Director Software Engineering - Central Security

Meta; Richmond (VA); On-site; USD 271,000 - 347,000; Full time

Job summary

Meta's Central Security team is seeking a senior leader to define and drive identity, authentication, and access across our infrastructure. You will guide a cross-functional group of engineers, product managers, and security professionals to reduce risk and enable secure velocity.

In this role, you will shape AI/ML security paradigms, implement automated controls, and communicate with executives on investments and risk decisions while balancing security with operational needs.

Qualifications

• Experience defining identity and access strategies across large infrastructures.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional security programs and teams.
• Strong data-driven decision making and risk-based tradeoffs.

Responsibilities

• Define multi-year strategy for identity, authentication, and access across Linux, Windows, SaaS and cloud.
• Lead development of agent identity/authorization models for AI agents.
• Scale a distributed security organization across global sites.
• Translate business needs into security/velocity tradeoffs with partners.

Skills

Identity & access management

Security leadership

AI/ML security

Cross-functional collaboration

Executive stakeholder communication

Tools

Active Directory

Linux

Windows

Public cloud

Job description

Summary:

You'll be joining Central Security, Meta's first line of defense technology team, managing risk across critical security domains. You'll work within a cross-functional team of engineers, analysts, product managers and program managers, collaborating closely with colleagues across Product, Infrastructure and Enterprise Engineering. You will develop automated and autonomous security systems using AI/ML across high-impact security domains including Identity and Access Management, Product Security, Threat Detection, and Detection & Response. The organization operates at the intersection of cutting-edge technology and enterprise security, helping shape how Meta approaches security across our entire technology stack, from custom-built systems to commercial software such as cloud services, and increasingly sophisticated AI/ML systems.Work in this organization includes embedding secure-by-design principles across the AI/ML lifecycle from conception to deployment, and identifying, assessing and mitigating security risks unique to AI/ML systems and the products built on them: classical ML, agentic product features, and frontier models. You will help navigate the tradeoffs between security requirements and operational friction so that Meta can maintain its pace of innovation while remaining secure.

Required Skills:

1. Define and drive the multi-year technical strategy for identity, authentication, and access management across Meta's infrastructure, spanning production environments (Linux), corporate environments (Windows, Active Directory), third-party SaaS, and public cloud




2. Lead the development of a credible, adopted model for agent identity and authorization as AI agents increasingly act on behalf of people across Meta's infrastructure




3. Build and scale a distributed, multi-disciplinary organization of software engineers, security engineers, and security operations associates across multiple global sites




4. Partner with Security, Infrastructure, HR, Legal, and other teams to translate ambiguous business requirements into well-articulated tradeoffs between security and operational velocity




5. Represent identity and access perspectives to leadership including VPs and C-level executives (CTO, CISO), advocating for appropriate investments and risk decisions




6. Drive measurable reduction in access-related security incidents by closing root-cause patterns rather than individually remediating incidents




7. Lead the effort to replace manual access approval and review processes with durable, automated controls at scale




8. Define and enforce access policy, supporting Meta's regulatory and compliance obligations




9. Develop technical controls that address the unique requirements of geographic expansion into higher-threat environments




10. Serve as an escalation point for urgent and highly confidential company escalations related to identity and access

Minimum Qualifications:

1. 10+ years of experience in software engineering, with a focus on security, identity, or infrastructure systems




2. 7+ years of engineering management experience, including managing engineering managers




3. Track record of building and scaling engineering organizations, including recruiting, developing, and managing the performance of engineers and engineering leaders




4. Experience forming cross-functional partnerships across product, design, and data science to deliver large-scale engineering outcomes




5. Experience reasoning rigorously with metrics and data, with understanding of statistical uncertainty, bias, and ecosystem trade-offs

Preferred Qualifications:

1. Background in agentic access, AI agent authorization models, or emerging identity paradigms




2. Experience leading identity and access management programs for workforces spanning multiple geographies and threat environments




3. Experience with highly-scaled distributed systems serving billions of requests




4. Track record of automating access controls and reducing manual review burden at scale




5. Experience with regulatory and compliance requirements related to identity and access management

Public Compensation:

$271,000/year to $347,000/year + bonus + equity + benefits

Industry:

Internet

Equal Opportunity:

Meta is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and affirmative action employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law. Meta participates in the E-Verify program in certain locations, as required by law. Please note that Meta may leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies in connection with applications for employment.

Meta is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you need any assistance or accommodations due to a disability, please let us know at [e-mail].