Member of Technical Staff (Offensive Security Engineer)

Kindredventures; United States; On-site; USD 250,000 - 350,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive benefits program including health, dental, and fitness

Equity offerings

Flexible work environment

Job summary

A leading investment firm is seeking a highly skilled Offensive Security Engineer to enhance security measures across various platforms. This position involves planning red team operations, conducting penetration tests, and developing custom security tools. Candidates should have over 5 years of hands-on offensive security experience, strong skills in programming, and deep expertise in cloud and web application security. The role offers a hybrid work model with a competitive salary between $250K and $350K.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of hands-on experience in offensive security or penetration testing.
• Strong technical expertise in cloud security, web/API application security, and endpoint security.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Plan and execute red team engagements simulating advanced threats.
• Conduct continuous penetration testing across various platforms.
• Develop custom offensive tooling and automation for security testing.

Skills

Offensive security

Cloud security (AWS/GCP/Azure)

Programming in Python or Go

Web/API application security

Kubernetes and container security

Tools

Burp Suite

Cobalt Strike

Metasploit

Job description

Location

San Francisco; London; New York City; Remote (United States); Serbia

Employment Type

Full time

Location Type

Hybrid

Department

Security

Compensation

• $250K – $350K • Offers Equity

U.S. Benefits

Full-time U.S. employees enjoy a comprehensive benefits program including equity, health, dental, vision, retirement, fitness, commuter and dependent care accounts, and more.

International Benefits

Full-time employees outside the U.S. enjoy a comprehensive benefits program tailored to their region of residence.

USD salary ranges apply only to U.S.-based positions. International salaries are set based on the local market. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors, including experience and expertise, and may vary from the amounts listed above.

Perplexity is seeking a highly skilled, experienced and hands‑on Offensive Security Engineer to join our dynamic security team, taking an adversarial approach to hardening Perplexity's infrastructure, applications, and AI systems. You'll plan and execute red team operations, penetration tests, and attack simulations across our cloud infrastructure, web and mobile applications, AI/ML pipeline, and corporate environment—finding real vulnerabilities before adversaries do and working directly with engineering teams to drive remediation.

Responsibilities

• Plan and execute red team and purple team engagements simulating advanced threat actors across cloud infrastructure (AWS, Kubernetes), endpoints, and application surfaces
• Conduct continuous penetration testing of web applications, APIs, mobile clients, browser extensions, cloud infrastructure, and internal services
• Assess AI/ML‑specific attack surfaces including prompt injection, model exfiltration, agent abuse, tool‑use exploitation, and MCP security boundaries
• Develop and maintain custom offensive tooling, exploits, and automation to improve the efficiency and coverage of security testing
• Perform open‑scope adversary simulations that test detection and response capabilities end to end, collaborating closely with the defensive security team
• Drive threat modeling sessions with engineering teams to identify and prioritize attack vectors in new features and architectures
• Deliver clear, actionable findings to both technical and executive audiences; partner with engineering to validate remediations
• Contribute to the security of CI/CD pipelines, supply chain integrity, and secrets management through offensive assessment
• Stay current on emerging attack techniques, vulnerability research, and adversary tradecraft; bring external perspective into Perplexity's security strategy

Qualifications

• 5+ years of hands‑on experience in offensive security, red teaming, or penetration testing
• Deep technical expertise in at least two of: cloud security (AWS/GCP/Azure), web/API application security, Kubernetes and container security, macOS/Linux endpoint security, network penetration testing, or CI/CD pipeline security
• Track record of discovering impactful vulnerabilities or developing novel attack techniques in production environments
• Strong programming and scripting skills in Python, Go, or similar languages; comfortable writing custom tooling and exploits
• Experience with industry‑standard offensive tools (Burp Suite, Cobalt Strike / Sliver / Mythic, Metasploit, BloodHound, nuclei, etc.) and ability to operate beyond them
• Excellent written and verbal communication; able to translate complex technical findings into clear risk narratives
• Experience assessing AI/ML systems, LLM applications, or agentic workflows for security vulnerabilities
• Bonus: Published security research, conference talks (DEF CON, Black Hat, BSides), CVE credits, or meaningful bug bounty contributions

Compensation Range: $250K - $350K