Senior Staff Security Engineer, Security Operations

Robinhood; Bellevue (WA); On-site; USD 247,000 - 290,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) matching

Equity ownership

Catered meals

Job summary

Robinhood is seeking a Senior Staff Security Engineer, Security Operations, to lead AI-driven defense and offensive security initiatives. You will blend offensive security, threat detection, incident response, and proactive defense to safeguard one of the world’s most active financial platforms.

The role requires deep expertise in security engineering, cloud security, and AI-enabled security architectures, with a strong leadership track record.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of security engineering experience across offensive and defensive security
• Proven track record of technical leadership at senior levels
• Deep expertise in application security and threat detection
• Experience integrating AI into Security Operations

Responsibilities

• Serve as the AI-driven Security Operations Tech Lead for Robinhood's offensive and defensive security functions
• Lead offensive security research to proactively identify and close attack surfaces
• Architect and deploy next-generation defensive capabilities with intelligent, adaptive systems
• Drive AI-forward security strategy as a core architectural component
• Translate threat intelligence into proactive defensive architectures
• Set technical standards and mentor Security Operations engineers

Skills

Security engineering

AI in security

Technical leadership

Application security

Threat detection

Cloud security (AWS)

Telemetry/observability

Security communication

Security certifications

Education

Security certifications (OSCP/GREM/GXPN)

Tools

AWS

Observability tooling

AI tooling

Job description

Join us in building the future of finance.

Our mission is to democratize finance for all. An estimated $124 trillion of assets will be inherited by younger generations in the next two decades. The largest transfer of wealth in human history. If you’re ready to be at the epicenter of this historic cultural and financial shift, keep reading.

About the team + role

At Robinhood, we believe in the power of in-person work to accelerate progress, spark innovation, and strengthen community. Our office experience is intentional, energizing, and designed to fully support high-performing teams.

We are building an elite team, applying frontier technologies to the world's biggest financial problems. We're looking for bold thinkers. Sharp problem-solvers. Builders who are wired to make an impact. Robinhood isn't a place for complacency, it's where ambitious people do the best work of their careers. We're a high-performing, fast-moving team with ethics at the center of everything we do. Expectations are high, and so are the rewards.

Robinhood's Security Operations team operates across two distinct disciplines: proactive security — finding threats and vulnerabilities before attackers do — and reactive security — detecting, investigating, and evicting threat actors in real time. Together, these functions form a complete picture of what it takes to protect one of the most active financial platforms in the world. The team operates in an environment of genuine complexity: high-volume security events, sophisticated threat actors, and a constant arms race against adversaries who are increasingly leveraging AI to move faster and go deeper.

The threat landscape is changing. AI-powered attackers don't move like traditional adversaries — they are faster, more adaptive, and harder to track with static defenses. Robinhood's approach to this isn't passive. We are building dynamic, intelligent defensive systems designed to detect, deceive, and outmaneuver agentic attackers — and we need a Senior Staff Security Engineer to help us build them.

As a Senior Staff Security Engineer, Security Operations you will operate at the intersection of operational security tradecraft and cutting-edge AI-driven defense. You will bring deep expertise across both the offensive and defensive sides of security operations and you will push the boundaries of what's possible when those disciplines are combined with modern AI tooling. This is a 0→1 technical leadership role for someone who doesn't just follow the security playbook, but looks to rewrite it.

This role is based in our Menlo Park, New York City, or Bellevue office, with in-person attendance expected at least 3 days per week.

At Robinhood, we believe in the power of in-person work to accelerate progress, spark innovation, and strengthen community. Our office experience is intentional, energizing, and designed to fully support high-performing teams.

What You’ll Do

• Serve as the Security Operations AI Tech Lead for Robinhood's offensive and defensive security functions — Owning the technical creation and execution of Robinhood’s Security OperationsAI roadmap for defensive and offensive operations
• Lead offensive security research— applying deep red team, penetration testing, and application security expertise to proactively identify and close critical attack surfaces before adversaries find them
• Architect and build next-generation defensive capabilities that go beyond static detection — designing intelligent systems that actively engage, deceive, and track sophisticated threat actors including AI-powered attackers
• Drive Robinhood's AI-forward security strategy — not just using AI as a productivity tool, but as a core architectural component of how we build a synthetic workforce to scale against agentic and automated adversaries
• Identify emerging threat actor motivations and attack patterns especially in the AI space, translating intelligence into proactive defensive architectures that stay ahead of the threat curve
• Set technical standards and mentor security engineers within Security Operations, elevating the overall capability of the org

What You Bring

• 12+ years of security engineering experience with demonstrated depth across both offensive security (red team, penetration testing, application security, vulnerability management) and defensive security (incident response, detection engineering, threat intelligence)
• Demonstrate impact by innovating with AI in Security Operations — You’ve moved orgs well beyond the chatbot experience and implemented measurable success in uplifting Security Operations with AI.
• Proven track record of technical leadership at the Senior Staff, Principal, or Distinguished level — you've set org-wide or company-wide security direction, not just executed within a team
• Deep expertise in application security — you understand how modern software is built and where it breaks, and you can operate equally well as a security engineer and a software engineer
• Strong background in threat detection and security operations — you understand how attackers operate and how to build systems that catch them faster
• A genuine, informed point of view on AI in the security domain — you're not using AI to write scripts, you're thinking about how AI fundamentally changes both the attack surface and the defensive toolkit
• Proficiency with cloud infrastructure security (AWS preferred), telemetry and observability tooling, and the technical underpinnings of large-scale detection pipelines
• Exceptional technical communication skills — you can write, brief, and influence at the executive level as well as go deep with engineers on implementation details
• Security certifications (OSCP, GREM, GXPN, or equivalent) are a plus — but demonstrated capability will always outweigh paper credentials here

What We Offer

• Challenging, high-impact work to grow your career.
• Performance driven compensation with multipliers for outsized impact, bonus programs, equity ownership, and 401(k) matching.
• Top Tier benefits to fuel your work, including 100% paid health insurance for employees with 90% coverage for dependents.
• Access to the Robinhood Employee Fund that gives eligible US employees the opportunity to invest in a private employee fund that provides exposure to Robinhood Ventures funds.
• Access to the best AI tools on the market and continuous AI skill-building for every employee, technical or not.
• Lifestyle wallet - a highly flexible benefits spending account for wellness, learning, and more.
• Employer-paid life & disability insurance, fertility benefits, and mental health benefits.
• Time off to recharge including company holidays, paid time off, sick time, parental leave, and more!
• Exceptional office experience with catered meals, events, and comfortable workspaces.

Base Pay Range

Base pay for the successful applicant will depend on a variety of job-related factors, which may include education, training, experience, location, business needs, or market demands. The expected base pay range for this role is based on the location where the work will be performed and is aligned to one of 3 compensation zones. For other locations not listed, compensation can be discussed with your recruiter during the interview process.

Zone 1 (Menlo Park, CA; New York, NY; Bellevue, WA; Washington, DC)

$247,000—$290,000 USD

Zone 2 (Denver, CO; Westlake, TX; Chicago, IL)

$247,000—$290,000 USD

Zone 3 (Lake Mary, FL; Clearwater, FL; Gainesville, FL)

$247,000—$290,000 USD

AI Usage Disclosure: Robinhood uses artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of our recruiting process. These tools enhance the efficiency and consistency of our hiring process; however, all hiring decisions are made by our hiring teams.

Robinhood provides equal opportunity for all applicants, offers reasonable accommodations upon request, and complies with applicable equal employment and privacy laws. Inclusion is built into how we hire and work—welcoming different backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences so everyone can do their best. Please review the Privacy Policy for your country of application.