Associate Security Engineer

KAYAK; Berlin (MD); Hybrid; USD 67,000 - 101,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Office in Berlin

Hybrid work

6 weeks paid vacation

Public transportation subsidies

Free lunch 2 days/week

Job summary

KAYAK, part of Booking Holdings, is seeking an Associate Security Engineer in Berlin. You will drive vulnerability management, participate in incident response, and support application security with automated tooling.

The role requires collaboration with engineering, operations, and compliance teams to embed security into development and infrastructure changes. The position emphasizes security tooling, automation, and continuous learning in a globally distributed team, with a Berlin-based office

Qualifications

• Solid understanding of cybersecurity fundamentals including networking, operating systems, and cloud environments.
• Hands-on experience in at least one security domain (vulnerability management, incident response, application security, etc.).
• Experience with security tooling and willingness to learn Kayak's stack.
• Familiarity with AI tools for automating workflows, triaging alerts, or improving detection is a plus.
• Excellent written and spoken English in a globally distributed team.
• Collaborative approach to problem solving and willingness to help teammates.
• Comfort working autonomously on assigned tasks and knowing when to ask for input.

Responsibilities

• Support and continuously improve the vulnerability management program across infrastructure and applications.
• Participate in incident response activities from triage to post-incident documentation.
• Support application security initiatives with code scanning and dependency analysis.
• Help configure and monitor security tooling across endpoint, email, IAM, and cloud security.
• Contribute to security automation and orchestration workflows to reduce manual work.
• Collaborate with engineering, operations, and compliance to embed security in workflows and infrastructure changes.
• Document processes, runbooks, and findings to support knowledge sharing.
• Participate in access reviews and support IAM processes per policy.
• Stay current with threat landscape and propose improvements to detection and response.

Skills

Cybersecurity fundamentals

Networking

Operating systems

Cloud environments

Security tooling

AI in security

English communication

Collaborative problem solving

Autonomous work style

Tools

Vulnerability scanners

EDR platforms

SIEM systems

Cloud security tools

Job description

KAYAK, part of Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG), is a leading travel search engine. With billions of queries across our platforms, we help people find their perfect flight, stay, rental car and vacation package. We're also transforming business travel with a new corporate travel solution, KAYAK for Business.

As an employee of KAYAK, you will be part of a travel company that operates a portfolio of global metasearch brands including momondo, Cheapflights and HotelsCombined, among others. From start-up to industry leader, innovation is in our DNA and every employee has an opportunity to make their mark. Our focus is on building the best travel search engine to make it easier for everyone to experience the world.

Security at KAYAK is a team effort — we protect the people, systems, and data that power travel for millions of users worldwide, and we do it by working closely with engineering, operations, and product teams. As an Associate Security Engineer, you will help to drive our vulnerability management program while contributing across multiple security domains in a collaborative, globally distributed environment. You can find more information about our security program at https://www.kayak.com/security.

This role is required to work from our Berlin, Germany office 3 days per week.

In this role, you will:

• Support and continuously improve the vulnerability management program — defining processes for identifying, prioritizing, tracking, and driving remediation of security findings across infrastructure and applications. This includes working closely with engineering, operations, and IT teams to ensure findings are understood, assigned, and resolved in a timely manner, and reporting on program health and trends to security leadership.

• Participate in incident response activities, including triage, investigation, containment, and post-incident documentation.

• Support application security initiatives, including automated code scanning, dependency analysis, and working with engineering teams to address security findings early in the development process.

• Help configure, monitor, and improve security tooling across areas such as endpoint protection, email security, identity and access management, and cloud security posture.

• Contribute to security automation and orchestration workflows that reduce manual effort and improve response times.

• Collaborate with engineering, operations, and compliance teams to embed security thinking into development workflows and infrastructure changes.

• Document processes, runbooks, and findings to support team knowledge sharing and continuity.

• Participate in access reviews and support identity and access management processes in line with established policies.

• Stay current with the evolving threat landscape and contribute ideas for improving the team's detection and response capabilities.

Please apply if you have:

• A solid understanding of cybersecurity fundamentals — including networking, operating systems (Linux, macOS, or Windows), and cloud environments — gained through any combination of formal education, self-study, bootcamps, or professional experience.

• Hands-on experience in at least one security domain, such as vulnerability management, incident response, application security, endpoint security, or identity and access management.

• Experience working with security tooling (e.g., vulnerability scanners, endpoint detection and response platforms, SIEM systems, or similar); familiarity with specific tools is a plus, but willingness to learn our stack matters more than exact tool experience.

• Familiarity with AI tools and how they can be applied in a security context — whether for automating workflows, triaging alerts, or improving detection and response. Experience working with AI models or building AI-assisted workflows is a plus.

• The ability to communicate clearly in writing and in conversation — our team is globally distributed and works primarily in English (professional working proficiency is sufficient; native fluency is not required).

• A collaborative approach to problem-solving — you ask questions, share what you learn, and support your teammates.

• Comfort working with some degree of autonomy on assigned tasks and projects, while knowing when to ask for input.

Bonus points if you have:

• Familiarity with the NIST Cybersecurity Framework or similar security frameworks.

• Experience with cloud environments (AWS or GCP) or container security.

• Exposure to security automation or scripting (e.g., Python, workflow automation tools).

• Experience working in a regulated environment (e.g., SOC 2, PCI).

Benefits and Perks

• Work from (almost) anywhere for up to 20 days per year

• Focus on mental health and well-being:

  • Company-paid therapy sessions through SpringHealth

  • Company-paid subscription to HeadSpace

  • Company-wide week off a year - the whole team fully recharges (and returns without a pile-up of work!)

• No meeting Fridays

• Paid parental leave

• Generous paid vacation + time off for your birthday

• Paid volunteer time

• Focus on your career growth:

  • Development Dollars

  • Leadership development

  • Access to thousands of on-demand e-learnings

• Travel Discounts

• Employee Resource Groups

• 6 weeks paid vacation

• Free lunch 2 days per week

• Pension plan contributions

• Public transportation subsidies

• Bike leasing program

• Monthly social events, Thursday happy hours, sports teams

• An awesome office in Friedrichshain, Berlin

Inclusion

At KAYAK, we want everyone to have the space to grow, share ideas and do great work. That’s why we’re focused on hiring the best talent from all walks of life and experiences, supporting them well and making sure no one feels like they have to fit a mold to belong here.

Need any adjustments for the interview, application or on the job? No problem - just give us a heads-up. We’ve got you.

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