Senior Security Engineer

Covenant HR; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Covenant HR is seeking a Security Engineer in San Francisco to help build and scale our security program from the ground up. This hybrid role requires a hands-on, high-ownership engineer who can partner with product, infrastructure, and engineering teams.

You will perform security reviews, threat modeling, secure SDLC improvements, cloud hardening, and AI/LLM security measures, with emphasis on scalable architecture and incident response in an AI-driven platform.

Qualifications

• 3–8 years of hands-on experience specifically in a dedicated Security Engineer role.
• Deep infrastructure/cloud security expertise, including cloud hardening, threat modeling, incident response, security architecture, detection/response, and secure SDLC; GCP preferred, with AWS or Azure acceptable
• Proven experience building or scaling security infrastructure and programs from the ground up, ideally within an early-stage or high-growth startup environment
• Hands-on AI/LLM security experience, including prompt injection, guardrails, data exposure, AI abuse, or related AI security risks
• High-ownership, independent operator with strong communication skills and demonstrated career progression/increasing scope

Responsibilities

• Help build and scale our client’s security program from the ground up in a highly hands-on engineering role
• Perform security reviews and threat modeling across an AI-powered platform
• Build and continuously improve secure SDLC, detection, and response processes
• Harden cloud, application, and supporting infrastructure against emerging threats
• Identify, prioritize, and drive remediation of high-impact security risks
• Design security controls and protections for AI agents and LLM-based systems
• Partner closely with product, infrastructure, and engineering teams to embed security throughout the development lifecycle
• Help establish scalable security architecture and engineering practices as the organization grows
• Support SOC 2 initiatives and enterprise customer security requirements
• Communicate security risks, tradeoffs, and technical decisions effectively to both engineering and executive audiences
• Operate independently in a fast-moving, high-ambiguity startup environment with significant individual ownership

Skills

Hands-on Security Engineer experience

Cloud security & infrastructure

GCP preferred

AI/LLM security

Security program leadership

Job description

Company - Fast-growing, VC-backed applied AI company building AI-powered technology.

Job Title - Security Engineer

Location - Hybrid in San Francisco, CA — 3 days per week onsite

Role Type - Direct Hire

(H1B Transfers, OPT candidates are also considered)

Must Have Skills:

• 3–8 years of hands-on experience specifically in a dedicated Security Engineer role
• Deep infrastructure/cloud security expertise, including cloud hardening, threat modeling, incident response, security architecture, detection/response, and secure SDLC; GCP preferred, with AWS or Azure acceptable
• Proven experience building or scaling security infrastructure and programs from the ground up, ideally within an early-stage or high-growth startup environment
• Hands-on AI/LLM security experience, including prompt injection, guardrails, data exposure, AI abuse, or related AI security risks
• High-ownership, independent operator with strong communication skills and demonstrated career progression/increasing scope

Responsibilities and Job Details:

• Help build and scale our client’s security program from the ground up in a highly hands-on engineering role
• Perform security reviews and threat modeling across an AI-powered platform
• Build and continuously improve secure SDLC, detection, and response processes
• Harden cloud, application, and supporting infrastructure against emerging threats
• Identify, prioritize, and drive remediation of high-impact security risks
• Design security controls and protections for AI agents and LLM-based systems
• Partner closely with product, infrastructure, and engineering teams to embed security throughout the development lifecycle
• Help establish scalable security architecture and engineering practices as the organization grows
• Support SOC 2 initiatives and enterprise customer security requirements
• Communicate security risks, tradeoffs, and technical decisions effectively to both engineering and executive audiences
• Operate independently in a fast-moving, high-ambiguity startup environment with significant individual ownership