The Lead AI Application Security Champion position is responsible for partnering with development teams to identify and address security risks throughout the software development lifecycle, with an emphasis on LLM-based, internally developed, and agentic AI applications. This position facilitates threat modeling, develops security requirements, provides vulnerability prioritization and remediation guidance, and assists teams with applying application and AI security standards and best practices. The Lead AI Application Security Champion will also help develop security standards and guidance, connect teams with appropriate Cybersecurity resources, and may contribute to scripts, automation, and tools that improve application security capabilities.
Strategy & Planning
- Acquire and interpret business, functional, technical, and architectural requirements to define application and AI security requirements
- Facilitate threat modeling and abuse-case analysis for traditional and AI-enabled applications
- Work with development teams, architects, and Cybersecurity partners to identify security risks and recommend appropriate controls
- Maintain knowledge of application and AI security practices, technologies, threats, and regulatory considerations through training, research, and collaboration
- Assist in developing and maintaining application and AI security standards, guidance, and reusable security patterns
- Identify opportunities to improve secure development practices and application security capabilities
Acquisition & Deployment
- Work with architects and developers to incorporate security requirements and practices into new and existing application functionality
- Provide security guidance for LLM-based applications, internally developed AI solutions, agentic AI systems, and applications integrating third-party AI services
- Assist development teams with applying application and AI security standards throughout the software development lifecycle
- Provide recommendations for secure architecture, authentication, authorization, data protection, API security, and AI component integration
- Assist development teams with understanding, prioritizing, and remediating application security vulnerabilities
- Develop or recommend reusable guidance, patterns, reference implementations, and other resources that support secure development
Operational Management
- Serve as the primary Application Security partner for an assigned portfolio of development teams and applications
- Facilitate security reviews, threat modeling sessions, and other secure design activities
- Evaluate application designs, data flows, trust boundaries, model interactions, agent capabilities, and external integrations for security risks
- Provide risk-based guidance for prioritizing and remediating application security findings
- Assist development teams with interpreting and complying with application and AI security standards
- Connect development teams with appropriate Cybersecurity resources and specialized services
- Assist development teams with engaging application penetration testers when security assessments are needed
- Track and report activities, risks, recommendations, and progress associated with assigned teams and applications
Incidental Functions
- Create and maintain application and AI security documentation, guidance, reference materials, and standard operating procedures
- Develop and deliver application and AI security training or knowledge-sharing sessions
- Participate in cross-training related to application penetration testing and AI security testing
- Mentor developers and other team members in secure development practices
- Assist with evaluating tools, technologies, frameworks, and service providers
- Contribute to scripts, automation, reference implementations, and tools that improve capabilities
- Participate in team planning, retrospectives, and knowledge-sharing activities
- Make presentations to management, development teams, and peer groups as requested
- Perform project and task tracking and reporting as necessary
This is not a remote/hybrid and will report to our Global Headquarters in downtown Cleveland, OH.
This position is not eligible for sponsorship for work authorization now or in the future, including conversion to H1-B visa. Must be legally authorized to work in the country of employment without needing sponsorship for employment work visa status now or in the future.
Job duties include contact with other employees and access confidential and proprietary information and/or other items of value, and such access may be supervised or unsupervised. The Company therefore has determined that a review of criminal history is necessary to protect the business and its operations and reputation and is necessary to protect the safety of the Company’s staff, employees, and business relationships.
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE
Required
- Bachelor’s Degree (or foreign equivalent) or in lieu of a degree, at least 12 years in experience in the field of Information Technology or Business (work experience or a combination of education and work experience in the field of Information Technology or Business)
- 8+ years of IT and/or cybersecurity experience
- 8+ years of experience in software development, application security, cybersecurity, or a related technology field
- Experience working across multiple phases of the Software Development Lifecycle
- Strong knowledge of:
- Secure software design and development practices
- Web applications, APIs, and common application security vulnerabilities
- Authentication, authorization, session management, and identity security
- Application architecture, data flows, integrations, and trust boundaries
- Threat modeling, abuse-case analysis, and security requirements development
- Vulnerability prioritization and remediation practices
- Cloud-native application architectures and cloud security practices
- Experience partnering with software development teams to identify and resolve application security risks
- Experience facilitating technical discussions and communicating security requirements to developers, architects, product owners, and other stakeholders
- Experience reviewing application designs and recommending practical security controls
- Familiarity with AI-enabled application architectures and associated security risks
- Demonstrated aptitude and interest in LLM, machine learning, and agentic AI security
- Ability to work independently and collaboratively across development, architecture, product, and Cybersecurity teams
- Ability to manage security engagements across a portfolio of teams and applications
- Software development experience using one or more programming or scripting languages
- Experience providing secure design and remediation guidance for complex application vulnerabilities
- Experience reviewing source code to identify security weaknesses or validate remediation
- Experience developing scripts, automation, reusable security components, or application security tools
- Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without company sponsorship
- Must be at least eighteen (18) years of age
Preferred
- Experience performing security testing of AI-enabled applications, LLMa, or related technologies
- Experience designing, developing, or supporting LLM-based applications, machine learning solutions, or agentic AI systems
- Experience performing threat modeling for AI-enabled applications
- Familiarity with security risks involving prompts, models, training or retrieval data, agents, tools, plugins, APIs, and third-party AI services
- Experience evaluating authorization boundaries and tool permissions within agentic AI applications
- Familiarity with application penetration-testing methodologies and techniques
- Experience developing security standards, technical guidance, or reusable secure development patterns
At Sherwin-Williams, our purpose is to inspire and improve the world by coloring and protecting what matters. Our paints, coatings and innovative solutions make the places and spaces in our world brighter and stronger. Your skills, talent and passion make it possible to live this purpose, and for customers and our business to achieve great results. Sherwin-Williams is a place that takes its stability, growth and momentum and translates it to possibility for our people. Our people are behind the strength of our success, and we invest and support you in:
Life … with rewards, benefits and the flexibility to enhance your health and well-being Career … with opportunities to learn, develop new skills and grow your contribution Connection … with an inclusive team and commitment to our own and broader communities It's all here for you... let's Create Your Possible
At Sherwin-Williams, part of our mission is to help our employees and their families live healthier, save smarter and feel better. This starts with a wide range of world-class benefits designed for you. From retirement to health care, from total well-being to your daily commute - it matters to us. A general description of benefits offered can be found at http://www.myswbenefits.com/. Click on “Candidates” to view benefit offerings that you may be eligible for if you are hired as a Sherwin-Williams employee.
Compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case and will impact where actual compensation may fall within the stated wage range. The wage range listed for this role takes into account the wide range of factors considered in making compensation decisions including skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs. The disclosed range estimate has not been adjusted for the applicable geographic differential associated with the location at which the position may be filled. The wage range, other compensation, and benefits information listed is accurate as of the date of this posting. The Company reserves the right to modify this information at any time, with or without notice, subject to applicable law.
Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws including with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act where applicable.
Sherwin-Williams is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, age, pregnancy, genetic information, creed, marital status or any other consideration prohibited by law or by contract.
As a VEVRAA Federal Contractor, Sherwin-Williams requests state and local employment services delivery systems to provide priority referral of Protected Veterans.
Please be aware, Sherwin-Williams recruiting team members will never request a candidate to provide a payment, ask for financial information, or sensitive personal information like national identification numbers, date of birth, or bank account numbers during the application process.