Principal Engineer - AI Security

Thrivent•Remote-Minnesota, MN

1d•$161,436 - $218,415•Remote

About The Position

As a Principal Engineer in AI Security, you will define and lead Thrivent’s strategy for defending against emerging external AI-powered threats. This role focuses on protecting the enterprise from adversarial AI capabilities, including automated vulnerability discovery, exploitation, and AI-driven attack campaigns. You will operate at the intersection of cyber defense, artificial intelligence, and enterprise architecture, translating rapidly evolving external threats into practical, scalable protections across the organization. This role requires deep technical expertise, strong systems thinking, and the ability to influence security strategy at the highest levels.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, or related technical field, or equivalent work experience
10+ years of experience in security engineering or related field
Proven experience defining and executing enterprise security strategy
Deep knowledge of modern threats, attack techniques, and detection engineering
Experience with threat modeling, incident response, and security operations
Demonstrated ability to influence both technical and executive stakeholders

Nice To Haves

Experience working with AI/ML systems and security implications
Knowledge of adversarial AI techniques and AI threat modeling
Experience with XDR, SIEM, and detection engineering practices
Familiarity with AI security frameworks (e.g., OWASP LLM Top 10, MITRE ATLAS)
Financial services industry experience

Responsibilities

Apply expert-level knowledge of AI-driven threats, cyber defense, and enterprise security architecture to define and drive outcomes that protect the organization from emerging AI-powered attack vectors.
Create the enterprise strategy for defending against AI-enabled threats, including automated vulnerability discovery, exploitation, and adversarial AI techniques.
Establish architecture for detection, prevention, and response capabilities specific to generative AI threat patterns.
Define and implement security patterns and guardrails to enable safe and secure enterprise consumption of AI technologies.
Drive integration of AI threat detection and controls into existing cyber defense tooling and platforms.
Build threat models focused on generative AI attack patterns and emerging adversarial techniques.
Use independent, critical thinking to translate evolving AI threat intelligence into scalable engineering controls and defensive capabilities.
Lead the development of detection and response mechanisms for AI-driven attacks across enterprise environments.
Design and implement telemetry strategies to identify anomalous behavior indicative of AI-enabled threats.
Partner with Cyber Defense teams to operationalize detections, response playbooks, and automation for AI-related incidents.
Prototype and evaluate defensive applications of AI to enhance detection, response, and security operations.
Develop architecturally significant components that advance the organization’s ability to defend against AI-driven adversaries.
Lead research initiatives focused on emerging AI threat capabilities, adversarial AI techniques, and evolving attack methodologies.
Maintain deep expertise in industry frameworks such as OWASP LLM Top 10 and MITRE ATLAS.
Continuously evaluate and introduce modern security technologies and approaches to address AI-era risks.
Drive adoption of innovative defensive techniques across the organization to stay ahead of threat evolution.
Provide deep technical expertise in AI security to solve complex, high-impact problems and remove critical technical roadblocks.
Partner with product owners and engineering teams to incorporate AI security requirements into technical designs and user stories.
Act as a technical leader in system design across teams, ensuring AI security considerations are embedded into broader architecture decisions.
Mentor engineers and elevate AI security capabilities within teams.
Partner closely with Cyber Defense, IAM, and Application Security teams to integrate AI threat protections across the security ecosystem.
Promote adherence to enterprise security standards while extending them to address AI-specific risks.
Broker design and implementation of AI security controls across product teams to support strategic priorities.
Drive alignment across teams on detection engineering, telemetry, and response strategies for AI threats.
Influence senior leadership on AI risk posture, threat landscape evolution, and required investments in defensive capabilities.
Provide enterprise-wide guidance on AI security architecture, ensuring consistent and scalable protection strategies.
Represent the organization externally on AI security topics when appropriate (industry forums, partnerships, etc.).
Translate complex AI security risks into actionable insights for both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Define enterprise-level capabilities required to defend against AI-powered threats.
Shape the strategic direction for AI security across cyber defense, detection engineering, and secure AI adoption.
Provide subject matter expertise to guide platform and security investments related to AI risk mitigation.
Establish and promote engineering standards for AI security, including secure AI usage patterns and detection frameworks.
Collaborate across teams to ensure consistent application of AI security controls and design patterns.
Drive adoption of best practices for integrating AI threat protections into engineering workflows and platforms.
Provide technical leadership in identifying and responding to AI-driven security incidents and emerging threats.
Introduce resilient and scalable technologies to improve detection and response capabilities for evolving attack patterns.
Evaluate and implement enhancements to CI/CD and operational pipelines to incorporate AI security controls.
Influence cross-functional teams to proactively address risks associated with AI-enabled development and deployment.
Provide technical expertise in evaluating AI security tools, detection platforms, and emerging defensive technologies.
Assess how vendor solutions align with enterprise strategy for defending against AI-driven threats.
Contribute to selection criteria for platforms that enhance AI security posture and detection capabilities.
Mentor engineers in AI security concepts, threat modeling, and detection engineering.
Provide guidance on best practices for securing AI-enabled systems and defending against adversarial AI techniques.
Deliver training, workshops, and knowledge-sharing sessions to build AI security expertise across the organization.
Engage in the broader AI and security community to strengthen organizational expertise and visibility in AI security.
Support recruitment efforts to hire engineers with specialized skills in AI security and advanced cyber defense.
Model Thrivent’s leadership competencies: Model the Way, Rally the Team, and Deliver Outcomes.
Foster a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, and strong security practices aligned to evolving AI risks.