Software Engineer, Security

Sierra; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 80,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

An innovative firm is seeking a Security Lead to enhance their platform's security across applications, cloud, and AI agents. This role involves leading security initiatives, collaborating with cross-functional teams, and implementing automation for security processes. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in web and cloud security, coding, and DevOps, along with excellent communication skills. Join a dynamic team dedicated to building trust and delivering exceptional customer experiences in the evolving world of AI.

Benefits

Flexible (Unlimited) Paid Time Off

Medical, Dental, and Vision benefits

Life Insurance and Disability Benefits

Retirement Plan with company match

Parental Leave

Fertility and family building benefits

Lunch and snacks provided

Discretionary Benefit Stipend

Free alphorn lessons

Qualifications

• Strong foundation in web application and cloud security.
• Hands-on experience with programming and automation tools.

Responsibilities

• Lead security initiatives for the platform and ensure compliance.
• Collaborate with teams to integrate security into the development lifecycle.

Skills

Web Application Security

Cloud Security (AWS, Azure, GCP)

Networking Principles

Programming Skills

DevOps Tools

Threat Modeling

Incident Response

Communication Skills

Customer-Focused Mindset

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related field

Certifications in Security (CISSP, CISM, etc.)

Tools

Terraform

CloudFormation

CI/CD Tools

Job description

About us

• At Sierra, we’re building a platform to enable every company in the world to build their own autonomous AI agents for everything from customer service to commerce. We are primarily an in-person company based in San Francisco, with growing offices in Atlanta and London.

• We are guided by a set of values that are at the core of our actions and define our culture: Trust, Customer Obsession, Craftsmanship, Intensity, and Family. These values are the foundation of our work, and we are committed to upholding them in everything we do.

• Our co-founders are Bret Taylor and Clay Bavor. Bret currently serves as Board Chair of OpenAI. Previously, he was co-CEO of Salesforce (which had acquired the company he founded, Quip) and CTO of Facebook. Bret was also one of Google's earliest product managers and co-creator of Google Maps. Before founding Sierra, Clay spent 18 years at Google, where he most recently led Google Labs. Earlier, he started and led Google’s AR/VR effort, Project Starline, and Google Lens. Before that, Clay led the product and design teams for Google Workspace.

What you'll do

• Lead Security for Our Platform. Take charge of application, cloud, network, and AI agent security. This includes performing secure design reviews, overseeing threat modeling, and building new security primitives into our product and platform.

• Collaborate with Cross-Functional Teams. Partner closely with engineering, product, and GRC to embed security throughout the software development lifecycle. Communicate risks, prioritize fixes, and ensure security requirements enable innovation.

• Implement Automation & Tooling. Streamline security processes by integrating tooling into CI/CD pipelines and leveraging AI-based or next-gen solutions to automate scans, compliance checks, and infrastructure reviews.

• Continuously Improve Security Posture. Conduct regular audits of our cloud environment, review IAM configurations, and stay on top of emerging AI security risks. Recommend strategic security initiatives and lead efforts to establish best practices as the company scales.

• Enable Enterprise Customer Needs. Present and explain our security posture to enterprise clients, helping them understand how we secure their data. Address concerns around healthcare, financial, or other regulated data with clear, actionable insights

What you'll bring

• Broad Security Expertise. Strong foundation in web application security, cloud security (AWS, Azure, or GCP), and networking principles.

• Coding and DevOps Skills. Hands-on experience with programming production software, scripting, and DevOps tools for automation. Familiarity with secure coding practices, threat modeling, vulnerability scanning, and incident response processes.

• Adaptability and Resilience. Comfort working in a fast-paced startup environment, ability to adapt to changing priorities and handle ambiguity with grace.

• Communication and Collaboration. Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to clearly explain risk trade-offs and convey complex technical topics to both technical and non-technical audiences.

• Curiosity & Customer-First Mindset. Passion for deeply understanding customer needs and finding the right solutions from first principles.

Even better...

• Experience securing AI systems, with understanding of LLM and Agentic AI risks.

• Prior success in securing cloud infrastructure with robust policies and automated enforcement, and familiarity with Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, CloudFormation).

• History of building or integrating custom security tools, especially those leveraging AI/ML for detection or monitoring.

• Familiarity with continuous compliance platforms and building control monitoring.

• Experience designing strong foundations with secure-by-design and privacy-by-design practices such as data handling, anonymization, and de-identification

Our values

• Trust: We build trust with our customers with our accountability, empathy, quality, and responsiveness. We build trust in AI by making it more accessible, safe, and useful. We build trust with each other by showing up for each other professionally and personally, creating an environment that enables all of us to do our best work.

• Customer Obsession: We deeply understand our customers’ business goals and relentlessly focus on driving outcomes, not just technical milestones. Everyone at the company knows and spends time with our customers. When our customer is having an issue, we drop everything and fix it.

• Craftsmanship: We get the details right, from the words on the page to the system architecture. We have good taste. When we notice something isn’t right, we take the time to fix it. We are proud of the products we produce. We continuously self-reflect to continuously self-improve.

• Intensity: We know we don’t have the luxury of patience. We play to win. We care about our product being the best, and when it isn’t, we fix it. When we fail, we talk about it openly and without blame so we succeed the next time.

• Family: We know that balance and intensity are compatible, and we model it in our actions and processes. We are the best technology company for parents. We support and respect each other and celebrate each other’s personal and professional achievements.

What we offer

We want our benefits to reflect our values and offer the following to full-time employees:

• Flexible (Unlimited) Paid Time Off

• Medical, Dental, and Vision benefits for you and your family

• Life Insurance and Disability Benefits

• Retirement Plan (e.g., 401K, pension) with Sierra match

• Parental Leave

• Fertility and family building benefits through Carrot (U.S. only)

• Lunch, as well as delicious snacks and coffee to keep you energized

• Discretionary Benefit Stipend giving people the ability to spend where it matters most

• Free alphorn lessons

These benefits are further detailed in Sierra's policies and are subject to change at any time, consistent with the terms of any applicable compensation or benefits plans. Eligible full-time employees can participate in Sierra's equity plans subject to the terms of the applicable plans and policies.

Be you, with us

We're working to bring the transformative power of AI to every organization in the world. To do so, it is important to us that the diversity of our employees represents the diversity of our customers. We believe that our work and culture are better when we encourage, support, and respect different skills and experiences represented within our team. We encourage you to apply even if your experience doesn't precisely match the job description. We strive to evaluate all applicants consistently without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, pregnancy, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, citizenship, or any other legally protected class.