Director, Security Architect (Freelance)

Cephas Consultancy Services Private Limited

India, Karnataka, Bengaluru

On-site · Contract · Full-time

Director – Security Architect

Cephas Consultancy Services is an IT consulting organization with operations in Bhubaneswar and Bangalore. We connect clients across India with talent for full-time and contract roles.

This freelance position is based in Bangalore.

Role Summary

We are seeking an experienced Director-level Security Architect to lead the design, governance, and technical direction of large-scale enterprise security transformation programs, including a Microsoft E5 Security and Purview implementation for a global client. This is a hands-on architecture role, not a purely oversight position. The successful candidate will present architecture strategy and risk trade-offs to client CISOs and board-level stakeholders, while also configuring, troubleshooting, and validating Microsoft E5 capabilities when delivery timelines, escalations, or technical complexity require it. Candidates must have prior hands-on delivery experience with the Microsoft E5 suite and be able to manage senior client relationships.

Key Responsibilities

  1. Hands-On Architecture Leadership and Delivery
    • Own the end-to-end target security architecture across Microsoft Entra ID, the Defender suite (MDE, MDO, MDCA, MDI), Microsoft 365 Defender XDR, and Microsoft Purview (DLP, Insider Risk, eDiscovery, Information Protection, and Compliance Manager).
    • Configure, test, and troubleshoot Conditional Access, Identity Protection, ASR rules, DLP policies, and sensitivity labels when needed, particularly during initial deployment, escalations, or complex wave cutovers.
    • Define enterprise-wide architectural standards for RBAC, cross-domain XDR correlation, and legacy tool decommissioning (CrowdStrike, Check Point EDR, Symantec DLP, and Sophos).
    • Design the enterprise sensitivity label taxonomy, data governance model, and DLP control framework in line with regulatory and business requirements.
    • Serve as the technical escalation point for critical or high-severity issues during stabilization and hypercare, diagnosing and resolving configuration issues alongside the delivery team.
  2. Program and Delivery Oversight
    • Lead architecture governance across all engagement phases and knowledge transfer.
    • Define wave exit criteria, oversee validation and testing, and sign off on architectural compliance before wave progression.
    • Step into delivery workstreams during resource gaps, tight deadlines, or complex configuration work to keep wave timelines on track.
  3. Leadership-Level Client and Stakeholder Management
    • Act as the primary architectural contact for client CISOs, IT leaders, and business unit stakeholders, building trusted-advisor relationships at senior levels.
    • Present architecture decisions, risk trade-offs, and roadmap progress in board-level and steering committee meetings, translating technical complexity into business-risk terms.
    • Facilitate workshops with business units and compliance teams to validate data classification, policy exceptions, and adoption impacts.
    • Manage stakeholder conversations about scope, risk acceptance, and delays with composure and commercial judgment, protecting client outcomes and delivery integrity.
  4. Team Leadership and Capability Building
    • Lead and work alongside a multidisciplinary delivery team of security engineers, consultants, and project managers across identity, endpoint, cloud app security, and data protection workstreams, providing hands-on configuration support when needed.
    • Own quality assurance for technical deliverables, including configuration baselines, SOPs, runbooks, stabilization and optimization reports, and KPI and health-check reports.
    • Lead architecture-focused knowledge transfer sessions and enable client teams to operate independently in BAU.
    • Contribute reusable architecture patterns and points of view to the Securing Emerging Technologies practice.
  5. Risk, Compliance, and Governance
    • Ensure architecture decisions support regulatory compliance and audit readiness.
    • Balance security controls against business disruption, particularly for DLP, Insider Risk Management, and sensitivity labeling, through risk-based tuning (Adaptive Protection).
    • Maintain alignment with agreed scope boundaries and manage architecture-impacting change requests through formal change control.

Required Qualifications and Experience

  • 15+ years of cybersecurity experience, including 8+ years in enterprise security architecture roles, ideally at Director or Principal Architect level in a consulting or large enterprise environment.
  • Proven, hands-on delivery experience with the Microsoft E5 Security and Purview suite (required).
  • Ability to discuss specific configurations personally designed and deployed, such as Conditional Access policies, MDE/MDO/MDCA onboarding, DLP and sensitivity label rollouts, and Insider Risk Management.
  • Demonstrated experience architecting and delivering large-scale enterprise implementations (10,000+ endpoints/servers, multi-region), not only advisory engagements.
  • Deep hands-on expertise across:
    • Microsoft Entra ID (Conditional Access, Identity Protection, RBAC)
    • Microsoft Defender suite (MDE, MDO, MDCA/MCAS, MDI, Microsoft 365 Defender XDR)
    • Microsoft Purview (Information Protection, DLP, Insider Risk Management, eDiscovery, Compliance Manager, Records Management)
  • Experience leading migration or consolidation from legacy or third-party tools (e.g., CrowdStrike, Check Point, Symantec, Sophos) to unified Microsoft-native platforms.
  • Experience with wave-based or phased enterprise rollouts, hypercare models, and formal stage-gate and sign-off governance.
  • Demonstrated ability to manage senior client stakeholders (CISO, CIO, board, or steering committee), build trust, navigate escalations, and influence decision-makers.
  • Comfort working across executive presentations and console-level configuration, and willingness to provide hands-on delivery support when needed.
  • Relevant certifications preferred: Microsoft Certified: Cybersecurity Architect Expert (SC-100), SC-200/SC-300/SC-400, CISSP, CISM, or TOGAF.
  • Experience in manufacturing, logistics, industrial, or critical infrastructure environments is highly valued, given the complexity of OT/IT convergence and heterogeneous device estates.

Key Skills

  • Technical: Hands-on Microsoft E5 Security and Purview configuration; Zero Trust architecture; XDR/SIEM integration patterns; DLP and data classification design; RBAC concepts
  • Delivery: Hands-on configuration and troubleshooting; multi-region rollout governance; hypercare management
  • Leadership: Mentoring senior consultants; leading on technical delivery and client engagement
  • Stakeholder Management: Executive and board-level presentations; CISO/CIO relationship management; navigating escalations with composure and commercial judgment
  • Consulting: Proposal and SOW development; risk-based prioritization; change management support
  • Domain: Regulatory compliance frameworks; industrial and manufacturing digital risk; emerging technology security