Hastings Direct
Principal Security Engineer
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Head of Cloud Security Governance
About Hastings Direct & Our Vision
We’re a digital insurance provider with ambitious plans to become The Best and Biggest in the UK market. Over the past few years, we’ve made significant investments in our data and tech capabilities, particularly within our CIO function.
Our CIO team leads innovation and ensures our technology infrastructure supports our ambitious goals, fostering our 4Cs culture—collaboration, creativity, and continuous improvement.
We’ve already begun an exciting journey, offering insurance to nearly four million customers, but we’re not stopping. If you’re passionate about our mission, we’d love you to join us and share the success of our next chapter.
We understand that not everyone will tick every box—what matters is if you’re excited to join us and bring your energy. Our CIO team thrives on passionate, proactive individuals willing to make a difference.
Key Responsibilities
Elevate culture and processes by:
- Promoting a re-use driven culture to integrate workflow efficiency and eliminate duplication.
- Guiding and coaching teams in security engineering best practices, taking a process improvement stance to standardise security proficiency company-wide.
- Supporting secure, streamlined outcomes by reducing manual execution and establishing reliabledelta feedback loops to foster fail-fast delivery.
Ensure secure environments with:
- Implementing cloud security best practices and defining secure operational controls.
- Facilitating alignment across Scrum Teams and the CIO community, facilitating efficient, secure, and reliable evolution via shared best practices.
Key focus areas:
- Drive engagement across teams to define and adopt best practices.
- Strengthen capability through mentorship and coaching relationships across the board.
What We Need You To Bring
Experience & Leadership
- Extensive hands-on experience in IT Security, particularly within agile environments.
- Transformational leadership with the ability to shape decisions and establish new security processes that align with our business vision and strategic goals.
- Proven ability to mentor, support direct reports’ professional growth, and foster general team development.
- Cloud security expertise, with a focus on Microsoft Azure ecosystem, including Service Principal, Triaging, Tier 2 Incident Response engagements, and vulnerability assessments.
- Depth of knowledge in:
- Regulatory compliance (e.g., GDPR, ISO 27001, NIST).
- Cloud architecture principles, security controls, network security, identity and access management (IAM) and encryption.
- Secure coding principles, prioritising vulnerabilities, and threat mitigation strategies.
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Technical Expertise
- Design, implement, and secure cloud environments (e.g., Azure or similar cloud solutions).
- Full-stack understanding of microservices, Kubernetes (Azure Kubernetes Service - AKS), and container security.
- Robust experience in DevOps methodologies, particularly **DevSecOps’, ensuring security is baked into development lifecycle stages.
- Hands-on familiarity with threat modelling (e.g., STRIDE/FAri analysis), as well as application protection, compliance frameworks, and ISO 27001.
- Real-world knowledge of identity frameworks such as Azure Active Directory, Conditional Access policies, Privileged Identity Management and protection baseline.
Soft Skills & Insights
- Skilled in risk prioritisation, portfolio-backlog influencing, gathering stakeholder requirements, and occasional technical investigate training for analysts.
- A cultural leader adept at empathy-building, constructive critiquing, and encouraging feedback at all levels of the organisation.
Our Tools & Technologies
- Azure Security Center, Microsoft Defender (for Cloud, Endpoints, Intune. PKI).
- Tools such as Azure Firewall, network security groups, Azure Sentinel (SIEM) & SIEM correlators, GRC and opportunity mapping tools.
- Experience with Azure Arc, Threat detection.
Dependencies include:
- Cross-cutting identity protection for M365.
- Unified Print Command Framework.
- Impact assessment for security policies / controls.
Champions technical led onboarding, troubleshooting and churn rate management for WAF and application firewall/* Load balancers, gateways*.
OR - For Those Without Direct Benchmarks
No previous employer experience? We would love to hear from you. Demonstrate your potential and growth mentality, coupled with an innovative mindset. We prioritise personality over extensive experience—show us your passion and desire to excel.
Our company will provide the training and resources you need.
(Unfortunately, we are unable to process sponsorship requests at this time.)
What We Offer
Our 4Cs Approach
- Colleagues first — Blend great technology and a culture of recognition, where everyone feels empowered to grow.
- Company second — By focusing on colleagues and customers, we position ourselves on a path to sustainability.
- Customers next — Through value-driven products and personalised interaction, we guarantee great experiences.
- Community finally — Profit reinvestments benefit both our staff and brand.
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At Hastings Direct, we don’t just talk about it — it’s inline with who we are. Our commitment to four pillars aligns success across the company.
Salary & Compensation
- Salary: Attractive combatitable to to the market standards + car allowance
- Annual reviews ensured for transparent compensation adjustments.
Flexible Working
- Champion hybrid model – Work from office/wide footprints included.
- Collaborative tools such as Microsoft Teams designated for uninterrupted focus and schedule varieties.
Competitive Bonus Scheme
- Eligibility for performance-led bonuses in March annually, based on individual performance and business results.
Employment Perks
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Physical Wellbeing
- For our colleagues: Private Medical Insurance (PMI) with band 4 (banking).
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Financial Wellbeing
- Life assurance and income protection covering at 4x salary terms, medical reimbursements.
- Authorised match-up to 10% pension.
- A competitive financial package offers:
- Discounts and cash-backs on everyday necessities.
- Fee-free mortgage advice connection for colleagues.
- Access to industry-leading financial consultants and education.
Life Integration
- 27 days’ leave + bank holidays (adjustable flexibility).
- Group incentives offer free technology and lifestyle schemes.
- Credit Counိုင်း�check & potential adjustments requested during the recruitment process.
- Special events, private gym, awards, and wellbeing programs to support every aspect of life beyond work — mental, active, and financial.
Inclusion & Diversity
- Hastings Direct is an equal-opportunity employer committed to creating an inclusive work environment for all, regardless of background, gender, age, ethnicity, or any protected characteristic.
- Please let us know if you need adjustments to ensure a fair and welcoming recruitment experience. We’ll ensure the process is tailored to you.
Making Hastings Direct Your Success
Threads of our community include: Empower community-based initiatives via CSR programs, mentorship schemes, and access support within the business leadership as strategic employees.
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