Application Security Engineer

Valence; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

A pioneering AI-native platform provider in Toronto is seeking an experienced Application Security Engineer to enhance security across its innovative products. You will collaborate closely with engineering teams, conduct manual pentesting, and guide secure designs, ensuring compliance with best practices. Ideal candidates will have expertise in application security, familiarity with AWS, and experience with incident response. The role offers competitive compensation including health coverage and meaningful equity in a fast-growing company.

Benefits

Competitive salary with bonuses

Comprehensive health coverage

Generous PTO and parental leave

WFH stipend and support for co-working spaces

Equity in a growth-focused company

Qualifications

• Proven experience securing products & platforms.
• Strong expertise in application security: OWASP Top 10.
• Experience with enterprise security processes and client calls.

Responsibilities

• Review code, architecture, and design for security.
• Conduct hands-on manual pentesting of relevant code changes.
• Guide features and designs toward security.

Skills

Application security expertise

Collaboration with development teams

Proficiency with AI tooling

Strong understanding of AI and threats

Familiarity with AWS

Experience in incident response

Knowledge of compliance frameworks

Tools

Python

TypeScript

Job description

Valence has built the only first-to-market AI native coaching platform for enterprise, offering personalized, expert, and human-like guidance and support to any leader or employee. We’re not just talking about the future of work — we’re building it now, with the most innovative Fortune 500 companies across healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, and technology.

Our focus is on the problems that actually decide whether AI changes how organizations operate — the ones with no playbook, no obvious answers, and no guarantee of success. If you want to be part of the small group that defines how AI transforms the future at a global scale, this is your chance.

And this isn’t for everyone. We’re not looking for people who want predictability or incremental progress. We only want those who are restless at the edge of what’s possible, who get bored when things feel “done,” and who are driven to redefine what AI can mean for leaders, companies, and the world. Because at Valence, the work worth doing is the kind that redefines work itself.

The Role

We are seeking a seasoned Application Security Engineer to help us secure our products and platform that serve our Fortune 500 customers. In this pivotal role, you will be working in close partnership with our engineering teams, ensuring that everything they build holds up to our security standards. While your primary focus will be application security, you are joining a small, elite team, and as such you will also work cross-domain, including working with MDM, or talking with customers directly.

About Valence

We’re the only company pioneering leadership coaching for large enterprises in an AI‑first way. Our mission is to transform how the world’s biggest companies approach learning and development, helping teams work better together through AI‑powered personalization that adapts to individual goals and organizational culture using the latest advances in machine learning and natural language processing.

We’ve been featured in Harvard Business Review, TIME, World Economic Forum, Financial Times, Forbes and an Inc. 5000 fastest‑growing private companies in America. Our clients represent the most diverse and sophisticated enterprise AI implementations globally, including Coca‑Cola, Delta, Nestlé, General Mills, Schneider Electric, Deutsche Telekom, AstraZeneca, Prudential, CVS and Bristol Myers Squibb.

Working at Valence means you’ll work directly with Fortune 500 technology leaders, building expertise through the most complex enterprise deployments while gaining insight into diverse organizational approaches to AI transformation. These aren’t just any enterprise clients – they’re the companies defining what AI‑first business transformation looks like across every major industry.

What You’ll Do

• Stay ahead of engineering: review code, architecture, design, anything that’s being considered for release
• Guide features and designs toward security
• Provide hands‑on manual pentesting on relevant code changes
• Build and maintain security tooling to ensure security scales with organisation
• Advise the DevOps team on infrastructure security best practices
• Help out with client‑facing security needs, such as client calls

What We’re Looking For

• Proven experience securing products & platforms, collaborating with development teams
• Strong expertise in application security: OWASP Top 10, threat modeling, code reviews, architecture design
• Proficiency with AI tooling, as part of your day‑to‑day activities
• Solid understanding of AI itself, including AI threats, adversarial testing
• Familiarity with AWS and infrastructure security overall
• Be comfortable writing and reviewing Python and TypeScript, with other coding experience a plus
• Experience with incident response and SOC processes
• Knowledge of compliance frameworks: SOC 2, ISO 27001, NIST
• Experience with enterprise security processes, such as security questionnaires and client calls
• We don’t expect candidates to have deep expertise in every area; strength in application security with curiosity and adaptability across adjacent domains is key

What You’ll Get

• Ownership & Rapid Growth
• Outsized missions from day one, with direct responsibility for company‑defining projects
• Work alongside the executive team with transparency into strategy and decision‑making
• Influence on direction through real‑time customer feedback and market insights

• AI‑First Operator
• Work directly with cutting‑edge AI models and next‑generation platforms
• Build expertise in enterprise AI implementation across Fortune 500 companies and multiple industries
• Establish yourself as a recognized leader among peers in shaping how AI transforms work at a global scale

• Compensation
• Competitive salary including base + bonuses
• Comprehensive health coverage (medical, dental, vision) from day one
• Generous PTO, company‑wide R&R shutdowns, and paid parental leave
• Retirement plan support for US and global employees
• A WFH stipend, phone stipend and support to work in a We Work or other space as preferred.

• Equity
• Meaningful ownership in a venture‑backed company at a growth inflection point
• Financial upside that comes from scaling fast
• Top‑up grants as we scale and you deliver exceptional performance — your compensation grows alongside your impact

• Top‑Performing Culture
• A culture built for top talent: intensity to win, growth without limits, and a team that solves hard problems and celebrates big wins together

Learn more about us and meetourteam here

Location and Work Environment

We’re looking for a candidate that can fully support our team in ET time zone (e.g. Toronto, NYC). While we’re open to candidates from other areas, they need to be generally available during Eastern Time working hours. have valid travel documents without work authorization restrictions in the US.

Diversity and Inclusion

We are dedicated to creating a diverse and inclusive environment where everyone feels valued and supported. We encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds and offer accommodations upon request throughout the hiring process. If you have any questions, please reach out to Allison Langille, Head of People, at [e-mail].

Employment Verification & Commitment

We use third‑party services to verify employment history, education, and other information relevant to your candidacy. Employment is contingent upon the successful completion of these verification checks. This is a full‑time role that requires a high level of focus, availability, and commitment. Employees may not hold concurrent full‑time employment with another organization while employed at Valence. Any outside consulting, advisory, freelance, or other professional work must be disclosed and approved in advance and must not interfere with job responsibilities, availability, performance, or create a conflict of interest - including risks related to confidentiality, intellectual property, or competition.

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