Sr Director, Cloud Security - Eden Prairie or Washington, DC Hybrid

UnitedHealth Group•Eden Prairie, MN

9d•Hybrid

About The Position

Optum Tech is a global leader in health care innovation. Our teams develop cutting-edge solutions that help people live healthier lives and help make the health system work better for everyone. From advanced data analytics and AI to cybersecurity, we use innovative approaches to solve some of health care’s most complex challenges. Your contributions here have the potential to change lives. Ready to build the next breakthrough? Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together. The Senior Director of Cloud Security is the senior leader responsible for the overall cloud security strategy and execution and golden images security for on prem and cloud systems security across the enterprise. This role leads a team focused on designing, implementing, and maintaining the foundations that enable secure cloud environments. This role also responsible securing golden images (containers, vm, etc.) for both on-premises and in the cloud. The Senior Director partners closely with ETIPS ( Enterprise Technology Infrastructure, Platforms & Services) cloud teams and other stakeholders to ensure robust, scalable, and compliant security solutions are embedded throughout the organization’s technology landscape.

Requirements

10+ years in infrastructure, cloud, and systems security for large, complex organizations in regulated domains
7+ years leading cloud and/or systems security teams in multi-cloud environments
Deep experience with cloud service provider engagement (AWS, Azure, GCP) and native service integration
Proven success developing and maintaining golden images for operating systems (Windows, Linux, etc.) in both on-premises and cloud environments
Demonstrated ability to build low-friction engagement models across Security, Infrastructure, and Application teams
Experience with toolchain rationalization and rapid operationalization (build vs. buy)
Background in identity & access management, policy baselines, and security posture management
Executive engagement with cloud service providers and technology leaders (QBRs, roadmap influence)
Thought leadership in cloud and systems security

Nice To Haves

Relevant certifications (CISSP, CCSP, AWS/Azure Security)
Experience partnering with incident response and audit teams
Familiarity with regulatory frameworks (NIST, ISO, HITRUST, HIPAA)
M&A cloud integration experience

Responsibilities

Establish and mature a unified operating model for cloud and systems security, enabling seamless engagement across Enterprise security and resilience office (Engineering, Cyber, Architecture) and ETIPS teams
Develop and enforce security standards in partnership with Security Architecture and golden image baselines in all environments, ensuring consistency, compliance, and rapid deployment
Drive proactive security planning and operational readiness for cloud landing zones, reducing friction and enabling business agility
Partner with ETIPS teams to embed security by default into cloud platform features, backlog grooming, and service adoption
Measure and improve the security posture of cloud entities and system images, shifting assessments earlier in the lifecycle and supporting continuous improvement
Lead and develop the Cloud and Systems Security team, providing direction, coaching, and performance management
Design, document, and maintain secure cloud landing zones and golden images for operating systems in partnership with ETIPS
Standardize policy execution and operational metrics across cloud and systems platforms
Direct the product/backlog for scalable security capabilities and ensure efficient intake/prioritization with ETIPS
Operate shared guardrails (IAM baselines, encryption, policy sets) with clear SLAs, SLOs, and health dashboards
Make toolchain choices (build, buy, deprecate) to maximize ROI and speed to operational maturity
Lead joint technical readiness and incident response exercises with ETIPS and partner teams
Establish war-room protocols and continuous improvement loops, integrating lessons learned into backlog
Serve as a trusted leader breaking down silos between Security, Infrastructure, and Application teams
Own and lead engagement with cloud service providers (AWS, Azure, GCP): run QBRs, influence roadmaps, and accelerate adoption of platform-native security features
Improve posture maturity for integrated cloud entities and golden images; strengthen upstream assessments and cross-cloud IAM