Staff Security Engineer, AI

We’re supporting a client with the recruitment requirement outlined below. If your recruiting expertise and networks align with the role, please apply to express your interest.

Once approved to work on the opportunity, you’ll receive the full brief, including the client name, role details, and commercial terms.

Role Details

Location: Seattle, WA

Salary: $175,000–$275,000

Equity: Competitive

Employment Type: Full-time

Work Arrangement: On-site, 5 days per week; flexible hours

Relocation: Available for strong candidates

Experience: 5–16 years

Visa Sponsorship: Not available; candidates must already be authorized to work in the US without sponsorship

Tech Stack: Kubernetes, IAM, Terraform, Cloud Security, CI/CD, SOC 2, Threat Modeling

About the Company

An AI-native technology company building agentic systems, sandboxed execution environments, and agent orchestration infrastructure for enterprise customers. The company is preparing for significant growth and prioritizing security before scaling further.

About the Role

This is the company's first dedicated security engineering hire. Reporting to the VP of Engineering, you will define the security strategy and personally build the systems, tooling, and infrastructure needed to secure a production AI platform.

The role is highly hands-on, with significant autonomy and the opportunity to grow into a security team leadership position.

Responsibilities

• Define and implement the company's security strategy.

• Build and maintain cloud security infrastructure and controls.

• Strengthen Kubernetes, IAM, and infrastructure-as-code security.

• Drive application security and secure software development practices.

• Implement threat modeling, security testing, and CI/CD security controls.

• Address AI-specific threats, including prompt injection and risks in agentic systems.

• Influence engineering decisions and communicate technical trade-offs across teams.

• Prepare the platform's security posture for enterprise growth and scale.

Requirements

• 5–16 years of experience as a software or security engineer, at senior or staff level.

• Experience owning security for complex, cloud-based production systems.

• Strong knowledge of cloud security, Kubernetes, IAM, Terraform or equivalent infrastructure-as-code tools, and secure SDLC.

• Strong application security (AppSec) expertise.

• Proven hands-on experience building and shipping security code, tooling, or infrastructure, not solely managing a team.

• Experience working with LLMs and understanding AI-specific security risks, particularly prompt injection in agentic systems.

• Ability to influence engineering decisions across teams and explain technical trade-offs to non-technical stakeholders.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and equity.

• Relocation support for strong candidates.

• Flexible working hours

• High ownership, minimal bureaucracy, and the opportunity to establish security practices from the ground up.

• Seattle office with a gym, sauna, and complimentary lunch three days per week.

• Potential to grow into a security leadership role.

Interview Process

• Recruiter screen

• Hiring manager interview

• Engineering collaboration interview

• On-site interview

• CEO conversation

• Offer