Security engineer, application security

Writer•New York City, NY

19h•Hybrid

About The Position

This is where security meets innovation at enterprise scale. As a security engineer, applications at WRITER, you'll be building the security foundations that protect the AI systems powering some of the world's most recognizable brands. You'll work at the intersection of application security, AI infrastructure, and developer enablement—partnering with engineering teams to embed security into every line of code while ensuring our platform remains both powerful and trustworthy. The opportunity is massive: you'll help define how enterprise AI applications are secured, from threat modeling our LLM architectures to building automated security controls that scale across our growing platform. This isn't about saying "no"—it's about finding creative ways to say "yes, and here's how we do it securely." You'll tackle challenges that most security engineers never encounter: securing AI agents, protecting training data pipelines, and designing controls for systems that didn't exist a few years ago. This role can be remote within the US or hybrid from our San Francisco or New York City offices, reporting to the head of security engineering.

Requirements

2+ years of hands-on experience in application security engineering, with a proven track record of securing large-scale production systems—bonus points if you've worked in fast-growing startups or high-growth environments
Understanding of developer experience and developer workflows for shipping features and products. You care deeply about reducing risk while considering velocity of engineers.
Technical expertise in at least two programming languages (Python, Java, Go, JavaScript/TypeScript) and the ability to read and review code across multiple languages, understanding both business logic and security implications
Knowledge of security tools and methodologies including SAST/DAST solutions, vulnerability management platforms, security testing frameworks, and DevSecOps practices—you know which tools to use and when automation beats manual review
Excellent communication skills that allow you to translate complex security concepts into clear recommendations for both technical and non-technical audiences—you can explain why something matters and motivate teams to action
A builder's mindset that looks for opportunities to automate, scale, and empower rather than create bottlenecks—you understand that security enables the business, not blocks it
Alignment with WRITER's values of Connect (building strong relationships across teams), Challenge (pushing the boundaries of what's possible in AI security), and Own (taking end-to-end responsibility for the security of our platform)

Responsibilities

Build security into the DNA of our AI platform by conducting threat modeling sessions with product teams, designing secure architectures for new features, and ensuring security considerations shape product decisions from day one—not after the fact
Own and evolve our application security program including establish and maintain SAST/DAST scanning in CI/CD pipelines, conducting security code reviews for critical changes, and building automation that catches vulnerabilities before they reach production
Partner with engineering teams to establish and champion secure coding standards, creating reusable security patterns and libraries that make it easier for developers to build securely by default
Design and recommend security features and products that help secure customer environments. You are the advocate and the vision for how we protect and secure customers.. Integrate and leverage AI agents to help increase velocity for the security team and the overarching engineering org to ensure that we are proactive in minimizing risk while we build products
Lead security assessments and penetration testing of WRITER's applications, AI services, and APIs, identifying vulnerabilities across our tech stack and working collaboratively with teams to remediate issues at scale
Design and implement security controls for protecting data pipelines, model training environments, and customer-facing AI agents
Stay ahead of emerging threats in the AI/ML security landscape, researching attack vectors specific to LLMs and generative AI, and proactively building defenses against novel risks