Senior Staff Software Security Engineer

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

Benefits offered by this job

Equity ownership

401(k) matching

Health insurance

Lifestyle wallet

Job summary

Robinhood is seeking a Senior Staff Software Security Engineer to lead cross-domain security initiatives across IAM, cryptography, cloud, and AI security. This autonomous, high-visibility role unites multiple teams to define technical strategy and build production security foundations.

You will mentor engineers, align roadmaps with business goals, and drive major cross-cutting initiatives from concept to production while elevating security standards.

Qualifications

• Deep expertise in Identity & Access Management (IAM) and/or Cryptography with breadth across security engineering domains (Cloud, Infrastructure, Platform, Detection & Response).
• Strong leadership showing ability to establish technical direction and drive strategy across large groups of engineers without formal authority.
• Hands-on software or security engineering foundation with experience designing, building, operating, and maintaining production systems.
• Exceptional ability to identify unstructured technical problems and craft actionable roadmaps independently.
• Excellent communication, mentorship, and collaborative leadership to guide engineers at all levels.
• Hands-on experience securing AI infrastructure, LLM integrations, or agentic automation frameworks (preferred).

Responsibilities

• Define Technical Strategy: Provide cross-domain architectural direction across Security Engineering.
• Build AI Security Foundations: Establish security foundations for AI technologies and agentic use cases.
• Drive Strategic Initiatives: Identify high-leverage problems and drive cross-cutting initiatives to production.
• Build & Ship: Write production-ready code and deliver systems from prototype to operation.
• Partner & Align: Work with engineering managers to set quarterly priorities and align roadmaps.
• Elevate the Bar: Mentor engineers and provide hands-on architectural guidance.
• Maintain Operational Proximity: Stay close to production to ensure practical security decisions.

Skills

IAM

Cryptography

Security engineering

Builder orientation

Navigating ambiguity

Collaborative leadership

AI security depth

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 Role & Team

At Robinhood, security is foundational to our mission of democratizing finance for all. As a Senior Staff Software Security Engineer on our Security Engineering team, you will serve as the most senior individual contributor across a ~40-person organization spanning Infrastructure Security, Cloud Security, Cryptography, Access Management Platform (IAM), AI Security, and our Detection & Response platform. You will bridge domain expertise, set long-term technical direction, and build the security architecture that enables Robinhood to innovate safely, including the foundation for emerging AI, agentic experiences, and production AI capabilities.

This is an autonomous, highly visible role where you will identify high-impact technical problems, bring teams together around a unified strategy, and drive major cross-cutting initiatives from idea through execution.

What You'll Do

Define Technical Strategy: Provide cross-domain technical strategy and architectural direction across Security Engineering, connecting distinct security domains into a cohesive strategy.

Build AI Security Foundations: Help establish and evolve Robinhood’s security foundation for emerging AI technologies, agentic use cases, internal automation, and production AI applications.

Drive Strategic Initiatives: Identify high-leverage technical problems across infrastructure, cloud, identity, and detection systems, driving major cross-cutting initiatives from concept through production.

Build & Ship: Write code and land production systems for the hardest problems you identify, from prototype through operation, rather than handing designs to other teams.

Partner & Align: Work closely with engineering managers and senior technical leaders to establish quarterly priorities, resolve complex technical trade-offs, and align roadmaps across teams.

Elevate the Bar: Raise the technical bar across the organization through direct mentorship, technical leadership, and hands‑on architectural guidance for engineers.

Maintain Operational Proximity: Remain technically close to production environments to ensure security strategies and architectural decisions remain grounded in operational reality.

What You’ll Bring

Organizational Scale & Influence: Proven track record of technical leadership at organizational scale, with a demonstrated ability to establish technical direction, build trust, and drive strategy across large groups of engineers without relying on formal authority.

Deep Security Expertise: Deep technical expertise in Identity & Access Management (IAM) and/or Cryptography, combined with strong generalist breadth across security engineering domains (Cloud Security, Infrastructure Security, Platform Security, Detection & Response).

Builder Orientation: A strong software or security engineering foundation with hands‑on experience designing, building, operating, and maintaining production systems.

Navigating Ambiguity: Exceptional ability to identify critical, unstructured technical problems independently and craft actionable roadmaps without waiting for top‑down direction.

Collaborative Leadership: Outstanding communication skills, humility, and a strong track record of mentoring junior and senior engineers alike.

AI Security Depth (preferred): Hands‑on experience securing AI infrastructure, LLM integrations, or agentic automation frameworks.

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.

Best‑in‑class benefits to fuel your work, including 100% paid health insurance for employees with 90% coverage for dependents.

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.

Equal Opportunity & Pay Transparency

Robinhood is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, status as a protected veteran, or status as an individual with a disability.
In addition to the base pay range listed below, this role is also eligible for bonus opportunities + equity + benefits.

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.

Base Pay Range:

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

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.