Senior Staff Software Engineer, AI/ML, Security

Google Inc.; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 262,000 - 365,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, vision, life, and more

401(k) with company match

Paid Time Off: 20 days

Sick Time: 40 hours/year (Seattle 69)

Maternity Leave: 28-30 weeks

Baby Bonding Leave: 18 weeks

Holidays: 13 days

Job summary

Google Cloud seeks a Senior Staff Software Engineer for AI/ML Security to own model armor and data protection at scale. You will drive security architecture, mitigate prompt injection and data leakage, and mentor engineers across teams while aligning with executive leadership.

This role demands clear strategy, deep technical judgment, and the ability to navigate ambiguity in a fast-moving environment. US-based candidates join a collaborative, security-minded culture with strong benefits and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience.
• 8 years of experience in software development.
• 7 years of experience leading technical project strategy, ML design, and working with industry-scale ML infrastructure (e.g., model deployment, model evaluation, data processing, debugging, fine tuning).
• 5 years of experience with one or more of the following: Speech/audio, reinforcement learning, ML infrastructure, or specialization in another ML field.
• 5 years of experience with design and architecture; and testing/launching software products.
• 5 years of experience in Cloud.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive the long‑term technical goal and architectural strategy for model armor and sensitive data protection, ensuring Google Cloud remains a leader in generative AI security.
• Lead the design and implementation of highly scalable, low‑latency systems to detect and mitigate emerging threats such as prompt injection, jailbreaking, and sensitive data leakage across enterprise environments.
• Act as a principal technical influencer to align security roadmaps across Google Cloud, DeepMind, and other product areas, navigating constraints like latency, cost, and global compliance.
• Resolve technical disagreements among execute engineers and researchers, forging consensus to deliver on high‑stakes, cross‑functional objectives across multiple time zones.
• Partner with executive leadership to evaluate ML security research and provide technical mentorship to staff and executive engineers, elevating the organization’s overall domain expertise.

Job description

Senior Staff Software Engineer, AI/ML, Security

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corporate_fare Google place Kirkland, WA, USA ; Seattle, WA, USA ; +2 more ; +1 more

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Experience owning outcomes and decision making, solving ambiguous problems and influencing stakeholders;deep expertise in domain.

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info_outline X In accordance with Washington state law, we are highlighting our comprehensive benefits package, which is available to all eligible US based employees. Benefits for this role include:

• Health, dental, vision, life, disability insurance
• Retirement Benefits: 401(k) with company match
• Paid Time Off: 20 days of vacation per year, accruing at a rate of 6.15 hours per pay period for the first five years of employment
• Sick Time: 40 hours/year (increased to 69 hours/year for Seattle) including 5 discretionary sick days per instance
• Maternity Leave (Short-Term Disability + Baby Bonding): 28-30 weeks
• Baby Bonding Leave: 18 weeks
• Holidays: 13 paid days per year

In most instances, this position requires in-person interviews as part of the hiring process. Note: By applying to this position you will have an opportunity to share your preferred working location from the following: Kirkland, WA, USA; Seattle, WA, USA; Sunnyvale, CA, USA.

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience.
• 8 years of experience in software development.
• 7 years of experience leading technical project strategy, ML design, and working with industry-scale ML infrastructure (e.g., model deployment, model evaluation, data processing, debugging, fine tuning).
• 5 years of experience with one or more of the following: Speech/audio (e.g., technology duplicating and responding to the human voice), reinforcement learning (e.g., sequential decision making), ML infrastructure, or specialization in another ML field.
• 5 years of experience with design and architecture; and testing/launching software products.
• 5 years of experience in Cloud.

Preferred qualifications:

• Master’s degree or PhD in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
• 8 years of experience with data structures and algorithms.
• 5 years of experience in a technical leadership role leading project teams and setting technical direction.
• 5 years of programming experience in Java.
• Experience with AI model security, adversarial machine learning, or data privacy (e.g., prompt injection defenses, LLM introspection).
• Experience delivering enterprise‑grade security products that achieve measurable, high‑impact business and customer outcomes.

About the job

Google Cloud's software engineers develop the next‑generation technologies that change how billions of users connect, explore, and interact with information and one another. We're looking for engineers who bring fresh ideas from all areas, including information retrieval, distributed computing, large-scale system design, networking and data storage, security, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, UI design and mobile; the list goes on and is growing every day. As a software engineer, you will work on a specific project critical to Google Cloud's needs with opportunities to switch teams and projects as you and our fast‑paced business grow and evolve. You will anticipate our customer needs and be empowered to act like an owner, take action and innovate. We need our engineers to be versatile, display leadership qualities and be enthusiastic to take on new problems across the full-stack as we continue to push technology forward.

As a Senior Staff Software Engineer for AI/ML Security, you will serve as the primary technical visionary for Model Armor and Sensitive Data Protection, supporting the strategy to secure LLMs against prompt injection, jailbreaking, and data exfiltration. You will manage deep architectural issues by integrating filter-based defenses into scalable, observable, and explainable distributed systems that protect enterprise customers at Google Cloud scale. Beyond technical execution, you will navigate extreme ambiguity to drive overarching business strategy and lead high‑stakes, cross‑Google initiatives. You will have a master‑level ability to negotiate and forge consensus among elite researchers and engineers, translating security goals into measurable, high‑impact solutions for the generative AI era. Individual pay is determined by factors including job‑related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

About the job

Google Cloud's software engineers develop the next‑generation technologies that change how billions of users connect, explore, and interact with information and one another. We're looking for engineers who bring fresh ideas from all areas, including information retrieval, distributed computing, large-scale system design, networking and data storage, security, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, UI design and mobile; the list goes on and is growing every day. As a software engineer, you will work on a specific project critical to Google Cloud's needs with opportunities to switch teams and projects as you and our fast‑paced business grow and evolve. You will anticipate our customer needs and be empowered to act like an owner, take action and innovate. We need our engineers to be versatile, display leadership qualities and be enthusiastic to take on new problems across the full‑stack as we continue to push technology forward.

As a Senior Staff Software Engineer for AI/ML Security, you will serve as the primary technical visionary for Model Armor and Sensitive Data Protection, supporting the strategy to secure LLMs against prompt injection, jailbreaking, and data exfiltration. You will manage deep architectural issues by integrating filter-based defenses into scalable, observable, and explainable distributed systems that protect enterprise customers at Google Cloud scale. Beyond technical execution, you will navigate extreme ambiguity to drive overarching business strategy and lead high‑stakes, cross‑Google initiatives.

US: $262000 - $365000 (USD) + 25% bonus target + equity + benefits

• Define and drive the long‑term technical goal and architectural strategy for model armor and sensitive data protection, ensuring Google Cloud remains a leader in generative AI security.
• Lead the design and implementation of highly scalable, low‑latency systems to detect and mitigate emerging threats such as prompt injection, jailbreaking, and sensitive data leakage across enterprise environments.
• Act as a principal technical influencer to align security roadmaps across Google Cloud, DeepMind, and other product areas, navigating constraints like latency, cost, and global compliance.
• Resolve technical disagreements among execute engineers and researchers, forging consensus to deliver on high‑stakes, cross‑functional objectives across multiple time zones.
• Partner with executive leadership to evaluate Machine Learning (ML) security research and provide technical mentorship to staff and executive engineers, elevating the organization’s overall domain expertise.

Google is proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. We are committed to building a workforce that is representative of the users we serve, creating a culture of belonging, and providing an equal employment opportunity regardless of race, creed, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy or related condition (including breastfeeding), expecting or parents‑to‑be, criminal histories consistent with legal requirements, or any other basis protected by law. See also Google's EEO Policy , Know your rights: workplace discrimination is illegal , Belonging at Google , and How we hire .

Google is a global company and, in order to facilitate efficient collaboration and communication globally, English proficiency is a requirement for all roles unless stated otherwise in the job posting.

To all recruitment agencies: Google does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias, Google employees, or any other organization location. Google is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.

Equity is granted exclusively and discretionarily by Alphabet Inc. on the basis of an agreement concluded between you and Alphabet Inc. Alphabet Inc. is your sole contractual partner with respect to equity grants. GSU grants are not guaranteed, are discretionary, are subject to approval by the Alphabet Inc. board of directors or its delegate, the terms of the relevant Alphabet Inc. stock plan, and your grant agreement. They have no impact on statutory payments. Current or past grants do not confer an acquired right.