Security Software Engineer (TDR)

ByteDance; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 250,000 - 450,000; Full time

Job summary

ByteDance is seeking a Security Engineer to design and build threat detection, prevention, and response systems for its large-scale platforms. You will focus on securing LLM-based systems and AI agent architectures, while owning distributed security infrastructure across global regions.

You will collaborate with cross-functional teams to translate emerging threats into clear product requirements and ship high-impact security capabilities on aggressive timelines.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or above in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related field.
• 3+ years hands-on software development experience.
• Proficiency in Go, Java, or Rust with production-ready coding skills.
• Back-end development with cloud-native infra, networking, and scalable services.
• Experience using AI-assisted workflows to accelerate engineering velocity.
• Ability to break down problems and propose practical solutions.

Responsibilities

• Design and build threat detection, prevention, and response systems for large-scale platforms.
• Advance security of LLM-based systems and AI agent architectures.
• Own end-to-end lifecycle of distributed security systems across global regions.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to translate threat patterns into security requirements.

Skills

Go

Java

Rust

Backend development

Cloud-native infra

Threat detection

AI workflows

Security engineering

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering

Tools

Kubernetes

Cloud monitoring

Job description

Responsibilities

About the Team
The Security Engineering team at ByteDance builds and operates the core systems that protect one of the world's largest internet platforms and its global user community. We tackle challenges that span threat detection and response (TDR), infrastructure protection, and the emerging frontier of AI and LLM system security - all at the scale of TikTok and ByteDance. Our engineers combine deep systems-building expertise with strong security fundamentals to deliver high-impact, production-grade solutions in a fast-paced, globally distributed environment. If you thrive on ownership, love solving ambiguous problems, and want your work to safeguard products used by billions, this is the team.

• Design and build innovative threat detection, prevention, and response (TDR) systems that protect large-scale platforms, critical infrastructure, and globally distributed endpoints.


• Drive the security of LLM-based systems and AI agent architectures - identifying novel attack surfaces, developing defensive frameworks, and ensuring the safe deployment of AI-powered products at scale.


• Own the end-to-end lifecycle of distributed security systems operating across global regions - from deployment and capacity planning through production reliability, observability, and continuous iteration at scale.


• Partner closely with cross-functional global teams to turn vague problem statements and emerging threat patterns into clear product requirements, and ship high-impact security capabilities on aggressive timelines.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or above in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related fields, with at least 3 years of hands-on software development experience.


• Strong fundamentals in algorithms and data structures; proficiency in Go, Java, or Rust, with the ability to write clean, reliable, and production-ready code.


• Strong back-end development skills, including experience with cloud-native infrastructure, networking, and building services that run reliably at scale.


• Hands-on experience using AI-assisted and agentic development workflows to accelerate engineering velocity and quality, paired with a strong personal standard for building software quickly and well.


• Proven ability to think critically, break down complex or ambiguous problems, and formulate clear, practical solutions in a timely manner.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience designing and implementing threat detection and response (TDR) systems, including detection engineering, automated response pipelines, and integration with modern security architectures.


• Familiarity with security challenges in LLM-based systems or AI agent architectures - such as prompt injection, model abuse, tool-use exploitation, or securing agentic workflows.


• Hands-on experience with cloud-native infrastructure (e.g., Kubernetes, observability stacks), large-scale streaming/batch data pipelines, and building distributed systems that power real-time detection and prevention at scale.


• Experience working in globally distributed teams and driving cross-functional projects end-to-end, from ambiguous problem definition through rollout and iteration.


• Demonstrated ability to lead technical initiatives, mentor engineers, and influence security direction beyond your immediate team.

About Us

Founded in 2012, ByteDance's mission is to inspire creativity and enrich life. With a suite of more than a dozen products, including TikTok, Lemon8, CapCut and Pico as well as platforms specific to the China market, including Toutiao, Douyin, and Xigua, ByteDance has made it easier and more fun for people to connect with, consume, and create content.

Why Join ByteDance

Inspiring creativity is at the core of ByteDance's mission. Our innovative products are built to help people authentically express themselves, discover and connect – and our global, diverse teams make that possible. Together, we create value for our communities, inspire creativity and enrich life - a mission we work towards every day.

As ByteDancers, we strive to do great things with great people. We lead with curiosity, humility, and a desire to make impact in a rapidly growing tech company. By constantly iterating and fostering an \"Always Day 1\" mindset, we achieve meaningful breakthroughs for ourselves, our Company, and our users. When we create and grow together, the possibilities are limitless. Join us.

Diversity & Inclusion

ByteDance is committed to creating an inclusive space where employees are valued for their skills, experiences, and unique perspectives. Our platform connects people from across the globe and so does our workplace. At ByteDance, our mission is to inspire creativity and enrich life. To achieve that goal, we are committed to celebrating our diverse voices and to creating an environment that reflects the many communities we reach. We are passionate about this and hope you are too.

Reasonable Accommodation

ByteDance is committed to providing reasonable accommodations in our recruitment processes for candidates with disabilities, pregnancy, sincerely held religious beliefs or other reasons protected by applicable laws. If you need assistance or a reasonable accommodation, please reach out to us at https://tinyurl.com/RA-request

Job Information

【For Pay Transparency】Compensation Description (Annually)

The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $212800 - $450000 annually.

Compensation may vary outside of this range depending on a number of factors, including a candidate's qualifications, skills, competencies and experience, and location. Base pay is one part of the Total Package that is provided to compensate and recognize employees for their work, and this role may be eligible for additional discretionary bonuses/incentives, and restricted stock units.

Benefits may vary depending on the nature of employment and the country work location. Employees have day one access to medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401(k) savings plan with company match, paid parental leave, short-term and long-term disability coverage, life insurance, wellbeing benefits, among others. Employees also receive 10 paid holidays per year, 10 paid sick days per year and 17 days of Paid Personal Time (prorated upon hire with increasing accruals by tenure).

The Company reserves the right to modify or change these benefits programs at any time, with or without notice.

Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with all federal, state, and local laws including the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act. Our company believes that criminal history may have a direct, adverse, and negative relationship on the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of the conditional offer of employment:

1. Interacting and occasionally having unsupervised contact with internal/external clients and/or colleagues;


2. Appropriately handling and managing confidential information including proprietary and trade secret information and access to information technology systems; and


3. Exercising sound judgment.