Sr. Application Security Engineer / Ethical Hacker

Sherwin-Williams; Cleveland (OH); Remote; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Sherwin-Williams is seeking a Senior Application Security Engineer to lead manual penetration testing of traditional and AI-enabled applications. You will develop scripts and tooling, mentor team members, and collaborate with developers to remediate vulnerabilities.

You will plan testing strategies, maintain knowledge of attack techniques, and communicate findings to stakeholders while supporting secure development and AI security practices. Remote work is available.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree (or foreign equivalent) or in lieu of a degree, at least 12 years in experience in IT or Business
• 5+ years IT and/or cybersecurity
• 5+ years of experience in application security, including hands-on penetration testing
• Advanced knowledge of web apps, APIs, and vulnerabilities
• Experience with SDLC and secure development practices
• Experience with AI architecture and model training processes
• Experience planning end-to-end penetration tests for cloud-native and modern apps
• Experience identifying, exploiting, validating, and documenting vulnerabilities
• Experience developing scripts or tools
• Experience communicating findings to technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Ability to work independently and with teams
• Experience mentoring less-experienced professionals
• Experience threat modeling and evaluating attack paths
• Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship
• Must be at least eighteen (18) years of age

Responsibilities

• Plan application security assessments from requirements
• Develop testing strategies and plans based on architecture and risks
• Maintain knowledge of testing methodologies and attack techniques
• Research risks for traditional and AI-enabled apps
• Improve penetration testing methodologies and efficiency
• Plan and execute end-to-end penetration tests
• Identify, exploit, and document vulnerabilities
• Evaluate attack paths and app risks not found by automated tests
• Communicate findings and remediation recommendations
• Retest applications and verify remediation
• Provide guidance to other team members
• Track assessment status and remediation progress
• Create and maintain testing documentation and runbooks
• Mentor team members
• Participate in planning and knowledge-sharing
• Support secure development and AI security practices

Skills

Application security

Penetration testing

Scripting & automation

Threat modeling

Communication to stakeholders

Mentoring

Independent work

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s Degree or foreign equivalent

12+ years IT/Business experience

Tools

Security testing tools

Automation scripting languages

Job description

Job Description

Senior Application Security Engineer position is responsible for planning and performing manual penetration testing of traditional and AI-enabled applications, identifying and validating security vulnerabilities, and partnering with development teams to support remediation. This position will also develop scripts, automation, and custom tools that improve application security testing capabilities and provide technical guidance and mentorship to other members of the Application Security team.

Responsibilities

Strategy & Planning

• Acquire and interpret functional, technical, and architectural requirements to plan application security assessments
• Develop testing strategies and test plans based on application functionality, architecture, data flows, and identified risks
• Maintain advanced knowledge of application security testing methodologies, tools, and emerging attack techniques
• Research risks and testing techniques associated with traditional and AI-enabled applications
• Identify opportunities to improve penetration testing methodologies, testing effectiveness, and offensive security capabilities

Acquisition & Deployment

• Evaluate, configure, and use offensive security tools to support application penetration testing
• Develop and maintain scripts, automation, and custom tools to improve testing efficiency and effectiveness
• Establish and maintain testing environments, payloads, and supporting technical resources
• Evaluate new application security and AI security testing tools and techniques
• Assist in developing repeatable testing procedures, methodologies, and technical standards

Operational Management

• Plan and execute penetration tests of traditional and AI-enabled applications end-to-end
• Identify, exploit, validate, and document application security vulnerabilities
• Evaluate attack paths and application-specific risks that may not be identified through automated testing
• Communicate technical findings, risk, and remediation recommendations to stakeholders
• Retest applications and validate remediation of application security findings
• Review assessment results and provide technical guidance to other members of the Application Security team
• Track and report metrics related to assessment status, testing coverage, findings, and remediation progress

Incidental Functions

• Create and maintain penetration testing documentation, methodologies, runbooks, and standard operating procedures
• Mentor and provide technical guidance to less-experienced Application Security team members
• Participate in team planning, retrospectives, and knowledge-sharing activities
• Support Security Champions in reinforcing secure development and AI security practices
• Assist with evaluating security tools, technologies, and service providers
• Perform project and task tracking and reporting as necessary

This is a remote position.

This position is not eligible for sponsorship for work authorization now or in the future, including conversion to H1-B visa. Must be legally authorized to work in the country of employment without needing sponsorship for employment work visa status now or in the future.

Job duties include contact with other employees and access confidential and proprietary information and/or other items of value, and such access may be supervised or unsupervised. The Company therefore has determined that a review of criminal history is necessary to protect the business and its operations and reputation and is necessary to protect the safety of the Company’s staff, employees, and business relationships.

Qualifications

Education and Experience

Required:

• Bachelor’s Degree (or foreign equivalent) or in lieu of a degree, at least 12 years in experience in the field of Information Technology or Business (work experience or a combination of education and work experience in the field of Information Technology or Business)
• 5+ years IT and/or cybersecurity
• 5+ years of experience in application security, including hands‑on experience performing application penetration testing or offensive security assessments
• Advanced knowledge of:
• Web applications, APIs, and common application security vulnerabilities
• Manual application penetration testing methodologies and techniques
• Authentication, authorization, session management, and application business logic
• Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) and secure development practices
• AI Architecture and model training processes
• Experience planning and conducting application penetration tests end‑to‑end, including assessments of cloud‑native applications and other modern application architectures
• Experience identifying, exploiting, validating, and documenting application security vulnerabilities
• Experience developing scripts, automation, or custom tools using one or more languages
• Experience using application security and offensive security testing tools
• Experience communicating technical findings, risk, and remediation recommendations to technical and non‑technical stakeholders
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively with development teams, security teams, and other stakeholders
• Experience mentoring and providing technical guidance to less‑experienced professionals
• Experience conducting threat modeling and evaluating complex application attack paths
• Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without company sponsorship
• Must be at least eighteen (18) years of age

Preferred Experience

• Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP) certification strongly preferred
• Experience performing security testing of AI‑enabled applications, LLMa, or related technologies
• Experience testing mobile applications and legacy industrial systems
• Experience reviewing source code to identify security vulnerabilities
• Experience developing proof‑of‑concept exploits or modifying security testing tools
• Additional offensive security or application security certifications

About Us

At Sherwin‑Williams, our purpose is to inspire and improve the world by coloring and protecting what matters. Our paints, coatings and innovative solutions make the places and spaces in our world brighter and stronger. Your skills, talent and passion make it possible to live this purpose, and for customers and our business to achieve great results. Sherwin‑Williams is a place that takes its stability, growth and momentum and translates it to possibility for our people. Our people are behind the strength of our success, and we invest and support you in:

Life … with rewards, benefits and the flexibility to enhance your health and well‑being

Career … with opportunities to learn, develop new skills and grow your contribution

Connection … with an inclusive team and commitment to our own and broader communities

It's all here for you... let's Create Your Possible

At Sherwin‑Williams, part of our mission is to help our employees and their families live healthier, save smarter and feel better. This starts with a wide range of world‑class benefits designed for you. From retirement to health care, from total well‑being to your daily commute—it matters to us. A general description of benefits offered can be found at http://www.myswbenefits.com/ . Click on “Candidates” to view benefit offerings that you may be eligible for if you are hired as a Sherwin‑Williams employee.

Compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case and will impact where actual compensation may fall within the stated wage range. The wage range listed for this role takes into account the wide range of factors considered in making compensation decisions including skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs. The disclosed range estimate has not been adjusted for the applicable geographic differential associated with the location at which the position may be filled. The wage range, other compensation, and benefits information listed is accurate as of the date of this posting. The Company reserves the right to modify this information at any time, with or without notice, subject to applicable law.

Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws including with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act where applicable.

Sherwin‑Williams is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, age, pregnancy, genetic information, creed, marital status or any other consideration prohibited by law or by contract.

As a VEVRAA Federal Contractor, Sherwin‑Williams requests state and local employment services delivery systems to provide priority referral of Protected Veterans.

Please be aware, Sherwin‑Williams recruiting team members will never request a candidate to provide a payment, ask for financial information, or sensitive personal information like national identification numbers, date of birth, or bank account numbers during the application process.