Head of Security Operations - Canonical

Role Overview

As the Head of Security Operations at Canonical, you will lead the global SecOps team responsible for the design, implementation, and evolution of security practices, tools, and policies. You will own the strategy for securing Canonical’s data, internal infrastructure, and build processes, ensuring the integrity of our infrastructure and product deployments.

This is a leadership position that requires an expert practitioner who can lead by example, contribute at the highest level, and drive a high-performing security culture.

What You Will Do

• Team Leadership: Hire, mentor, and lead a team of outstanding technical security professionals.
• Strategy & Architecture: Own and drive the architecture and design of the Security Operations Center (SOC).
• Security Standards: Define SecOps standards, playbooks, and security architecture improvements.
• Threat Management: Identify, contain, and guide the remediation of security threats and cyber attacks.
• Tooling: Evaluate, select, and implement next-generation security tools and practices.
• Collaboration: Work with Engineering and IS teams to drive threat modeling, table-top exercises, and security integration.
• Thought Leadership: Contribute to open-source threat intelligence, publish whitepapers, and represent Canonical at industry events.
• Reporting: Track SecOps KPIs and influence change through data-driven reporting to security leadership.

What We Are Looking For

• Expertise: Proven track record of mitigating advanced threat actors and nation-state threats.
• Technical Depth: Expert understanding of SOC architecture (logging, firewalls, network segmentation, honeypots) and Linux security.
• Incident Response: Ability to define, automate, and measure effective incident response playbooks.
• Frameworks: Experience with security risk management frameworks (e.g., NIST CSF).
• Education: Undergraduate degree in Computer Science or STEM, or a compelling narrative of your alternative path.
• Communication: Excellent business English writing and presentation skills.
• Leadership: Demonstrated ability to manage high-performing teams and influence stakeholders.

Optional Skills

• Experience in offensive or defensive security teams.
• Proficiency with open-source security tools.
• Familiarity with ISO 27001 and corporate endpoint security posture management.