Systems Architect & Cybersecurity Lead - UBC, Vancouver

About the Opportunity

UBC is seeking a highly skilled Systems Architect & Cybersecurity Lead to provide advanced technical leadership within the Development & Alumni Engagement (DAE) portfolio at the UBC Vancouver Campus. This senior staff position is critical for designing and implementing robust solutions for complex departmental systems, leading cross-unit technology initiatives, and contributing significantly to strategic planning. The role provides essential expertise in maintaining the continuity and security of revenue-generating platforms, reflecting senior-level duties with high impact on institutional operations and cybersecurity posture.

Reporting to the Director of Information Systems within DAE, this role operates both independently and collaboratively with senior stakeholders across UBC IT, PrISM, Cybersecurity, and various faculty departments. The incumbent provides dotted-line reporting to the Chief Information Security Office (CISO) Senior Leadership and Privacy and Information Security Risk Leadership for all cybersecurity and privacy matters. This position also involves supervising programmer analysts and student developers, offering technical leadership and mentorship.

Skills and Experience for Success

To excel in this Systems Architect & Cybersecurity Lead role, candidates must demonstrate a strong foundation in relevant technical disciplines and practical experience. The minimum qualifications ensure a solid base for managing complex information systems and cybersecurity challenges.

• Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline.
• In-depth knowledge of applications and the business requirements supporting them.
• Minimum of five years of related experience, or the equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own.
• Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Beyond the foundational requirements, preferred qualifications highlight specific expertise and experience that will enable the successful candidate to immediately contribute to UBC's enterprise-level environment. This includes advanced technical knowledge in critical areas of systems architecture and cybersecurity.

• Demonstrated experience in systems architecture, cybersecurity, and enterprise-level platform integration.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional technical teams and manage complex projects.
• In-depth knowledge of applications and business requirements in large-scale enterprise environments.
• Experience in application pipeline management, cybersecurity frameworks, privacy compliance, and system migration.
• Proficient in managing multi-tiered websites and web applications, including hosting and deployment operations.
• Strong foundation in IT infrastructure: backups, patching, performance tuning, monitoring, logging, and alerting.
• Technical expertise in Windows Server administration, PowerShell scripting, and virtualized platforms.
• Working knowledge of Unix/Linux fundamentals and shell scripting.
• Experience customizing COTS products such as CRM and CMS platforms.
• Familiarity with quality assurance frameworks, log monitoring, and web hosting technologies.
• Proficient in database-driven, object-oriented programming and complex SQL queries, stored procedures, and ETLs.
• Advanced knowledge of CI/CD pipelines, DevOps automation, and cloud infrastructure.
• Experience with cybersecurity frameworks, vulnerability assessment, and remediation strategies.
• Familiarity with UBC’s enterprise systems, including Constituent Relationship Management platforms.
• Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Experience mentoring technical staff and aligning teams with institutional standards.

Key Responsibilities and Daily Impact

The Systems Architect & Cybersecurity Lead performs a wide range of critical duties, providing expert guidance and hands-on technical leadership across various initiatives. This role involves shaping the architectural direction of complex systems and ensuring robust cybersecurity measures are in place to protect sensitive information and maintain operational integrity.

• Leads the design and governance of architectural solutions for complex departmental systems and integrates them into campus-wide infrastructure.
• Conceptualizes and recommends technology initiatives including platform upgrades, enterprise migrations, and system re-architecture.
• Provides specialist advice on cybersecurity, DevOps automation, and systems architecture to operating staff and client departments.
• Oversees the development, enhancement and maintenance of CI/CD pipelines, automation frameworks, and cybersecurity guardrails.
• Evaluates cybersecurity risk by reviewing vulnerability reports, distinguishing true positives, and recommending remediation strategies.
• Authorizes and oversees portfolio-wide employment access requests across the portfolio, ensuring compliance with institutional security policies.
• Leads implementation planning, oversees testing and release cycles, and ensures documentation of system changes and recovery procedures.
• Advises on infrastructure design, vendor selection, and application lifecycle enhancements.
• Serves as technical project lead on departmental and campus-wide initiatives.
• Provides expert guidance and escalation leadership to cross-functional teams to resolve complex system failures and ensure platform continuity.
• Develops and institutionalizes methodologies for improving operational procedures and system reliability.
• Leads and mentors technical staff and ensures alignment with best practices and departmental standards.
• Oversees operational reliability of production and non-production application environments and infrastructure, ensuring appropriate monitoring and performance optimization.
• Plans and governs large-scale global configuration changes and module deployments for websites and applications.
• Provides architectural direction for custom development and complex integrations. Packages in-house developed websites and applications for production or integrates vendor-supplied applications and online solutions with existing infrastructure through custom interfaces and components.
• Develops or modifies software code to meet specifications or facilitate integration.
• Leads evaluation of emerging technologies, maintains appropriate professional designations and up-to-date knowledge of current information technology techniques and tools; provides input to strategies for ongoing support and upgrade of these systems.
• Performs other related duties as required.