Meet Jacques Taljaard- Senior Security Services Architect
At The Missing Link, our people are what set us apart. Their expertise, curiosity, and commitment to continuous improvement underpin the outcomes we deliver for our clients every day. But technical capability is only part of the story.
Through this series, we spotlight the individuals behind the work, exploring the experiences, passions, and perspectives that shape their approach to their roles.
For Jacques Taljaard, solving problems is what drives him. Whether he's helping clients uplift their security posture or exploring old philosophies in his own time, he brings a thoughtful, considered approach to everything he takes on. A lifelong tech enthusiast since his first green-screen PC, he built his career from the ground up, working his way through IT, networking and cyber security before becoming a Senior Security Services Architect at The Missing Link, where he now helps clients tackle their toughest security challenges.
Outside of work, Jacques is a family man, a motorbike enthusiast and a former martial arts competitor who loves nothing more than a ride on his motorbike or gaming with his mates. From the family's menagerie of dogs, cats, chickens and horses to quiet moments of reflection, it's the people, animals and passions around him that matter most.
Let's take five minutes to get to know him better.
Where did you grow up? What did you love doing as a kid?
I grew up on the east coast of South Africa. As a child, I loved doing anything on wheels; BMX, skateboarding, and rollerblading took up most of my time outside. I'm a typical Gen X kid, spending the majority of my time outside, as we grew up in the "children are seen, not heard" era.
What was your childhood dream job? And what was your first paid job?
I always knew I wanted to work with computers. My first computer was an old PC with a green screen that used floppy disks for installing anything. Once I saw it, I was hooked, and my career aspirations were always focused on getting into IT.
My first paid job was working at the family hardware store. My father was very traditional and thought I was wasting my time studying "computers," so he insisted I learn about tools and artisan skills.
What's your career progression been like?
I worked at my father's company after school, but moved into artisan work doing cabling in the telephony and networking space. I used this as a path to get into information technology as a field. Work like that was hard to get into without a degree in South Africa, so I came in at the bottom and worked my way up through all the various IT fields. While moving through support and networking, I quickly realised that IT security was going to become a very large field to tap into, so I pivoted into focusing my studies on cyber security. Turns out I had a knack for the security work, and after a stint as an ethical hacker, I found my passion helping people fix gaps and eventually found myself consulting with blue-chip companies, helping them uplift their security posture. This drive created the opportunity that saw my whole family get a fully sponsored immigration to Australia, where I eventually ended up leading The Missing Link's SOC Analyst team.
Any big personal or work achievements?
As a young man, I was obsessed with martial arts, and I was invited twice to represent my country in Taekwondo. While I was unable to attend due to financial restraints, I was still one of the top contenders in the country for Karate and Taekwondo.
I also discovered a passion for healing and became a certified Level 2 Reiki healer.
What led you to joining The Missing Link?
The opportunity to join The Missing Link found me. I was not looking at the time, but the opportunity to take my many years of experience and lead a team of skilled analysts, helping grow the team's skills and capabilities, was the perfect next step in my career. The amount of exposure and growth I have experienced while working at The Missing Link has been amazing.
What is your role and what do you love most about it?
I'm currently a Senior Solution Architect at The Missing Link, where I help our sales team and our clients design, implement, and uplift their entire cyber security posture. Due to my operational background and my 25 years of experience in IT and cyber, I now get to use all my accumulated experience and knowledge to help our clients address their challenges using tried and tested approaches.
Where do you see yourself professionally in a few years?
Pivoting from an operations-focused role to an architect role has been a really interesting change, and I am learning a lot. I would like to "master" this role and its requirements, but I would also like to get involved in developing agentic AI capabilities that are based on good security baselines and best practices. I think this is a massive challenge that all our clients are facing, and I love nothing better than being able to solve challenging problems for our clients. It gives me a great sense of achievement when I walk away from a client engagement and they are happy with the outcomes, no matter how challenging they were.
Would you call yourself a tech enthusiast? Do you have a favourite
gadget?
My big passions are gaming and motorbikes. I love going for bike rides with my wife, or gaming with my mates. I've had a few versions of VR, but that's about the extent of my gadgets. My gadget passion feeds mostly into the level of tech that goes into my gaming PC.
If money were no object, what would your dream day look like?
I would buy a farm that is big enough to support my wife and daughters'
passion for horses, have a bike track to ride motorbikes with my son, and I
would have a healing and meditation space where I can help people who are
struggling. I have a real passion for counselling people; my own life has taught me so much, and I love sharing this with people who are on a similar path.
What can you generally be found doing on weekends?
I love spending time with my family on weekends doing cool things; otherwise, I'm gaming with my mates.
What are your hobbies, passions, or pets? What makes you tick?
Riding motorbikes and gaming are my favourite hobbies, but we all love animals. I have 2 dogs that are very much part of the family, along with a cat, some chickens, and 3 horses that all bring their own special energy to our family dynamic.
I really enjoy spending time alone as well, and I spend a lot of time contemplating life in general. I'm a deep thinker when it comes to the larger aspects of life, and I love studying old philosophies from history; they always have something to teach you.
What would you say is the best thing about where you live?
I love country living; I was never a big city person. I enjoy space, peace, and quiet. Living in the country provides a type of lifestyle you can't get in the city. When we arrived here in Melbourne, the weather and many of its suburbs reminded us of home in South Africa.
The stars shine brighter at night, and the sunsets are breathtaking almost every day.
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