Product Security Assurance Architect

Sandisk; Milpitas (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Sandisk seeks a seasoned Product Security Assurance Architect to strengthen security across firmware-driven products and storage platforms. You will perform independent technical security assessments, exploitability analyses, and adversarial security reviews, collaborating with Platform Security, firmware, ASIC, validation, PSIRT, and product teams to reduce risk across the portfolio.

The role focuses on security lifecycle maturity, threat modeling, and scalable assurance methodologies, aligning

Qualifications

• Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Cybersecurity, or related field.
• 10+ years of experience in firmware security, embedded systems security, product security, or related disciplines.
• Strong expertise in firmware and embedded security concepts (secure boot, roots of trust, authN/authZ, firmware update security, cryptographic protections, debug/mfg security).
• Strong understanding of attacker techniques, threat modeling, and adversarial thinking applied to embedded systems.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with engineering teams, vendors, product leadership, and executives.

Responsibilities

• Conduct independent technical security assessments of firmware-driven products and embedded platforms to identify gaps and residual risk.
• Assess effectiveness of security controls, architecture decisions, and exploitability.
• Evaluate threat models and perform attacker-informed analysis.
• Evaluate trust boundaries, secure boot, update paths, debug interfaces, and lifecycle security.
• Partner with engineering teams to recommend practical mitigations and improvements across the product portfolio.
• Advance SDL effectiveness across product teams by assessing security rigor and evidence readiness.

Skills

Firmware security

Embedded systems security

Threat modeling

Exploitability analysis

Adversarial thinking

Security assurance

SDL / secure development lifecycle

Communication skills

Security architecture

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's/Master's/PhD in CS/EE/Cybersecurity

Tools

SAST tools

Fuzzing tools

Job description

Sandisk understands how people and businesses consume data and we relentlessly innovate to deliver solutions that enable today’s needs and tomorrow’s next big ideas. With a rich history of groundbreaking innovations in Flash and advanced memory technologies, our solutions have become the beating heart of the digital world we’re living in and that we have the power to shape.

Sandisk meets people and businesses at the intersection of their aspirations and the moment, enabling them to keep moving and pushing possibility forward. We do this through the balance of our powerhouse manufacturing capabilities and our industry-leading portfolio of products that are recognized globally for innovation, performance and quality.

Sandisk has two facilities recognized by the World Economic Forum as part of the Global Lighthouse Network for advanced 4IR innovations. These facilities were also recognized as Sustainability Lighthouses for breakthroughs in efficient operations. With our global reach, we ensure the global supply chain has access to the Flash memory it needs to keep our world moving forward.

Description

Sandisk's Product Security Engineering & Assurance (PSEA) organization is seeking a highly experienced Product Security Assurance Architect to strengthen security assurance across Sandisk's firmware-driven products and storage platforms. This role is responsible for advancing product security through independent technical security assurance, exploitability analysis, adversarial security assessment, and product security lifecycle effectiveness across the portfolio. Working in close partnership with Platform Security, product engineering, firmware, ASIC, validation, and PSIRT teams, this position focuses on evaluating the effectiveness, completeness, and defensibility of implemented security controls and product security posture, helping ensure products are resilient against realistic threats and aligned with customer, business, and regulatory expectations. This role is distinct from embedded product security architecture and implementation functions. Product and Platform Security teams remain responsible for defining and implementing security architectures within products. This role focuses on independent technical assurance, attacker-informed analysis, security lifecycle maturity, and scalable product security risk reduction across the portfolio.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

Product Security Assurance & Technical Assessment

• Conduct independent technical security assessments of firmware-driven products, and embedded platforms to identify security gaps, attack paths, implementation weaknesses, and residual risk.
• Assess the effectiveness and completeness of implemented security controls, security mechanisms, and architecture decisions from an assurance and exploitability perspective.
• Evaluate trust boundaries, privileged operations, manufacturing pathways, debug capabilities, firmware update mechanisms, and product lifecycle transitions for potential security weaknesses. Threat Modeling & Exploitability Analysis
• Evaluate the quality, completeness, and realism of product threat models and challenge assumptions through attacker-informed analysis.
• Conduct exploitability and attack surface analysis across firmware and embedded systems, including: secure boot and roots of trust, authentication and authorization controls, secure firmware update paths, manufacturing and RMA workflows, debug interfaces (UART/JTAG), provisioning and lifecycle security, cryptographic implementations and key management approaches.
• Partner with engineering teams to recommend practical, risk-informed mitigations and compensating controls. Security Lifecycle

Assurance

• Advance secure development lifecycle (SDL) effectiveness across product teams by assessing security rigor, implementation quality, and evidence readiness.
• Evaluate effectiveness of product security activities including: threat modeling, secure coding practices, SAST and static analysis, SBOM and dependency management, vulnerability scanning, fuzzing and penetration testing, compiler hardening and secure build configurations, security validation evidence.
• Help establish scalable assurance methodologies and minimum expectations appropriate to product risk and business objectives. Adversarial Security Assessment
• Partner with adversarial security engineering and product teams to evaluate realistic attack scenarios and challenge defensive assumptions.
• Assess firmware attack surfaces and identify practical attack paths against embedded systems and storage products.
• Translate security findings into durable engineering guidance and portfolio-wide lessons learned.

Security Incident & Vulnerability Feedback

• Partner with PSIRT and product teams to identify recurring vulnerability patterns and systemic product security weaknesses.
• Translate security incidents, vulnerability trends, and field learnings into improvements in secure development and security assurance practices.
• Support risk assessment and remediation prioritization for significant product security issues.

Security Assurance

• Support customer-facing technical security inquiries, security assessments, and product assurance activities.
• Provide technically grounded assessments to support customer security questionnaires, product evaluations, and audit activities.
• Strengthen product readiness for evolving security expectations, regulatory obligations, and industry cybersecurity frameworks.
• Support executive and product leadership in understanding product security posture and residual risk.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with: Platform Security Architects, Firmware Engineering, ASIC and hardware teams, Product Engineering, Quality and Validation, PSIRT, Product Security Assurance, External security assessment partners.
• Drive outcomes through technical influence, collaboration, and pragmatic risk-based decision making.

Qualifications

REQUIRED:

• Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Cybersecurity, or a related technical field.
• 10+ years of experience in firmware security, embedded systems security, product security, platform security, or related disciplines.
• Strong expertise in firmware and embedded security concepts, including: secure boot, roots of trust, authentication and authorization, secure communications, firmware update security, cryptographic protections, debug and manufacturing security controls, secure provisioning and lifecycle security.
• Strong understanding of attacker techniques, exploitability analysis, and adversarial thinking applied to embedded systems. Experience evaluating threat models, security controls, and product security effectiveness.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to balance security rigor with business realities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to communicate effectively with engineering teams, vendors, product leadership, and executives.

Preferred

• Experience with SSD architectures, flash memory systems, storage controllers or embedded hardware platforms.
• Experience with secure development lifecycle (SDL), vulnerability management, PSIRT, or product security assurance functions.
• Familiarity with: secure coding standards, static analysis and security tooling, fuzz testing, penetration testing, security certifications and regulatory expectations (e.g., FIPS, Common Criteria, CRA).
• Experience working with external security research organizations or third-party product security assessments.
• Strong technical depth in firmware and embedded system security.
• Ability to challenge assumptions and assess security from an attacker perspective.
• Strong documentation, analytical, and technical communication skills.
• Ability to influence technical direction through collaboration and technical credibility.
• Strong judgment in balancing product risk, customer commitments, and business priorities.

Additional Information

Sandisk is committed to providing equal opportunities to all applicants and employees and will not discriminate based on their race, color, ancestry, religion (including religious dress and grooming standards), sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, breastfeeding or related medical conditions), gender (including a person’s gender identity, gender expression, and gender-related appearance and behavior, whether or not stereotypically associated with the person’s assigned sex at birth), age, national origin, sexual orientation, medical condition, marital status (including domestic partnership status), physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, protected medical and family care leave, Civil Air Patrol status, military and veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. We also prohibit harassment of any individual on any of the characteristics listed above. Our non-discrimination policy applies to all aspects of employment. We comply with the laws and regulations set forth in the Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law poster.

Sandisk thrives on the power and potential of diversity. As a global company, we believe the most effective way to embrace the diversity of our customers and communities is to mirror it from within. We believe the fusion of various perspectives results in the best outcomes for our employees, our company, our customers, and the world around us. We are committed to an inclusive environment where every individual can thrive through a sense of belonging, respect and contribution.

Sandisk is committed to offering opportunities to applicants with disabilities and ensuring all candidates can successfully navigate our careers website and our hiring process. Please contact us at [e-mail] to advise us of your accommodation request. In your email, please include a description of the specific accommodation you are requesting as well as the job title and requisition number of the position for which you are applying.