Senior Security Engineer, Amazon Optics

Amazon; Herndon (VA); On-site; USD 178,000 - 227,000; Full time

Job summary

Amazon Optics is seeking a Security Engineer III to own the security posture of distributed systems across AWS regions. You will lead risk reduction for the Optics platform, design security controls for fleet-scale systems, and construct frameworks and mitigations for ambiguous security problems.

You will mentor engineers, review architecture for secure design, and help protect the trust of millions of AWS customers.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of non-internship background in troubleshooting systems issues, analyzing logs, or automating complex tasks using command line tools experience.
• 5+ years of work in identifying security issues and risks, and developing mitigation plans experience.
• 4+ years of (non-internship) scripting, programming, and security code review in common programming languages experience.
• Knowledge of at least two of the following programming languages: Scala, Java, Python, C/C++, or Go.
• Experience (non-internship) in industry-based security vulnerabilities identification, attack patterns, and remediation techniques.
• Experience as a mentor, tech lead or leading an engineering team.

Responsibilities

• Lead security architecture reviews and threat modeling for services deployed across all AWS regions in an IaC environment.
• Design and implement security controls that centralize protections across the platform.
• Construct security frameworks, runbooks, and rubrics for new problem domains.
• Drive security investigations, escalation handling, and root-cause analysis through COE processes.
• Review code and architecture to ensure secure design, least privilege, and safe data handling.
• Influence security decisions across partner organizations by balancing risk and velocity.
• Mentor and develop security engineers, contributing to hiring assessments and career guidance.

Skills

Troubleshooting systems

Security risk assessment

Scripting

Scala

Java

Python

C/C++

Go

Mentor/Tech lead

Job description

Amazon Optics is building the next generation of physical security software that protects every AWS data center and Amazon corporate facility worldwide. We need a Security Engineer III who will own the security posture of distributed systems that "have to be available when everyone is having their worst day.".

In this role, you will lead security risk reduction across the Optics platform—spanning physical access control, alarm monitoring, video surveillance, and device management services deployed to every AWS region. You will design and validate security controls for systems that integrate with commodity hardware and enterprise offerings at fleet scale, ensuring we maintain the highest security bar while enabling rapid delivery. You will tackle large, ambiguous security problems where the customer need is clear but the security strategy is not yet defined—constructing frameworks, threat models, and pragmatic mitigations that generalize across our growing infrastructure.

You will operate as a security lead for the team, reviewing architecture decisions for secure design, driving closure on escalations, and mentoring engineers on security best practices. Your work directly protects the trust that millions of AWS customers place in our platform.

Key job responsibilities

• Lead security architecture reviews and threat modeling for services deployed across all AWS regions in a fully Infrastructure as Code environment, identifying one-way-door technical decisions and advocating for the right long-term solutions
• Design and implement security controls that centralize protections across the platform rather than requiring individual service teams to solve independently
• Construct security frameworks, runbooks, and rubrics for new problem domains that enable repeatable, scalable security outcomes across the organization
• Drive security investigations, escalation handling, and root-cause analysis through COE processes, ensuring systemic issues are permanently resolved
• Review code and architecture produced by engineering peers to ensure secure design, least privilege, proper authentication/authorization, and safe data handling
• Influence security decisions across partner organizations by balancing risk trade-offs with business velocity and identifying pragmatic compensating controls
• Mentor and develop security engineers on the team, contributing to hiring assessments, promotion evaluations, and career guidance

About the team

Amazon Optics is an AWS Security organization. Our services secure physical access, monitor alarms, manage video surveillance, and track device health across hundreds of data centers and corporate facilities globally. We value strong intuition backed by metrics and data, and we provide solutions where "can't be done" isn't considered an answer. The team operates at the intersection of physical and logical security—building software that integrates with real-world hardware while meeting the availability, scalability, and security standards of AWS. We foster a collaborative environment where engineers take ownership of critical systems end-to-end and are empowered to solve problems that directly protect every AWS customer.

Diverse Experiences

Amazon Security values diverse experiences. Even if you do not meet all of the qualifications and skills listed in the job description, we encourage candidates to apply. If your career is just starting, hasn’t followed a traditional path, or includes alternative experiences, don’t let it stop you from applying.

Why Amazon Security?

At Amazon, security is central to maintaining customer trust and delivering delightful customer experiences. Our organization is responsible for creating and maintaining a high bar for security across all of Amazon’s products and services. We offer talented security professionals the chance to accelerate their careers with opportunities to build experience in a wide variety of areas including cloud, devices, retail, entertainment, healthcare, operations, and physical stores.

Inclusive Team Culture

In Amazon Security, it’s in our nature to learn and be curious. Ongoing DEI events and learning experiences inspire us to continue learning and to embrace our uniqueness. Addressing the toughest security challenges requires that we seek out and celebrate a diversity of ideas, perspectives, and voices.

Training & Career Growth

We’re continuously raising our performance bar as we strive to become Earth’s Best Employer. That’s why you’ll find endless knowledge-sharing, training, and other career-advancing resources here to help you develop into a better-rounded professional.

Work/Life Balance

We value work-life harmony. Achieving success at work should never come at the expense of sacrifices at home, which is why flexible work hours and arrangements are part of our culture. When we feel supported in the workplace and at home, there’s nothing we can’t achieve.

Basic Qualifications

• 4+ years of non-internship background in troubleshooting systems issues, analyzing logs, or automating complex tasks using command line tools experience
• 5+ years of work in identifying security issues and risks, and developing mitigation plans experience
• 4+ years of (non-internship) scripting, programming, and security code review in common programming languages experience
• Knowledge of at least two of the following programming languages: Scala, Java, Python, C/C++, or Go
• Experience (non-internship) in industry-based security vulnerabilities identification, attack patterns, and remediation techniques
• Experience as a mentor, tech lead or leading an engineering team

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience applying threat modeling or other risk identification techniques or equivalent
• Experience with security in service-oriented architectures/microservices and web services

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.

The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.

USA, VA, Herndon - 178,400.00 - 226,700.00 USD annually