Security Engineer - Detection & Response

Nerdy; Houston (TX); Remote; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading AI-driven educational company located in Houston is seeking an experienced AI-powered Security Engineer. This role involves designing scalable detection systems and leveraging AI tools to enhance security outcomes. Candidates should possess strong Python skills and a deep understanding of the MITRE ATT&CK framework. The company offers competitive compensation, remote-first culture, and flexible time off as part of their innovative environment.

Benefits

Competitive Compensation

401(k) with company match

Flexible Time Off

Continuous Learning Membership

Comprehensive Health Plans

Qualifications

• 5+ years in security engineering or threat-focused automation roles.
• Strong knowledge of MITRE ATT&CK framework.
• Experience with cloud-native telemetry and SaaS logging.

Responsibilities

• Implement and operate detection systems, including scalable cloud-native SIEM.
• Leverage AI for detection rule creation and threat hunting.
• Collaborate with engineering for embedding detection and response.

Skills

Security engineering

Threat automation

Python scripting

Event-driven architecture

AI tools usage

Tools

SIEM platforms

Elastic

AWS

Job description

Overview

You are an AI-powered Security Engineer responsible for identifying and responding to malicious or suspicious activity across our environment with speed and confidence. This role leads the engineering work behind these capabilities—designing scalable systems to detect threats and trigger automated responses. You will integrate AI into detection and response workflows to accelerate rule development, streamline enrichment, and reduce investigation time, with human validation ensuring precision and alignment.

As a cloud-first SaaS company relying on a broad portfolio of SaaS tools, we generate large volumes of event data across identity, endpoint, infrastructure, and collaboration systems. The scale and complexity of this telemetry demand improved detection engineering and automation.

This is a platform engineering role focused on building and operating a modern detection pipeline integrated with security automation workflows. You will use Python, structured data, and widely adopted frameworks for mapping adversary behaviors and response logic to drive faster, more effective security outcomes. This role is not a support or triage position but a strategic contributor to our security infrastructure.

About Nerdy

At Nerdy (NYSE NRDY) - the company behind Varsity Tutors - we're redrawing the blueprint of learning. Our Live + AI™ platform fuses real-time human expertise with proprietary generative-AI systems, setting a new bar for measurable academic impact at global scale. We recruit the kind of technologists and operators you'd bet on as solo founders - people who turn ambiguous problems into shipping code, iterate faster than markets move, and compound their advantage with every data point. In an era where great employees can deliver 10-times the leverage of the merely good, we back those who play to win.

Fortune favors the bold. Join us.

How we compete

• AI-Native at every level
• Entrepreneurial velocity

  Move at founder speed, prototype in hours, and measure in real user outcomes. Slow teams die.

• Free-market rigor

  Ideas rise or fall on merit and results - no committees, no politics, no cap on upside.

• Full-stack ownership

  You design, build, and run what you ship; accountability is a feature, not a bug.

• Reward for contribution

  Pay rises with impact, not years. Outstanding results earn outsized rewards. We evaluate both what you achieve and how you achieve it : living our leadership principles and using AI effectively are formally measured and rewarded.

• Relentless exploration

  Push the frontier of generative AI in live learning and - because only the paranoid survive - questioning every legacy assumption along the way.

• Is Apolitical

  You stay focused on mission-aligned outcomes, not distractions or unrelated causes.

If you're a technically minded builder who thrives on open competition, personal responsibility, and the chance to redefine how the world learns - while continually stretching the limits of what generative AI can do - come do the most ambitious and rewarding work of your career here. Learn more at nerdy.com.

Qualifications : Required

• 5+ years in security engineering, detection engineering, or threat-focused automation roles.
• Strong knowledge of MITRE ATT&CK framework, detection logic, and IOC / IOA patterns.
• Familiarity with MITRE D3FEND for defense-in-depth and response playbook design.
• Hands-on experience designing, deploying, or managing SIEM platforms (vendor-neutral mindset preferred).
• Strong Python scripting skills for integrations, enrichment logic, and playbook development.
• Experience working with structured data formats such as JSON, YAML, logs, and metrics.
• Familiarity with SaaS logging constraints and cloud-native telemetry, preferably AWS.
• Understanding of event-driven architecture and API-driven integrations.
• Demonstrated ability to use AI tools to accelerate scripting, generate or translate detection rules, or assist with enrichment workflows, always with human validation for accuracy.
• Comfortable working autonomously and cross-functionally to deliver reliable detection outcomes.

Preferred

• Experience building or maintaining detection pipelines using Elastic, Panther, or similar platforms.
• Experience with detection-as-code practices, managing detection logic as version-controlled code with testing and CI / CD.
• Experience writing detection rules in formats such as Sigma, including contributing to open-source or internal detection libraries. E
• Experience with MITRE frameworks : ATT&CK (adversary techniques), D3FEND (defensive techniques), and ATLAS (AI-related attacks).
• Experience with OWASP guidance on application telemetry and detection (e.g., AppSensor, Logging Cheat Sheet). U

Responsibilities

• Implement and operate detection systems, including a scalable cloud-native SIEM platform supporting ingestion from identity, endpoint, SaaS, and infrastructure sources.
• Develop and maintain detection coverage maps aligned to MITRE ATT&CK techniques, threat modeling, and incident history.
• Leverage AI to accelerate detection rule creation, enrichment, and triage insights, and conduct AI-assisted threat hunting to surface novel behaviors and codify them as deterministic detections.
• Build detection observability tools and dashboards to monitor rule effectiveness, alert volumes, and system performance.
• Design and implement SOAR workflows and automated response playbooks with built-in observability, rollback, and reliability controls.
• Leverage AI within SOAR for adaptive enrichment, workflow generation, and documentation, while continuously tuning automation based on incident outcomes.
• Lead incident response activities as part of the incident commander rotation, and drive continuous improvement of runbooks and playbooks using lessons learned and AI support for timelines and summaries.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with engineering and business stakeholders to embed detection and response into system design, operational processes, and organizational priorities.

Unlock Your Full Potential at Nerdy

At Nerdy, you'll earn your success through meritocracy and exceptional outcomes. Our benefits reward performance and initiative :

• Competitive Compensation : Market-leading salary paired with clear promotion pathways - become an owner in our success.
• Retirement Made Simple : 401(k) plan with company match and immediate vesting.
• A Remote-First Culture : We embrace flexibility across time zones and working styles to attract top talent and meet learners where they are.
• Flexible Time Off : Recharge on your terms, ensuring maximum productivity.
• Continuous Learning : Access an all-inclusive learning membership for you and your household, including 1 : 1 tutoring hours, unlimited on-demand classes, and our full suite of learning products and services.
• Supercharge with AI : Leverage cutting-edge AI tools to accelerate your workflow.
• You're Covered : Medical, dental, vision, life, STD & LTD plans plus strong maternity, paternity, and adoption leaves - numerous options for you and your family.

The Bottom Line

If you're driven by impact, energized by ownership, and excited to help shape what's next, you'll thrive here. We move fast, think big, and reward those who deliver. This isn't a traditional corporate environment - it's a place to do the most meaningful work of your career.