Senior Security Engineer – Digital Assets Platform - VP

Citi; New York (NY); On-site; USD 142,000 - 213,000; Full time

Job summary

Citi in New York is seeking a Senior Security Engineer (VP) to lead secure backend development for CIDAP. You will design cryptographic services, integrate HSMs, and implement MPC-based key management in a large-scale financial platform.

The role demands deep cryptography expertise, production Java skills, and strong security design across zero-trust, SAST/DAST tooling, and CI/CD pipelines. On-site role in NYC.

Qualifications

• 7-10 years of software engineering with a focus on security, cryptography, or secure systems.
• Strong production-level backend Java experience building security-critical services.
• Hands-on experience integrating HSMs via PKCS#11/JCE/JCA or vendor APIs.
• Practical understanding of MPC protocols, TSS, or distributed key management.
• In-depth knowledge of applied cryptography: AES-GCM, RSA, ECC, signatures, hashing.
• Familiarity with zero-trust, least-privilege, secrets management, mTLS, and secure enclaves.
• Experience with threat modelling frameworks and security design reviews.
• Understanding CI/CD security tooling: SAST/DAST, dependency and secrets scanning.
• Strong grasp of distributed systems, microservices, and secure inter-service communication patterns.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain security-critical Java backend services, including cryptographic libraries and signing workflows.
• Own HSM integration, API integration, key generation/rotation, and policy enforcement.
• Architect and implement MPC protocols and threshold schemes for distributed key management.
• Apply cryptographic best practices across the platform: AES-GCM, RSA, ECC, ECDSA, HKDF/PBKDF2.
• Define secure design patterns for distributed systems: zero-trust, mutual TLS, certificate lifecycle, secure enclaves.

Skills

Java backend

Cryptography

HSM integration

MPC protocols

Security architecture

Threat modelling

CI/CD security

Distributed systems

API security

Education

Bachelor's degree

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

PKCS#11

JCE/JCA

MPC libraries

Security tooling

Job description

Discover your future at Citi Working at Citi is far more than just a job. A career with us means joining a team of more than 230,000 dedicated people from around the globe. At Citi, you'll have the opportunity to grow your career, give back to your community and make a real impact.

About The Role

Discover your future at Citi Working at Citi is far more than just a job. A career with us means joining a team of more than 230,000 dedicated people from around the globe. At Citi, you'll have the opportunity to grow your career, give back to your community and make a real impact.

Job Overview

Citi's Integrated Digital Assets Platform (CIDAP) is at the vanguard of institutional blockchain adoption - and security is its foundation. As digital assets move from innovation to regulated infrastructure, the cryptographic integrity of every transaction, wallet, and key lifecycle operation becomes mission-critical. We are building the security layer that the world's most sophisticated financial institution can trust. We are seeking a Senior Security Engineer (VP) to join our New York-based Digital Assets Platform engineering team. This is a hands-on, Java-focused backend engineering role for a security-minded engineer who understands both the craft of secure software development and the cryptographic primitives that underpin digital asset custody, signing, and key management. You will sit inside the core engineering team - writing production code every day - while being the resident authority on cryptographic design patterns, HSM integration, MPC protocols, and security architecture. Your work will directly protect billions of dollars of digital asset infrastructure used by institutional clients worldwide.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain security-critical backend services in Java - including cryptographic libraries, key management APIs, signing workflows, and secure transaction pipelines - within Citi's Digital Assets Platform.
• Own the integration and operational lifecycle of Hardware Security Modules (HSMs) - including vendor evaluation, API integration (PKCS#11, JCE), key generation, rotation, and policy enforcement.
• Architect and implement Multi-Party Computation (MPC) protocols and threshold signature schemes (TSS) for distributed key management and institutional-grade wallet signing operations.
• Apply and enforce cryptographic best practices across the platform - including symmetric and asymmetric encryption (AES-GCM, RSA, ECC), digital signatures (ECDSA, EdDSA), hashing, and key derivation (HKDF, PBKDF2).
• Define and implement secure design patterns for distributed systems - including zero-trust architecture, secrets management, mutual TLS, certificate lifecycle management, and secure enclave usage.
• Collaborate with Citi's Cybersecurity, Risk, and Architecture teams to conduct threat modelling, security design reviews, and cryptographic risk assessments for new platform capabilities.
• Champion security-by-design across the engineering team - conducting code reviews with a security lens, embedding SAST/DAST tooling into CI/CD pipelines, and raising the security posture of every service shipped.
• Engage with external HSM vendors, MPC protocol libraries, and standards bodies to stay ahead of the cryptographic landscape and inform Citi's technology roadmap.
• Act as a technical escalation point for security incidents, vulnerability triage, and cryptographic design decisions across the Digital Assets Platform.

Qualifications Required

• 7-10 years of experience in software engineering with a significant focus on application security, cryptography, or secure systems design
• Strong, production-level proficiency in backend Java - including experience building security-critical, enterprise-grade services
• Hands-on experience integrating Hardware Security Modules (HSMs) via PKCS#11, JCE/JCA, or vendor-specific APIs
• Practical understanding of Multi-Party Computation (MPC) protocols, threshold signature schemes (TSS), or distributed key management architectures
• Deep knowledge of applied cryptography - symmetric/asymmetric encryption, digital signatures, key exchange protocols, certificate management (PKI/X.509), and secure hashing
• Familiarity with secure design patterns - zero-trust, least-privilege, secrets management, mTLS, and secure enclave technologies
• Experience with threat modelling frameworks (STRIDE, PASTA, or equivalent) and security design review processes
• Understanding of CI/CD security tooling - SAST, DAST, dependency scanning, secrets scanning
• Strong command of distributed systems fundamentals - microservices, API security (OAuth 2.0, JWT), and secure inter-service communication patterns

Advantageous

• Experience in digital asset custody, blockchain key management, or institutional crypto infrastructure
• Familiarity with smart contract security patterns and on-chain transaction signing workflows
• Knowledge of financial services regulatory frameworks relating to cryptographic controls (NIST SP 800-57, FIPS 140-2/3, PCI-DSS)
• Exposure to MPC libraries such as MPC-CMP, tss-lib, or equivalent open-source frameworks
• Background in penetration testing, red team exercises, or formal security certifications (CISSP, CSSP, CEH, OSCP)

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Cybersecurity, or a related technical discipline - required
• Master's or PhD in Cryptography, Information Security, or Computer Science - a strong advantage

Citi is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.

Job Family Group

Technology

Job Family

Applications Development

Time Type

Full time

Primary Location

New York New York United States

Primary Location Full Time Salary Range

$142,320.00 - $213,480.00

In addition to salary, Citi’s offerings may also include, for eligible employees, discretionary and formulaic incentive and retention awards. Citi offers competitive employee benefits, including: medical, dental & vision coverage; 401(k); life, accident, and disability insurance; and wellness programs. Citi also offers paid time off packages, including planned time off (vacation), unplanned time off (sick leave), and paid holidays. For additional information regarding Citi employee benefits, please visit citibenefits.com. Available offerings may vary by jurisdiction, job level, and date of hire.

Citi is an equal opportunity employer, and qualified candidates will receive consideration without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by law.

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