Staff Software Engineer, Product Security
Security Engineer · Staff · Full Time
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Role
What you'll do.
Staff Software Engineer, Product Security at Snowflake leads the technical direction for product security across multiple engineering teams, designing security-critical services and frameworks that embed secure-by-design principles into the development lifecycle. This role owns complex security architecture decisions, threat modeling, and remediation of high-severity vulnerabilities at scale for a leading cloud data platform. You will mentor engineering teams, evaluate emerging security tooling including AI-assisted analysis, and drive foundational security systems that strengthen customer trust in Snowflake's multi-tenant SaaS platform.
Responsibilities
- Set Technical Direction for Product Security: Define and communicate security architecture vision across multiple engineering teams, influencing critical architecture decisions before code implementation. Drive adoption of secure-by-design frameworks that become the default approach for building new products and features across Snowflake's platform.
- Design Security-Critical Systems and Frameworks: Architect and build foundational security services, controls, and frameworks that engineering teams adopt as defaults. Ensure these systems are scalable, maintainable, and effective at securing large-scale distributed cloud infrastructure and multi-tenant environments.
- Lead Threat Modeling and Security Design Reviews: Conduct comprehensive threat modeling exercises and security design reviews for the platform's most complex and high-risk systems. Identify architectural vulnerabilities and design flaws before they reach production, working with engineering leadership to implement preventive controls.
- Drive Secure-by-Design Implementation: Partner with product and engineering leadership to embed security requirements directly into the development lifecycle. Shape processes, tools, and practices that make security considerations integral to product design rather than an afterthought during review phases.
- Investigate and Remediate High-Severity Security Issues: Lead investigation of the highest-impact security vulnerabilities and incidents. Drive comprehensive remediation strategies that eliminate entire vulnerability classes and attack patterns, not just individual instances, reducing future security risk.
- Mentor and Elevate Security Engineering Capability: Mentor senior and mid-level engineers, raising the organization's security engineering expertise and technical standards. Share security best practices, review designs and code, and develop the next generation of security leaders within Snowflake.
- Own End-to-End Security Initiatives: Take full ownership of complex security projects from problem definition and scope through delivery and cross-team alignment. Lead efforts including security architecture projects, software supply-chain security initiatives, vulnerability management programs, and automated security review systems.
- Evaluate and Integrate Emerging Security Technologies: Assess and implement cutting-edge security tooling and AI-assisted analysis capabilities to enhance the team's impact and scalability. Leverage machine learning and generative AI technologies to automate security analysis, threat detection, and remediation workflows.
Qualifications
What we look for.
Technical
Secure Distributed Systems Design
Deep expertise designing and architecting secure, large-scale distributed systems and cloud platforms. Demonstrated ability to identify and prevent security flaws in complex multi-component architectures serving millions of users.
Threat Modeling and Security Design
Hands-on proficiency in threat modeling methodologies, secure design principles, and conducting security design reviews. Experience identifying architectural vulnerabilities and designing controls that prevent entire classes of attacks.
Vulnerability Analysis and Remediation
Expertise in analyzing complex vulnerability classes, understanding root causes, and designing comprehensive remediation strategies. Experience with penetration testing, code review, and security assessment techniques.
Programming Language Proficiency
Strong proficiency in one or more modern programming languages such as Java, Go, Rust, C++, or Python. Ability to review security-critical code and design secure APIs and frameworks.
Cloud-Native Security
Experience securing cloud-native architectures, multi-tenant SaaS platforms, and distributed systems. Understanding of cloud infrastructure security, containerization, microservices security patterns, and cloud-specific threat models.
Education
Computer Science Degree or Equivalent
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Mathematics, or related field. Equivalent professional experience and demonstrated expertise can substitute for formal education.
Experience
Software Engineering Leadership
10+ years of professional software engineering experience with significant focus on product security or application security. Demonstrated track record of influencing technical decisions and driving engineering direction across multiple teams.
Product Security Architecture
Substantial hands-on experience designing and implementing security solutions for product platforms. Background in either application security, platform security, or infrastructure security at scale.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
Proven ability to work effectively with product teams, engineering leadership, incident response teams, and other stakeholders. Experience framing ambiguous security problems, structuring analysis, and driving consensus across diverse technical perspectives.
Security Problem-Solving
Strong track record of taking ownership of complex, ambiguous security challenges. Experience scoping problems, designing solutions, and delivering results even when requirements and constraints are unclear.
Skills
Required
Security Architecture
Ability to design end-to-end security solutions and define security architecture patterns for complex systems
Threat Modeling
Expertise in identifying potential threats, attack vectors, and designing controls to mitigate security risks
Secure Code Review
Capability to identify security vulnerabilities in code and recommend secure implementation patterns
System Design
Deep understanding of distributed systems design, scalability, and architectural patterns relevant to security
Technical Leadership
Ability to influence technical direction, mentor engineers, and drive architectural decisions across teams
Problem Framing
Skill in breaking down ambiguous security problems, structuring analysis, and communicating findings to stakeholders
Preferred
Cloud Security
Nice to haveExperience securing cloud-native environments, multi-tenant SaaS platforms, and cloud infrastructure (AWS, Azure, GCP)
Cryptography
Nice to haveFamiliarity with cryptographic algorithms, key management, encryption protocols, and cryptographic best practices
Identity and Access Management
Nice to haveExperience designing and implementing IAM systems, authentication mechanisms, authorization frameworks, and access control policies
Data Security
Nice to haveKnowledge of data protection strategies, encryption at rest and in transit, data classification, and privacy-preserving technologies
AI-Assisted Security
Nice to haveExperience applying AI, machine learning, or generative AI workflows (such as Cortex AI) to security analysis, threat detection, and automation
Software Supply Chain Security
Nice to haveExperience securing the software development and deployment pipeline, dependency management, and vulnerability scanning
Open Source Contributions
Nice to haveContributions to open-source security projects or published security research demonstrating deep technical expertise
Incident Response Collaboration
Nice to haveExperience partnering with detection, incident response, forensics, or offensive security teams on security investigations
Tech stack
Languages
Frameworks
Databases
Tools
Other
Compensation
Pay and benefits.
Base·USD 236,000 – 339,250
Equity·Stock options
Benefits
Professional Development
Access to continuous learning opportunities, security certifications (CISSP, CCSK), and conference attendance to stay current with evolving security landscapes and emerging threat models
Competitive Health Insurance
Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with flexible plan options to meet diverse healthcare needs
Retirement and Financial Planning
401(k) retirement plans with company matching contributions to support long-term financial security and wealth building
Work-Life Balance
Flexible work arrangements, generous paid time off, and remote work options to maintain sustainable work-life integration
Equity and Stock Options
Participation in company stock option programs, allowing engineers to share in Snowflake's growth and success as a publicly traded company
Performance Bonuses
Annual performance bonuses tied to individual and company objectives, recognizing exceptional contributions to security initiatives
Mental Health and Wellness
Employee Assistance Program (EAP), mental health resources, wellness programs, and gym membership subsidies
Process
Interview steps.
- 01
Initial Recruiter Screening
Phone or video call with a recruiter to discuss your background, security experience, and interest in the role. This call typically focuses on validating your professional experience and understanding your career motivation.
- 02
Technical Assessment
Comprehensive discussion with hiring managers covering security architecture, threat modeling approaches, vulnerability analysis methodologies, and your approach to designing secure systems. May include whiteboarding or design discussions.
- 03
Security Deep-Dive Interview
Technical interview with security team members covering specific security domains such as cryptography, cloud security, secure coding practices, or incident response. Expect questions about real-world security challenges and your solutions.
- 04
Architecture and System Design
Detailed discussion of how you would architect security solutions for complex distributed systems, handle secure-by-design principles in product development, and scale security practices across multiple engineering teams.
- 05
Leadership and Collaboration
Conversation with engineering leadership about your experience mentoring engineers, influencing technical decisions, cross-functional collaboration, and driving organizational change around security practices.
- 06
Executive Round
Meeting with senior engineering or security leadership to discuss your vision for product security, ability to drive high-impact initiatives, and alignment with Snowflake's technical culture and values.
Full posting
Original listing.
At Snowflake, we are powering the era of the agentic enterprise. To usher in this new era, we seek AI-native thinkers across every function who are energized by the opportunity to reinvent how they work. You don’t just use tools; you possess an innate curiosity, treating AI as a high-trust collaborator that is core to how you solve problems and accelerate your impact. We look for low-ego individuals who thrive in dynamic and fast-moving environments and move with an experimental mindset — who rapidly test emerging capabilities to discover simpler, more powerful ways to deliver results. At Snowflake, your role isn't just to execute a function, but to help redefine the future of how work gets done.
We are hiring a Staff Software Engineer, Product Security for our Security Foundations team. Product security sits at the center of the trust customers place in the Snowflake platform, and this role owns the hard technical problems that keep that trust intact. You will drive security architecture and secure-by-design practices across engineering teams, shaping how new products are built rather than reviewing them after the fact.
AS A STAFF SOFTWARE ENGINEER, PRODUCT SECURITY AT SNOWFLAKE, YOU WILL:
Set the technical direction for product security across multiple engineering teams, influencing architecture decisions before code is written
Design and build security-critical services, frameworks, and controls that other engineering teams adopt as defaults
Lead threat modeling and security design reviews for the platform's most complex and high-risk systems
Partner with product and engineering leaders to embed secure-by-design principles into the development lifecycle
Investigate and drive resolution of the highest-severity security issues, then eliminate the underlying class of problem, not just the instance
Mentor senior and mid-level engineers, raising the security engineering bar across the organization
Own initiatives end to end, from problem framing and scoping through delivery and cross-team alignment
Evaluate and integrate emerging security tooling, including AI-assisted analysis and automation, to scale the team's impact
OUR IDEAL STAFF SOFTWARE ENGINEER, PRODUCT SECURITY WILL HAVE:
10+ years of software engineering experience, with a significant focus on product or application security
Deep expertise designing and building secure, large-scale distributed systems or platforms
Strong track record of driving cross-team technical decisions and influencing engineering direction
Hands-on experience with threat modeling, secure design review, and remediation of complex vulnerability classes
Proficiency in one or more modern programming languages (for example Java, Go, Rust, C++, or Python) as a supporting capability, not the definition of the role
Ability to frame ambiguous security problems, structure the analysis, and drive alignment across stakeholders
A Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent experience
BONUS POINTS FOR THE FOLLOWING:
Experience securing cloud-native or multi-tenant SaaS platforms
Familiarity with cryptography, identity and access management, or data security at scale
Experience applying AI or GenAI workflows (for example Cortex AI) to security analysis, detection, or automation
Contributions to open-source security projects or published security research
Experience partnering with detection, incident response, or offensive security teams
WHY JOIN OUR ENGINEERING TEAM AT SNOWFLAKE?
The Product Security team builds the frameworks, services, and controls that make secure-by-design practices the default across Snowflake’s products and engineering lifecycle. We tackle complex problems spanning security architecture, automated security reviews, software supply-chain security, vulnerability management, and AI-assisted security at Snowflake’s scale. Engineers on the team have the opportunity to shape foundational security systems used across the company and directly strengthen the trust customers place in the Snowflake platform.
Snowflake is growing fast, and we’re scaling our team to help enable and accelerate our growth. We are looking for people who share our values, challenge ordinary thinking, and push the pace of innovation while building a future for themselves and Snowflake.
How do you want to make your impact?
For jobs located in the United States, please visit the job posting on the Snowflake Careers Site for salary and benefits information: careers.snowflake.com
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