security best practices into AI development and deployment processes.
• Develop and enforce guardrails for AI agents used across departments, ensuring safe, compliant, and ethical use. 
• Design and implement security architecture for AI platforms, models, and applications, including LLMs, agentic workflows, and custom AI tools.  
• Lead threat modeling and risk assessments for AI systems in alignment with frameworks such as NIST. 
• Architect secure deployment environments for AI agents, including sandboxing, access control, and runtime isolation.
• Implement defenses against common attack methods to models and data protection, such as data exfiltration, information disclosure, hallucinations, model poisoning, and excessive overreliance.
• Establish responsible AI frameworks for fairness, bias detection, and explainability.
• Deploy AI agents to automate and enhance cybersecurity operations (e.g., incident response, threat detection, vulnerability management). 
• Collaborate with the Cybersecurity Cloud, App, and AI Security Manager to integrate AI into enterprise security strategy. 
• Partner with data science, DevSecOps, and application teams to embed security into AI development pipelines.
• Monitor and respond to security incidents related to AI systems.
• Conduct regular security assessments and audits to identify vulnerabilities and implement corrective actions.
• Plan, coordinate, and lead Cybersecurity projects.
• Help internal customers understand and apply Cybersecurity concepts, processes, and technologies.
• Maintain current knowledge of Cybersecurity concepts, technologies, and practices.
• Mentor others to strengthen Cybersecurity principles and best practices to outside operational areas. 
• Establish and maintain excellent working relationships and partnerships across the Technology Organization, business partners, and external vendors and suppliers.
• Create an environment that fosters accountability, innovation, and engagement at all levels.

Requirements and qualifications:            

Minimum

• Deep understanding of AI and machine learning concepts, algorithms, and frameworks, AI model architectures, and training pipelines.  Including LLM concepts, content safety, and data validation. 

• Hands-on experience with Azure Databricks and Azure AI Services
• Familiarity with securing LLMs, generative models, and agentic workflows.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, an understanding of ethical and regulatory requirements related to AI security, and a continuous learning mindset. 

• Ability to lead cross-functional technical teams and influence enterprise-wide decisions.

• Strong knowledge of cloud platform(s), such as Azure, AWS, GCP, and containerized environments.

• Hands-on experience designing, architecting, and implementing various information security tools/products such as PKI, Static or Dynamic Code Analysis, Next-Generation Firewalls, HSM’s, SIEM, Multi-Factor Authentication, IPS, Database Encryption, Privileged Identity Management, Cloud Posture Management, etc.
• Competency in APIs (Rest, Graph) and/or JavaScript/JSON/Kubernetes/SQL.
• Experience promoting security as a business enablement function using influence, metrics, documentation, strong verbal communication, and presentation skills. 
• Working knowledge of cloud and traditional security network architectures. 
• Ability to lead a project from concept through implementation and anticipate potential problems. 
• Experience prioritizing and executing with minimal direction or oversight.
• Ability to perform detailed information security risk assessments and recommend mitigating controls.
• Must pass NERC CIP & Insider Threat Protection background checks.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with tools such as SAST/DAST, CSPM, DLP, DSPM, API Gateways, and AI security platforms.
• Knowledge of MCP protection strategies and AI governance frameworks.
• Hands-on experience with secure CI/CD pipelines, API security, and data privacy controls.
• Experience evaluating and assessing third-party vendor risks, including cybersecurity, data privacy, regulatory compliance, and supply chain security considerations.
• Experience with software development and programing. 
• Familiarity with ethical AI principles and emerging regulatory landscapes. 
• Experience with adversarial ML, red teaming, and AI-specific threat modeling.
• Technical knowledge of application development practices, CI/CD pipelines, various cloud platforms including Azure, AWS, or GCP, modern operating systems, networking protocols and designs, and identity management.
• Azure certifications preferred. 
• Industry certifications such as: CISSP, CCSP, CASA, CEH, OSCP, CRISC, CCNP, etc.
• At least 5 years of experience playing a key role in building technical programs. 
• Experience with information security frameworks such as: NIST, OWASP, etc.
• Familiarity with nation state, sophisticated criminal, and supply chain threats.
• Up-to-date knowledge of current hacking techniques, vulnerability disclosures, and data breach incidents. 
• Experience with cybersecurity analysis and analytic tradecraft. 

This position falls under the company’s Insider Threat Program and will have access to, and control over sensitive data, systems or assets. Enhanced personnel screening, which includes a background review, drug screen and psychological assessment, will be required if you are selected for this position