Cybersecurity Architects

Employers typically require candidates for cybersecurity architect positions to have at least three years—but ideally five years—of experience in lower-level cybersecurity positions such as cybersecurity analyst, penetration and vulnerability tester, cybersecurity specialist, cybercrime analyst, or incident and intrusion analyst. It’s possible that a new college graduate could be offered a cybersecurity architect position at a small company, but most employers seek applicants with extensive experience.

Cyberseek.org is a collaborative project between software companies and IT associations that aims to increase the number of cybersecurity professionals in the field. It reports that the following technical skills (in descending order) are in highest demand by employers: information security, network security, cryptography, information systems, authentication, Linux (https://www.linux.org), software development, Cisco (https://www.cisco.com), and National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework (https://www.nist.gov/cyberframework).

A survey of cybersecurity professionals by ISC2 found that the most in-demand soft skills were strong problem solving, communication, and strategic thinking, and curiosity and eagerness to learn. Other important traits for cybersecurity architects include the ability to multitask and remain calm under pressure, excellent leadership and project management ability, top-notch organizational and time-management skills; creativity and the ability to think “outside the box,” and strong ethics.