Principal Software Development Engineer (Agent Security)

Fortinet, Inc.; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 212,000 - 259,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, Vision

401(k)

Paid holidays

Sick time & generous leave

Job summary

Fortinet, Inc. is seeking a Principal Agent Security Engineer to design and implement security controls for agentic AI systems and to build security solutions for enterprise customers.

You will lead architecture decisions, collaborate with Product, Engineering and QA, and drive the technical roadmap while ensuring secure, scalable operations. The role requires 8+ years building production backend services, strong system design, and hands-on leadership.

Qualifications

• 8+ years building and operating production backend services.
• Experience owning architecture of security-critical and highly available systems.
• Strong system design and trade-off ability across security, scalability, reliability, and performance.
• Self-driven with strong debugging and leadership skills.

Responsibilities

• Build AI security solutions for enterprise customers.
• Design and implement security controls for agentic AI systems.
• Provide technical leadership across product development, defining architecture and delivering secure, scalable solutions.
• Develop pre-sales and post-sales tools to support evaluations, deployments and troubleshooting.
• Own and operate production services, improving reliability and security.

Skills

Python

Go

Rust/C/C++

System design

Problem solving

Technical leadership

Education

Bachelors in Computer Science or equiv

Tools

Agentic AI frameworks

LLM safety tooling

Job description

Principal Agent Security Engineer

Responsibilities

• Build AI security solutions for enterprise customers.
• Design and implement security controls for agentic AI systems.
• Provide technical leadership across product development, working closely with Product, Engineering, and QA teams to define architecture, drive technical decisions, and deliver secure and scalable solutions.
• Develop pre-sales and post-sales tools and environments to support customer evaluations, deployments, troubleshooting, and integration.
• Own and operate production services, including troubleshooting, performance optimization, reliability improvements, and ongoing hardening of security-critical systems.
• Research emerging technologies and security trends to identify new opportunities and develop innovative solutions.
• Drive technical strategy and product roadmap, including new feature design, architecture evolution.

Requirements

• Strong software engineering skills in Python or Go, or in a systems language such as Rust or C/C++.
• Bachelor’s degree or above in Computer Science, or equivalent practical experience.
• 8+ years of experience building and operating production backend services, including architecture ownership of security-critical and highly available systems.
• Strong system design and architecture skills, with the ability to make sound technical trade-offs across security, scalability, reliability, and performance.
• Self-driven and proactive, with strong problem-solving, debugging, and technical leadership skills and a focus on delivering high-quality solutions.

Strong Plus

• Experience with LLM and agent security, including areas such as prompt injection, tool poisoning, jailbreaks, and agent security controls.
• Agentic AI architecture — Deep understanding of MCP and A2A, with hands-on experience designing and building agentic AI systems, including tool-calling and agent frameworks.
• Cybersecurity background — Professional experience in application security, network security, identity, API security, or other cybersecurity domains.

Must be authorized to work in the U.S. without sponsorship.

The US base salary range for this full-time position is $212,000-$259,000. Fortinet offers employees a variety of benefits, including medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance, 401(k), 11 paid holidays, vacation time, and sick time, as well as a comprehensive leave program.

Wage ranges are based on various factors, including the labour market, job type, and job level. Exact salary offers will be determined by factors such as the candidate's subject knowledge, skill level, qualifications, experience, and geographic location.

All roles are eligible to participate in the Fortinet equity program. Bonus eligibility is reviewed at the time of hire and annually at the Company’s discretion.

Why Join Us:

We encourage candidates from all backgrounds and identities to apply. We offer a supportive work environment and a competitive Total Rewards package to support you with your overall health and financial well-being.

Embark on a challenging, enjoyable, and rewarding career journey with Fortinet. Join us in bringing solutions that make a meaningful and lasting impact to our 890,000+ customers around the globe.