Staff AI Security Engineer

Job description

Let’s face it, a company whose mission is human transformation better have some fresh thinking about the employer/employee relationship. We do. We can’t cram it all in here, but you’ll start noticing it from the first interview. Even our candidate experience is different. And when you get an offer from us (and accept it), you get way more than a paycheck. You get a personal BetterUp Coach, a development plan, a trained and coached manager, the most amazing team you’ve ever met (yes, each with their own personal BetterUp Coach), and most importantly, work that matters. This makes for a remarkably focused and fulfilling work experience. Frankly, it’s not for everyone. But for people with fire in their belly, it’s a game-changing, career-defining, soul-lifting move. Join us and we promise you the most intense and fulfilling years of your career, doing life-changing work in a fun, inventive, soulful culture. If that sounds exciting—and the job description below feels like a fit—we really should start talking. We are a hybrid company with a focus on in-person collaboration when necessary. Employees are expected to be available to work from one of our office hubs at least two days per week, or eight days per month. Our US hub locations include: Austin, TX; New York City, NY; San Francisco, CA; and the Arlington, VA metro area. Please ensure you can realistically commit to this structure before applying. POSITION SUMMARY The Staff AI Security Engineer is a hands-on individual contributor responsible for embedding security into the design and delivery of BetterUp's AI-powered coaching platform. This role sits inside the product engineering organization in sprints, in code reviews, and in design discussions, partnering directly with Engineering and Product teams to ship securely and build scalable security practices from the ground up. This is a builder role first. The right person is energized by working alongside engineers. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND ENGINEERING - Partner with Product and Engineering teams to embed security early in the product lifecycle, participating in sprint planning, design reviews, and architect discussions to identify and address risk before it reaches production - Conduct code reviews with a security lens and contribute directly to remediation alongside engineering teams - Contribute to and help evolve GitHub workflows including code releases, feature flag management, and deployment pipelines THREAT MODELING & APPLICATION SECURITY - Build threat models for customer-facing AI features, APIs, and data pipelines and translate findings into prioritized, actionable engineering work - Conduct application security assessments including SAST, DAST, and dependency scanning - Help teams understand and act on findings without creating unnecessary friction or blocking velocity SECURITY-CONSCIOUS AI DEVELOPMENT - Partner with AI/ML teams to assess, mitigate, and monitor risks unique to GenAI and AI/ML model integration, including prompt injection, data leakage, and model manipulation - Help define and implement security standards for how BetterUp builds and ships AI-powered capabilities as the product evolves - Serve as a security SME for AI-centric features, helping teams align with AI governance, security, and ethical use frameworks (e.g. ISO 42001) CROSS-FUNCTIONAL TECHNICAL LEADERSHIP - Partner with Product Managers and Engineering Leads on product security strategy and risk tradeoffs - Mentor engineers on secure coding practices and foster a culture where security is a shared responsibility embedded in how teams work day to day - Participate actively in design reviews, sprint planning, and architecture discussions to influence product direction QUALIFICATIONS - 5+ years of experience in product security, application security, or software engineering with a meaningful security focus - Demonstrated experience conducting hands-on threat modeling, secure code reviews, and application security assessments in a product engineering environment - Working knowledge of AI/ML security risks including prompt injection, data leakage, and model misuse and practical approaches to addressing them - Experience integrating security into CI/CD pipelines using SAST, DAST, dependency scanning, or similar tooling - Solid understanding of secure SDLC practices, API security, authentication and authorization patterns, and data protection - Familiarity with cloud security fundamentals, preferably AWS - Ability to influence engineering teams and drive secure design decisions through partnership, not mandates - Clear communicator who can translate technical risk into plain language for product, legal, and business audiences - Bonus: experience supporting or operating bug bounty or coordinated vulnerability disclosure programs. SKILLS & COMPETENCIES - Strategic and pragmatic thinking with the ability to balance risk and product velocity. - Technical depth in modern cloud-native architectures and software development lifecycles. - Clear, concise communication skills for engaging engineers, executives, and customers. - Comfort with ambiguity and evolving regulatory standards in AI security and governance. - Passion for mentoring and sharing knowledge across cross-functional teams. AI at BetterUp Our team thrives at the intersection of human expertise and AI capability. As an AI-forward company, adaptation and continuous learning are part of our daily work. We're looking for teammates who are excited to evolve alongside technology – people who experiment boldly, share their discoveries openly, and help define best practices for AI-augmented work. These professionals thoughtfully integrate AI into their work to deliver exceptional results while maintaining the human judgment and creativity that drives real innovation. During our interview process, you’ll have opportunities to showcase how you harness AI to learn, iterate, and amplify your impact. Benefits: At BetterUp, we are committed to living out our mission every day and that starts with providing benefits that allow our employees to care for themselves, support their families, and give back to their community. - Access to BetterUp coaching; one for you and one for a friend or family member - A competitive compensation plan with opportunity for advancement - Medical, dental, and vision insurance - Flexible paid time off - Per year: - All federal/statutory holidays observed - 4 BetterUp Inner Workdays (https://www.betterup.co/inner-work) - 5 Volunteer Days to give back - Learning and Development stipend - Company wide Summer & Winter breaks - Year-round charitable contribution of your choice on behalf of BetterUp - 401(k) self contribution We are dedicated to building diverse teams that fuel an authentic workplace and sense of belonging for each and every employee. We know applying for a job can be intimidating, please don’t hesitate to reach out — we encourage everyone interested in joining us to apply. BetterUp Inc. provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, genetics, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status. In addition to federal law requirements, BetterUp Inc. complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training. At BetterUp, we compensate our employees fairly for their work. Base salary is determined by job-related experience, education/training, residence location, as well as market indicators. The range below is representative of base salary only and does not include equity, sales bonus plans (when applicable) and benefits. This range may be modified in the future. The base salary range for this role is $194,000- $270,000. Protecting your privacy and treating your personal information with care is very important to us, and central to the entire BetterUp family. By submitting your application, you acknowledge that your personal information will be processed in accordance with our Applicant Privacy Notice https://www.betterup.com/applicant-privacy-notice. If you have any questions about the privacy of your personal information or your rights with regards to your personal information, please reach out to support@betterup.co #LI-Hybrid