Principal Security Engineer

The Principal Security Engineer sets the technical strategy for the overall architecture, roadmap, and framework used in the security solutions to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of Patterson’s information assets and systems. This role represents the highest level of expertise across multiple domains of information security architecture. Serving as a strategic security consultant for both internal and external systems, the role is responsible for designing solutions, evaluating vendor products, developing business cases, and ensuring alignment with the organization's security architecture.

Additionally, this role leads engineers in implementing, deploying, and transitioning solutions into production while overseeing the overall security architecture lifecycle.

This role will be Hybrid (2-days a week in office), and it is required that you are located within 50 miles of our Corporate Offices in either Mendota Heights, MN or Loveland, CO. In-person attendance is expected to foster collaboration, innovation, and team connection.

• Champion the design, development, and establishment of information security architecture standards for security solutions while ensuring thorough documentation; communicate complex security architectural concepts and principals to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Lead and implement a comprehensive data protection strategy, technology platform, and compliance roadmap, aligning it with current goals and objectives, while integrating the existing IT Infrastructure and Security roadmap.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to optimize performance, cost-effectiveness, and operational efficiency of our cloud environments and security technology portfolio.
• Advise key stakeholders and drive the translation of complex business requirements into robust, security-first designs for Azure and multiple-cloud solutions.
• Ensure alignment with a well‑architected framework while balancing security, performance, and business objectives. Leverage deep business acumen to create solutions that not only mitigate risks but also enable strategic growth and innovation.
• Through collaboration with the Enterprise Architecture and IT Infrastructure teams, design and document detailed Azure security architectures utilizing services like compute, storage, networking, databases, and application services.
• Provide escalated support for Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Azure issues, serving as a liaison for problem management between the functional team and Microsoft for security related issues.
• Product and technical ownership of data protection solutions such as Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management, Information Protection and other Data Loss Prevention (DLP) solutions.
• Oversight of sensitive data cataloging, classification, and labeling strategies.
• Serve as the technical data protection subject matter expert – for enterprise project advising on secure handling requirements and solution design for sensitive data (e.g., PCI, ePHI, PII), including tools and capabilities such as redaction/tokenization and data loss prevention.
• Partner with IT Risk & Compliance and Regulatory Compliance to design, implement, and maintain an enterprise Data Protection Matrix, establishing standardized security patterns for sensitive data.
• Conduct security design reviews for data protection initiatives, document findings, and drive action‑item closure to reduce risk and align implementations to enterprise security standards, and actively participate in architectural review boards, working groups, committees, and other oversight and governance forums as required.

• Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree with an emphasis in security, technology, or engineering or equivalent work experience.
• At least 8 years of work experience in information technology, cyber security, or information security with a minimum of 6 years of experience in cloud engineering or related roles.
• Deep understanding of Azure cloud architecture principles, networking concepts, Data Platforms, MS Fabric, and security best practices, as well as IT infrastructure management.
• Proven and demonstrable experience in the deployment and implementation of the Microsoft E5 advanced security and compliance suite, such as Purview and the Microsoft Defender solutions.
• Proficiency in automation tools and scripting languages (e.g., Python, Power Shell, Azure CLI).
• Security industry certification.

• Microsoft Certified:
  Azure Solutions Architect Expert.

The potential compensation range for this role is below. The final offer amount would be based on various factors such as candidate location (geographical labor market), experience, and skills. $ - $