Principal Engineer - Application Security (SDLC, SAST, DAST, SCA, Threat Modeling, Pen Testing, DevSecOps, AI)

Target • Brooklyn Park, NC

4d • Hybrid

About The Position

We are seeking a Principal Application Security Engineer to provide technical leadership for our enterprise Application Security program. This role is responsible for advancing secure development practices, integrating security into the software development lifecycle, and partnering with engineering teams to reduce application risk through scalable security solutions. The ideal candidate combines deep technical expertise with strategic thinking, enables developers, scales security through automation, and influences engineering organizations without direct authority.

Requirements

• BS/MS in Computer Science, Information Security, Engineering or equivalent industry work experience
• 10+ years of experience in software engineering, application security or related security engineering roles
• Demonstrated expertise across SSDLC, SAST, DAST, SCA, Threat Modeling, and Penetration Testing
• Strong software development experience in one or more modern programming languages
• Experience integrating security into modern CI/CD pipelines and DevSecOps workflows
• Proven experience building and scaling Application Security programs across large engineering organizations
• Experience leveraging AI and Generative AI technologies to improve engineering productivity, security operations, or software development workflows
• Demonstrated ability to evaluate, implement, and govern AI-enabled solutions while considering security, privacy, and organizational risk
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and stakeholder management skills
• Demonstrated ability to influence technical direction across multiple teams
• Experience securing cloud-native applications in AWS, Azure or Google Cloud
• Experience with Kubernetes, containers, APIs, and microservices architectures
• Experience developing custom security tooling or automation
• Knowledge of modern software supply chain security practices

Nice To Haves

• Industry certifications such as CISSP, CSSLP, GIAC, OSCP, or cloud security certifications a plus

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership across Secure Software Development Lifecycle (SSDLC), Static Application Security Testing (SAST), Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST), Software Composition Analysis (SCA), Threat Modeling, and Penetration Testing.
• Guide engineering teams in vulnerability remediation and secure coding best practices.
• Evaluate emerging application security technologies, emerging risks, and recommend pragmatic, risk-based improvements to application security capabilities.
• Partner with Security Architecture to ensure application security practices align with enterprise security standards and design principles.
• Design and build automation that integrates security seamlessly into CI/CD pipelines.
• Develop tooling, APIs, and automation to improve developer experience and reduce manual effort.
• Partner with platform engineering teams to implement security controls within modern development workflows.
• Identify and implement opportunities to leverage AI and generative AI technologies to improve application security processes, automate repetitive tasks, enhance developer enablement, and accelerate vulnerability detection and remediation while ensuring responsible and secure use of AI.
• Help define the technical roadmap for the Application Security program.
• Develop strategies that scale security across a large engineering organization through automation, standardization, and self-service capabilities.
• Champion developer enablement by creating security guidance, reusable frameworks, documentation, and training.
• Establish and track metrics that measure program effectiveness and continuously improve security maturity.
• Influence technical decisions through collaboration and technical leadership rather than organizational authority.
• Communicate security risks and recommendations effectively to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Mentor engineers and promote security best practices across the organization.
• Solve complex application security challenges involving modern software architectures and cloud-native platforms.
• Drive continuous improvement across security tooling, developer workflows, and vulnerability management processes.
• Provide technical leadership during the investigation and remediation of significant application security issues.

Benefits

• comprehensive health benefits and programs, which may include medical, vision, dental, life insurance and more
• 401(k)
• employee discount
• short term disability
• long term disability
• paid sick leave
• paid national holidays
• paid vacation

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal
• Education Level: Associate degree