AppSec Engineer

Karbon; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 131,000 - 169,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible time off

Company-paid medical

401(k) with matching

Work-from-home stipend

Up to 8 weeks paid parental leave

Job summary

Karbon is looking for an AppSec Engineer in Los Angeles to join our expanding security team. This role focuses on integrating security from feature design through development and requires strong communication skills and a passion for AppSec, Cloud, and AI.

Ideal candidates will have 4+ years of experience in security or development, familiar with security practices in software development, and ready to navigate the challenges AI presents. Competitive compensation included.

Qualifications

• 4+ years experience in a security or development role.
• Ability to review designs and implementations for security issues.
• Experience with vulnerability assessments of web applications and APIs.

Responsibilities

• Partner with teams to embed security in feature design.
• Communicate security risks to non-technical stakeholders.
• Apply AI-assisted tooling to enhance security work.

Skills

Strong communication skills

Experience with Microsoft .NET/C#

Experience with JavaScript (React and EmberJS)

Experience with Python

Understanding of AI tooling

Familiarity with PowerShell or Bash

Tools

Portswigger Burp

GitHub Actions

Azure DevOps

Job description

About Karbon

Karbon is the global leader in AI‑powered practice management software for accounting firms. We provide an award‑winning cloud platform that helps tens of thousands of accounting professionals work more efficiently and collaboratively every day. With customers in 40 countries, we have grown into a globally distributed team across the US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Philippines. We are well‑funded, ranked #1 on G2, growing rapidly, and have a people‑first culture that is recognized with Great Place To Work® certification and on Fortune magazine’s Best Small Workplaces™ List.

Engineering Standards at Karbon

• Balance Speed and Quality – Engineers are expected to balance delivery speed with a strong commitment to quality, meeting agreed timelines while producing reliable, maintainable, and well‑tested solutions.
• Collaborate Effectively – Engineering is collaborative by default. Team members are expected to contribute constructively in design discussions, reviews, and planning, communicate clearly about progress and risks, and support shared team outcomes in both hybrid and distributed environments.
• Build and Maintain Systems – Engineers are responsible for building new capabilities while maintaining and improving existing systems. This includes designing scalable solutions, reducing technical debt, supporting operational stability, and contributing to continuous improvement.
• Operate with Autonomy – A high degree of autonomy is expected. Given clear objectives, engineers should independently translate problems into actionable technical approaches, proactively identify improvements, and continuously expand relevant technical expertise.
• Ownership and Accountability – Ownership is fundamental. Engineers are accountable for the quality, performance, and customer impact of their work from design through post‑release support, and are expected to follow through on commitments.
• AI‑Enabled Engineering – AI is reshaping how software is built, and we are committed to leveraging it as a force multiplier. Engineers are expected to confidently apply strong technical fundamentals while embracing AI tools and approaches to enhance productivity, problem‑solving, and innovation.
• Contribute to Team Culture – Engineers contribute positively to a culture of professionalism, transparency, low bureaucracy, and mutual respect, strengthening team performance through authenticity, curiosity, and collaboration.

About the Role!

Seeking a development & cloud focused AppSec Engineer to join our expanding security team. The ideal candidate will have a passion for AppSec, Cloud and AI. They will be a skilled communicator and relationship builder capable of promoting and building security practices across the organization and into our development processes.

AI is reshaping practices across the board and at Karbon we’re fully committed. We don’t see AI as a replacement but as a force multiplier. We’re looking for Security Engineers who are confident in network & security fundamentals, driven to grow, and excited by the challenges and opportunities AI brings.

What You’ll Own

• Partner with different areas within Karbon – Ensuring security is embedded from the start from feature design and development to participating in design reviews and threat modelling.
• Balance Security and Delivery – Communicate security risks and issues to non‑technical stakeholders, understand when to push back or compromise, and work with delivery teams to reach a great outcome.
• Keep up to date on the latest technologies and approaches – Excited by new developments such as AI, with an understanding of foundational practices such as good account hygiene, least privilege, attack surface reduction, and MFA.
• Identify and assess security risks introduced by AI tools – Assist with reviewing the risks of AI tooling usage & integration and AI‑generated code.
• Apply AI‑assisted tooling to accelerate security work – Utilize AI across triage, threat detection, code review, and documentation.
• Flexibility and confidence to work across multiple security domains – Exposure to various security domains, from IT security processes to cloud systems and detection rule tweaking.
• Work effectively as part of a team – Build relationships and trust across the organization to enhance Karbon’s security posture.
• Own your work – Take pride in our products, ensuring customer data remains secure.
• Bring your passion and personality – Your creativity, curiosity, and authentic self strengthen the team.
• Help us measure improvement and steer our roadmap – Contribute to Security Metrics to track progress and feedback into our roadmap.

What Sets You Apart

4+ years experience in a security or development role across most of the following:

• Collaborating with teams to review designs & implementations for security issues and embedding good security practices across software development.
• Triaging issues and reports, assisting teams to remedy items and testing fixes.
• Working with external penetration test companies to validate and prioritize findings.
• Conducting risk and vulnerability assessments of web applications and APIs, and third‑party suppliers and integrations.
• Configuring and tuning SAST, SCA and DAST tooling.
• Working with build/deployment pipelines to incorporate security tooling (GitHub Actions or Azure DevOps YAML‑based pipelines).
• Assisting with implementing security‑focused alerting, detections and automations.
• Conducting and facilitating organizational & developer‑focused security training.
• Assisting with operational security items such as EDR alerts and MDM.
• Contributing to our security roadmap.

In addition you’ll need

• Strong communication skills (spoken and written).
• Some of the following languages/frameworks: Microsoft .NET/C#, JavaScript (React and EmberJS), Python.
• At least one cloud platform: Azure, AWS or GCP (predominantly Azure).
• Working knowledge of PowerShell or Bash and Python.
• Working knowledge of at least one AI development tool (e.g., Claude Code, GitHub Co‑Pilot).
• Portswigger Burp or similar.
• Certifications such as Offsec OSCP & AWAE, GIAC, Burp Practitioner, PJPT, Microsoft/AWS development and cloud related are nice to have.
• Experience with securing AI applications, systems and AI tooling would be highly regarded.

Why Work at Karbon?

• Gain global experience across Australia, New Zealand, UK, and Canada.
• Strong benefits package including:
  • Flexible time off with an encouraged 4 weeks use per year.
  • Company‑paid medical for you and eligible spouse/partner and dependents.
  • Paid dental and vision for you and eligible spouse/partner and dependents.
  • 401(k) with company matching.
  • Flexible Spending Account.
  • Up to 8 weeks paid parental leave.
  • Work‑from‑home stipend.
• Work with (and learn from) an experienced, high‑performing team.
• A collaborative, team‑oriented culture that embraces diversity, invests in development and provides consistent feedback.
• Be part of a fast‑growing company that firmly believes in promoting high performers from within.

Compensation

The estimated base salary range for this role is: $131,000 USD – $169,000 USD.

Equal Opportunity

Karbon embraces diversity and inclusion, aligning with our values as a business. We do not discriminate based on race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, lifestyle, age, educational background, national origin, religion, physical or cognitive ability, and other diversity dimensions that may hinder inclusion in the organization.

We recruit and reward people based on capability and performance. We do not discriminate on any of the dimensions listed above.