Principal Platform Security Engineer

Early Warning; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 184,000 - 276,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare Coverage

401(k) Retirement Plan

Paid Time Off

Parental Leave

Job summary

Early Warning is seeking a Principal Platform Security Engineer in a hybrid role with locations including Chicago. You will define long‑term security architecture, set standards, and drive secure-by-default patterns across products and services.

This hands‑on leader mentors engineers, shapes enterprise direction, and partners with senior peers to reduce risk across the security program. The role emphasizes durable security controls, cross‑team coordination, and scalable automation to protect the

Qualifications

• Typically has 15+ years of experience in complex security engineering.
• Expert-level experience across platform, infrastructure, software, and security engineering, including architecture leadership.
• Ability to influence senior technical and business stakeholders and align multiple organizations around a common tech direction.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Systems, or related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Responsibilities

• Owns the enterprise technical vision for platform security engineering across shared services, internal platforms, and engineering workflows.
• Defines and drives secure target states, engineering standards, and control strategies across products and platforms.
• Shapes long‑range technical direction for secure‑by‑default platform capabilities, balancing risk, scalability, and developer experience.
• Leads complex security engineering decisions involving platform security, lifecycle controls, and systemic risk reduction.
• Partners with senior leaders to align roadmaps, investment priorities, and enterprise design direction.
• Establishes reusable frameworks, guardrails, and scalable automation adopted across the organization.
• Resolves ambiguous cross‑domain challenges and provides recommendations on risk and implementation approaches.

Skills

Platform security engineering

Architectural leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Security risk management

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/CE/IS or equivalent practical experience

Job description

At Early Warning, we’ve powered and protected the U.S. financial system for over thirty years with cutting-edge solutions like Zelle®, Paze℠, and so much more. As a trusted name in payments, we partner with thousands of institutions to increase access to financial services and protect transactions for hundreds of millions of consumers and small businesses. Positions located in Scottsdale, San Francisco, Chicago, or New York follow a hybrid work model to allow for a more collaborative working environment. Candidates responding to this posting must independently possess the eligibility to work in the United States, for any employer, at the date of hire. This position is ineligible for employment Visa sponsorship.

Overall Purpose

The Principal Platform Security Engineer is a hands‑on enterprise technical leader responsible for defining the long‑term technical vision, secure target states, architecture patterns, technical standards, and control strategy for platform security across products, platforms, and shared services. This role leads principal‑level engineering efforts that bridge product, infrastructure, and security, ensuring that secure engineering is embedded throughout the software and infrastructure lifecycle. The role establishes scalable security capabilities, influences enterprise technical direction, and drives adoption of secure‑by‑default patterns across multiple systems and pillars.

Essential Functions

• Owns the enterprise technical vision for platform security engineering across shared services, internal platforms, and engineering workflows.
• Defines and drives secure target states, enterprise-scale design patterns, engineering standards, and control strategies spanning multiple products, platforms, and technology pillars.
• Shapes long‑range technical direction for secure‑by‑default platform capabilities, balancing risk reduction, scalability, resilience, and developer experience.
• Leads the most complex security engineering decisions involving platform security, shared services, lifecycle controls, and systemic risk reduction.
• Partners with senior engineering, infrastructure, product, and security leaders to align long‑term roadmaps, investment priorities, and enterprise design direction.
• Establishes reusable frameworks, reference implementations, technical guardrails, and scalable automation that are adopted broadly across the organization.
• Evaluates emerging technologies, engineering options, and operating models to guide enterprise security engineering strategy.
• Resolves highly ambiguous, cross‑domain technical challenges and provides clear recommendations on risk, tradeoffs, sequencing, and implementation approach.
• Influences enterprise technical standards, major engineering decisions, and control adoption models across multiple teams and domains.
• Leads technical response strategy for significant platform security issues with a focus on durable correction and systemic improvement.
• Mentors senior engineers and serves as a recognized technical authority across the organization.
• Supports the company’s commitment to risk management and protecting the integrity and confidentiality of systems and data.

Minimum Qualifications

• Typically has 15 or more years of experience or demonstrated portfolio consistent with experience required of the role.
• Expert-level experience across platform, infrastructure, software, and security engineering, including architectural and implementation leadership.
• Significant experience owning technical direction for broad engineering domains, enterprise initiatives, or highly complex cross‑functional programs.
• Significant experience defining target states, standards, design patterns, reference architectures, or control strategies adopted at scale.
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior technical and business stakeholders and align multiple organizations around a common technical direction.
• Strong experience solving complex, ambiguous, systemic engineering problems with durable and scalable solutions.
• Demonstrated technical leadership without requiring formal people management authority.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex technical risk, tradeoffs, and strategic recommendations.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Systems, or related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience serving as a principal engineer, architect, or equivalent enterprise technical leader.
• Experience shaping enterprise platform strategy, cloud strategy, or secure engineering transformation efforts.
• Experience with large‑scale platform modernization, shared services strategy, or internal developer platform evolution.
• Experience representing technical strategy, engineering risk, and target‑state recommendations to senior leadership.
• Additional related education and/or experience.

Pay Scale

• The base pay scale for this position in: Phoenix, AZ/ Chicago, IL / Washington, DC in USD per year is: $184,000 - $230,000.
• San Francisco, CA in USD per year is: $221,000 - $276,000.
• Additionally, candidates are eligible for a discretionary incentive plan and benefits.

Benefits

• Healthcare Coverage – Competitive medical (PPO/HDHP), dental, and vision plans as well as company contributions to your Health Savings Account (HSA) or pre‑tax savings through flexible spending accounts (FSA) for commuting, health & dependent care expenses.
• 401(k) Retirement Plan – Featuring a 100% Company Safe Harbor Match on your first 6% deferral immediately upon eligibility.
• Paid Time Off – Flexible Time Off for Exempt (salaried) employees, as well as generous PTO for Non‑Exempt (hourly) employees, plus 11 paid company holidays and a paid volunteer day.
• 12 weeks of Paid Parental Leave.
• Maven Family Planning – provides support through your Parenting journey including egg freezing, fertility, adoption, surrogacy, pregnancy, postpartum, early pediatrics, and returning to work.
• And SO much more! We continue to enhance our program, so be sure to check our Benefits page here for the latest. Our team can share more during the interview process.

About Us

Early Warning Services® delivers innovative payment and risk solutions to financial institutions nationwide. For over 25 years, Early Warning has been a leader in technology that helps protect and advance the financial system. We serve a diverse network of approximately 2,500 financial institutions, government entities and payment companies. Our product solutions enable real‑time funds availability for a variety of payment types through our payments network.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. Early Warning Services, LLC (“Early Warning”) considers for employment, hires, retains and promotes qualified candidates on the basis of ability, potential, and valid qualifications without regard to race, religious creed, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, protected veteran or disability status or any factor prohibited by law, and as such affirms in policy and practice to support and promote equal employment opportunity and affirmative action, in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and municipal laws. The company also prohibits discrimination on other bases such as medical condition, marital status or any other factor that is irrelevant to the performance of our employees.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. Early Warning Services, LLC (“Early Warning”) considers for employment, hires, retains and promotes qualified candidates on the basis of ability, potential, and valid qualifications without regard to race, religious creed, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, protected veteran or disability status or any factor prohibited by law, and as such affirms in policy and practice to support and promote equal employment opportunity and affirmative action, in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and municipal laws. The company also prohibits discrimination on other bases such as medical condition, marital status or any other factor that is irrelevant to the performance of our employees.

Accessibility

Early Warning Services® aims to make our recruitment process accessible to any and all users. If you have a disability or a special need that requires accommodation to navigate our website or complete the application process, please email [e-mail] for an assistance request.

Supplemental

View supplemental EEO is the law poster Early Warning has developed and maintains a written AAP and upholds pay transparency nondiscrimination.

E‑Verify

E‑Verify Early Warning Services LLC is a proud participant in E‑Verify, a federal program to help ensure a legal and authorized workforce. As part of our hiring process, we electronically verify the employment eligibility of all new hires through E‑Verify. For more information on your rights and responsibilities under E‑Verify please visit Home | E‑Verify.

Privacy Notice

Privacy Notice Effective: June 4, 2026 This privacy notice is intended to inform California residents of the personal information we collect, how it’s used and disclosed, and the rights you have in regard to such information. https://www.earlywarningservices.com/privacy-notice-employment-applicants