Security engineer, detection and response (US)

Defend the Future of AI: Staff Detection & Response Engineer
Are you ready to stand at the forefront of AI security? Join WRITER's elite security team as a Staff Detection & Response Engineer and become a crucial guardian of the AI infrastructure that's redefining how the world works. This isn't just traditional security; it's a mission to protect cutting-edge AI/AGI systems against sophisticated adversaries whose tactics evolve as fast as AI itself.
You'll engineer advanced detection systems to unmask attacks targeting our AI platform, training data, and model deployments. Crucially, you'll build automated response capabilities that scale with our explosive growth, creating self-healing defenses for a truly novel threat landscape.
This role demands a unique blend of hands-on security engineering prowess and strategic foresight to anticipate and neutralize threats that are not yet found in textbooks. As the operational backbone of our security function, you'll translate real-time threat intelligence into actionable detections, coordinate high-stakes incident responses across diverse teams, and relentlessly hunt for advanced persistent threats lurking within GPU clusters and distributed training environments. If you're driven by the challenge of securing systems fundamentally different from anything you've encountered before, this is your opportunity to define the future of AI security engineering at scale.
You'll collaborate extensively with our AI Security research team, Cloud Infrastructure, Software Security Engineering, and AI researchers to forge a robust, defense-in-depth strategy for one of the industry's most valuable AI platforms. The threats are real, the stakes are exceptionally high, and the problems are intellectually captivating.
This role is based out of our San Francisco office, reporting directly to our Head of Security Operations.

Your Mission: Secure the AI Frontie

Forge cutting-edge detection strategies that identify AI-specific threats including prompt injection, model extraction, data poisoning, adversarial examples, and unauthorized access to training datasets or model weights across our distributed infrastructure.
Engineer automated, self-healing response playbooks and orchestration workflows that contain threats without human intervention, reducing mean time to response from hours to minutes while automatically remediating compromised inference endpoints.
Orchestrate high-stakes security incident response across all teams (Cloud, AppSec, Enterprise, AI Security) when AI infrastructure or models are compromised, conducting forensic investigations on training pipeline attacks and model manipulation attempts, and drafting clear incident communications for engineering and executive leadership.
Lead proactive threat hunting expeditions across GPU clusters and training infrastructure by meticulously analyzing model outputs for signs of compromise, reproducing AI-specific vulnerabilities from security research, and identifying visibility gaps in distributed training environments before adversaries exploit them.
Pioneer detection-as-code frameworks with version control and automated deployment, onboard critical telemetry from AI training infrastructure and inference endpoints, and create dynamic dashboards that track model security metrics, GPU utilization patterns, and access to sensitive research data.
Serve as the linchpin for cross-functional security partnerships, translating AI Security's threat research into production detections, vigilantly monitoring Cloud Infrastructure's GPU clusters for threats, detecting customer-impacting incidents for Software Security Engineering, and enabling responsible AI development through robust security guardrails.
Own critical incident response with 24/7 on-call readiness for AI security incidents, responding to real-time threats targeting our platform while continuously improving detection coverage and automation capabilities as our AI systems evolve.

What You Bring

Proven expertise (3-5+ years) in security operations, detection engineering, or incident response, with a distinguished record of stopping sophisticated attacks in complex, production environments, particularly within AI/ML infrastructure, high-performance computing, or distributed systems at scale.
Mastery of programming languages like Python, KQL, SPL, or similar, enabling you to craft bespoke detection logic, automate robust response workflows, and build scalable security tools across cloud-native and distributed computing environments.
Deep command of SIEM platforms, advanced detection technologies, and forensic investigation techniques, with a proven ability to innovate detections for novel attack techniques and conduct complex forensics in distributed AI environments.
An autonomous and results-driven mindset, evidenced by a history of securing high-value intellectual property, pioneering automated incident response in intricate landscapes, and proactively identifying critical security gaps before they escalate.
A profound resonance with WRITER's core values: the ability to Connect seamlessly across diverse teams (security, infrastructure, AI research) to forge holistic defenses; the courage to Challenge prevailing assumptions and redefine the art of AI security engineering; and an unwavering commitment to Own the protection of our AI platform with accountability and foresight against evolving threats.

Perks & Benefits (US Full-time employees)

Generous PTO, plus company holidays
Medical, dental, and vision coverage for you and your family
Paid parental leave for all parents (16 weeks)
Fertility and family planning support
Early-detection cancer testing through Galleri
Flexible spending account and dependent FSA options
Health savings account for eligible plans with company contribution
Annual work-life stipends for:

Wellness stipend for gym, massage/chiropractor, personal training, etc.
Learning and development stipend

Company-wide off-sites and team off-sites
Competitive compensation, company stock options and 401k

WRITER is an equal-opportunity employer and is committed to diversity. We don't make hiring or employment decisions based on race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, sex, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, citizenship, or any other basis protected by applicable local, state or federal law. Under the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
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