Principal Platform Security Engineer

Early Warning (Zelle); Scottsdale (AZ); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Early Warning (Zelle) is seeking a Principal Platform Security Engineer in the Scottsdale area to lead the long-term technical vision for platform security across products, platforms, and shared services. This role bridges product, infrastructure, and security to embed secure engineering across the lifecycle.

You will define secure target states, guide enterprise design patterns, and drive adoption of secure-by-default patterns while mentoring senior engineers and collaborating with

Qualifications

• Typically 15+ years of experience or equivalent portfolio.
• Expert-level experience across platform, infrastructure, software and security engineering.
• Experience owning technical direction for broad engineering domains or enterprise programs.
• Experience defining target states, standards, and reference architectures.
• Ability to influence senior technical and business stakeholders.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Owns the enterprise technical vision for platform security engineering across shared services and engineering workflows.
• Defines secure target states, engineering standards, and control strategies across products and technology pillars.
• Shapes long-range secure-by-default platform capabilities balancing risk, scalability and developer experience.
• Leads complex security engineering decisions involving platform security and lifecycle controls.
• Partners with senior leaders to align roadmaps, investments, and enterprise design direction.
• Establishes reusable frameworks and guardrails adopted broadly across the organization.
• Mentors senior engineers and acts as a technical authority across the company.
• Supports risk management and protects system and data integrity.

Skills

Platform security engineering

Architectural leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Mentoring senior engineers

Security risk management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Systems, or related field

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.

The base pay scale for this position in: Phoenix, AZ/ Chicago