Staff Software Engineer, Security

airbnb, Inc.; United States; Remote; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a forward-thinking company as a Staff Software Engineer, where you'll lead the charge in securing sensitive data for millions of users. This role offers the opportunity to design and implement robust data protection systems while collaborating with talented teams across the organization. You'll work on innovative projects that leverage machine learning for data classification and security enforcement, ensuring compliance with regulations. If you're passionate about creating secure products and enjoy tackling complex challenges, this position is perfect for you. Embrace the chance to make a significant impact in a role that values your expertise and creativity.

Benefits

Bonuses

Equity

Benefits

Travel Credits

Qualifications

• 9+ years of experience in software development or related fields.
• Proficient in Java, Kotlin, or Python with a focus on backend development.

Responsibilities

• Develop systems to protect sensitive data and prevent leakage.
• Collaborate with teams to enforce security best practices and compliance.

Skills

Software Development

Data Loss Prevention

Data Classification

Encryption

Cloud Computing (AWS, GCP, Azure)

Java

Kotlin

Python

AI/ML

Defensive Security

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

AWS

Airflow

Job description

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 5 million hosts who have welcomed over 2 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.

The Community You Will Join:

Airbnb is built on trust. The data security team’s mission is to keep the data of millions of users secured and protected in our platform while they explore the world.

The Difference You Will Make:

We are seeking a talented and experienced Staff Software Engineer to lead our efforts in identifying, securing, and preventing the leakage of data. This role will involve designing and implementing robust controls to safeguard our data infrastructure while collaborating with cross-functional teams to ensure security best practices and privacy compliance. We’d love to talk to you if you’re a talented individual who is passionate about finding security weaknesses and crafting highly scalable solutions. We are enablers who make it easier for engineers to create secure features, not blockers.

A Typical Day:

If the mission sounds exciting to you, we have a few different flavors of projects/skill sets that we are looking for in Data Security Team:

Key Responsibilities:

1. Develop and implement systems to identify and protect sensitive and personal data.
2. Build the end-to-end Data Protection Platform (DPP) to classify Airbnb data and protect it based on classifications, including scaling services for automatic data detection and classification.
3. Contribute to automatic detection of secret and critical data using machine learning models and Regex patterns across various storage types like relational and non-relational databases, cloud storage, and code.
4. Design and enforce controls to prevent data leakage across platforms, automating security enforcement and collaborating with data platform and product teams for data governance.
5. Implement access controls, encryption, and data masking to protect sensitive data, enabling responsible AI/ML practices.
6. Collaborate with Data Infrastructure teams to design scalable backend architectures, understanding data ownership, access, and lineage.
7. Develop platforms to manage third-party vendors and protect user data shared with them.
8. Build and maintain scalable data infrastructure leveraging AWS, with opportunities to expand coverage to Azure, GCP, and OCI.
9. Work with security teams to ensure compliance with data protection regulations.
10. Integrate AI/ML into security practices, leveraging LLMs for data discovery, classification, and incident response.
11. Troubleshoot and resolve data security and infrastructure issues.

Check out project examples in technical blogs:

The following profiles are relevant to us. If some of these apply to you, please consider applying. We aim to build a team of both security specialists and generalist software engineers.

Qualifications:

• 9+ years of software development or related experience.
• Experience in data loss prevention or security fields.
• Knowledge of data classification, encryption, and compliance frameworks.
• Cloud computing experience (AWS, GCP, Azure) is a plus.
• Experience with Airflow is a plus.
• Proficiency in Java, Kotlin, or Python.
• Experience in backend development, data engineering, or security engineering.
• AI/ML experience is a plus.
• Ability to enable engineers to develop secure products by default.
• Experience building robust internal tools or backend services at scale.
• Defensive security experience is a plus.

Your Location:

This position is US-Remote eligible. Occasional office work or offsite attendance may be required, as agreed with your manager. You must reside in a state where Airbnb has a registered entity. Please check the current list of eligible states.

Our Commitment To Inclusion & Belonging:

We value diverse talent and ideas, fostering innovation and engagement. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply. We also provide accommodations for candidates with disabilities; contact us at: [e-mail] with your details if needed.

How We'll Take Care of You:

Our roles may span multiple levels. Compensation depends on experience, skills, and market factors. The role may include bonuses, equity, benefits, and travel credits.