Senior Security Engineer

Kaizen Labs; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive medical insurance

16 weeks parental leave

Unlimited PTO

Home office stipend

Wellness stipend

Job summary

Kaizen Labs in New York City is seeking a dedicated Security Engineer to architect and implement security measures across their platform. This hybrid role requires candidates in New York to be present in the office three times a week, focusing on AWS and compliance with federal regulations.

The ideal candidate will have over 5 years of experience in cloud security, with a deep understanding of federal security frameworks and the ability to translate them into practical engineering solutions.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of hands-on experience building and securing cloud-native platforms in AWS and Terraform.
• Direct experience with federal authorization work—FedRAMP, CMMC, DoD IL, or comparable environments.
• Deep familiarity with NIST 800-53, translating controls into engineering work.

Responsibilities

• Architect and operationalize security across infrastructure, platform, CI/CD, and applications.
• Lead readiness across federal compliance frameworks—own technical policy documentation.
• Build continuous compliance workflows that are integrated into shipping.

Skills

AWS

Terraform

Cloud security

NIST 800-53

Compliance frameworks

CI/CD

Supply chain security

Job description

Who Are We?

Government technology has failed the public for decades, and Americans have been conditioned to expect websites from the 90s for essential public services.

Kaizen exists to strengthen trust in American public services by building technology that residents and public servants are proud to use. We partner with local, state, and federal agencies to replace legacy systems with modern, AI-native software that is worthy of the people they serve. We started in outdoor recreation, and now we're building toward something much larger — the software layer that powers how Americans access any government service.

Our platform already reaches 40 million residents across 50+ agencies in 17 states.

Founded in 2022 and based in New York City, Kaizen has raised $35 million from NEA, a16z, Accel, 776, and Carpenter Capital. We're builders, designers, and operators who believe that beautifully designed software shouldn’t be a luxury in government. It’s how you earn trust back.

The Role

Kaizen's platform reaches 40M residents across 50+ agencies in 17 states. We've already signed multiple federal customers with many more in the pipeline — and the work of making Kaizen federal-ready is currently spread across a handful of engineers. That doesn't scale. We're hiring our first dedicated security engineer to sit on the platform team and own this end to end: architect the controls, write the SSPs, and partner with engineering to embed compliance into how we ship rather than bolt it on after.

Location

This is a hybrid role based out of our New York City HQ. Candidates must reside in New York or be able to commute to New York City to work out of our office at least three times a week (Tuesdays - Thursdays).

What You'll Do

• Architect and operationalize security across infrastructure, platform, CI/CD, and application layers, with a focus on AWS (including GovCloud) and Terraform
• Lead readiness across federal compliance frameworks — FedRAMP, CMMC, and DoD Impact Levels — translating NIST 800-53 and related controls into real engineering implementations, and owning the SSPs, POA&Ms, and technical policy documentation
• Build continuous compliance and audit-readiness workflows that make accreditation a byproduct of how we ship, not a separate workstream
• Be smart about AI and tooling — use automated AI-driven security scanning, modern hardened-image platforms like Chainguard, and other leverage points to multiply the impact of a small security team
• Establish secure software supply chain practices: SBOMs, image signing, workload identity, and hardened deployment pipelines
• Own the technical relationship with assessors, auditors, and federal security stakeholders — you are the credible technical voice in those rooms
• Drive a secure-by-default engineering culture so residents and public servants can trust the systems we put in front of them

What You'll Bring

• 5+ years of hands‑on experience building and securing cloud-native platforms in AWS and Terraform — you can architect controls and also implement them yourself
• Direct experience with federal authorization work — FedRAMP, CMMC, DoD IL, or comparable regulated environments. You don't need to have shepherded a full authorization across the finish line, but you've done enough of the real work to know what it takes
• Deep familiarity with NIST 800-53 and the ability to translate controls into pragmatic engineering work rather than checkbox compliance
• Strong working knowledge of modern supply chain security: SBOMs, image signing, workload identity, secure CI/CD
• Track record operating effectively in early‑stage or fast‑moving environments where you set the bar rather than inherit it

Strong Candidates May Also...

• Have supported federal SaaS, defense tech, or regulated infrastructure companies through accreditation
• Have led a company through its first federal authorization rather than maintaining an existing one
• Have hands‑on experience with Chainguard, AI-powered security tooling, or similar leverage‑multiplying platforms
• Have worked with platforms like Second Front or similar federal compliance accelerators

Don't Apply If...

• You want to own policy and hand the implementation to someone else — this role lives in the code and the infrastructure
• You think compliance is paperwork — at Kaizen it's a load‑bearing engineering discipline
• You think AI tools are a crutch rather than a force multiplier
• You need a mature security program already in place to be effective

Kaizen exists to strengthen trust in American public services. Security and compliance aren't constraints on that mission — they're the foundation that makes the work matter at the federal scale.

What Kaizen Offers

Health & Insurance

• Comprehensive medical through Oxford/United — Gold and Platinum PPO plans, with 85% of premiums covered on the Platinum plan and a $0 employee premium option. Dental through Guardian PPO and vision through Beam, with 99% of employee premiums covered and 50% for dependents.
• $100,000 in fully paid life insurance. FSA and Dependent Care FSA. 401(k) access through Guideline.

Family & Time Off

• 16 weeks of fully paid parental leave for birthing parents. 10 weeks fully paid for non‑birthing parents.
• Unlimited PTO, closed for all federal holidays, and company‑wide winter break the week of Christmas.

Office & Remote Setup

• Up to $750 one‑time home office or desk setup stipend for NYC‑based employees. $500 for remote employees.
• $50/month commuter benefit (company contribution).
• Expensed lunch 3x a week while in the office.
• Company‑provided laptop.

Wellness

• Fully covered gym membership at Grindhouse — right across the street from our office at 47 W 17th St (and in Williamsburg). A $225/month value, on us. For remote employees, $100/month dedicated to gym or physical fitness reimbursement.
• $300/quarter pet care stipend.

Stipends

• $100/month utility stipend.
• $500/year professional development.
• $250/year recreation.

Kaizen is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. If you need an accommodation during the interview process, email us at [e-mail].