Software Engineer - Security

at Perplexity AI

📍 United States
📍 San Francisco, United States

USD 200,000-300,000 per year

MIDDLE

✅ Remote ✅ On-site

Used Tools & Technologies

Not specified

Required Skills & Competences
Tag name is followed by "@" symbol and proficiency level value. About proficiency levels:

1-2 — basic awareness. Minimal hands-on experience, and a rudimentary understanding of the technology's purpose;

3-6 — daily use. Comfortable and regular usage, capable of handling common tasks and challenges related to the technology;

7-9 — you are an expert, you can teach others, you know all the pitfalls and tricks;

10 — exceptional knowledge, comprehensive understanding, and adeptness in all aspects of the technology, including advanced problem-solving. Think twice before claiming or demanding such level.

Security @ 3 Software Development @ 6 Go @ 5 TypeScript @ 5 Python @ 5 AWS @ 2 Prioritization @ 3 API @ 3 Reporting @ 3

Details

Perplexity is seeking a hands-on software engineer to build and evolve the software, automations, and systems that power security operations. This role focuses on engineering security tools and internal AI-driven agents that improve detection and response, vulnerability management, and the overall security posture of products and infrastructure.

Responsibilities

Design, build, and maintain software and automation that improves the detection and response program, including alert enrichment, triage workflows, and investigation tooling.
Implement and enhance internal AI agents and security bots that assist with monitoring, investigations, reporting, and other security operation tasks.
Develop and operate systems and workflows that support the bug bounty and vulnerability disclosure program, including intake, triage, prioritization, and remediation tracking.
Partner with product and engineering teams to threat model new features and systems, propose mitigations, and add guardrails into designs and implementations.
Contribute to secure-by-default libraries, services, and patterns that make it easy for teams to build secure features.
Integrate security signals from cloud, endpoints, SaaS, and applications into cohesive pipelines and data models that support detection and analysis.
Build automation to reduce manual work in incident response, containment, and remediation.
Collaborate with security engineers and other software engineers to review designs and code, and to continuously improve security tooling and platforms.

Requirements

4+ years of experience as a software engineer with significant time spent building security-related tools, platforms, or automations, or in a security engineering role with strong software development responsibilities.
Proficiency in at least one major programming language (examples given: Python, Go, or TypeScript) and experience building production services, CLIs, or internal tools.
Experience integrating with security-relevant systems such as logging pipelines, SIEMs, EDR, cloud APIs, or identity platforms.
Practical experience with threat modeling, secure design, or application security reviews for services or features.
Experience operating or contributing to bug bounty or vulnerability management programs is a plus.
Familiarity with cloud infrastructure (AWS preferred) and modern SaaS environments.
Ability to work closely with cross-functional teams, own projects end-to-end, and ship pragmatic, high-impact improvements.
Bonus: experience designing or improving AI-powered agents or automation used for security operations.

Benefits

Equity may be part of the total compensation package for Full Time, US-based applicants.
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance for you and your dependents.
401(k) plan.
Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors, including experience and expertise, and may vary from the amounts listed above.