Principal Security Engineer - Akamai Inference Cloud

About the role

The Akamai Inference Cloud team is part of Akamai's Cloud Technology Group. We design, implement, and operate AI platforms enabling customers to run inference models with unmatched performance, compliance, and economics. As our Principal Security Engineer, you will be the primary security authority across the entire platform, spanning infrastructure, runtimes, APIs, model lifecycle, and customer-facing services. Partner with the best.

Responsibilities

• Define and own the security architecture spanning Kubernetes infrastructure, inference runtimes, control plane APIs, and model lifecycle pipelines
• Establish threat models, security standards, and hardening guidelines across all platform teams and ensure consistent adoption through reviews and automated enforcement
• Lead security design reviews for critical systems including model serving environments, multi-tenant isolation, authentication and authorization frameworks, and data handling pipelines
• Drive AI-specific security initiatives including defense against prompt injection, model extraction, adversarial inputs, data poisoning, and model supply chain attacks
• Owning compliance readiness for regulatory frameworks (ISO27001, SOC 2, GDPR), and emerging AI governance standards, partnering with legal and compliance teams
• Develop and maturing the platform's security incident response capabilities including detection, investigation, and remediation playbooks for both traditional and AI-specific threats
• Collaborate with Akamai's broader security organization to align inference platform security practices with enterprise standards and share learnings across product lines

Requirements

• 8 years of relevant experience and a Bachelor's degree or equivalent in Computer Science, Security Engineering, or a related field
• Show deep expertise across application security, infrastructure security, and cloud-native security with experience as a security technical lead or architect
• Show hands-on experience with AI/ML security challenges including model serving attack surfaces, prompt injection mitigation, and adversarial robustness
• Show proven ability to define security architecture and threat models for complex distributed systems spanning multiple engineering teams
• Show experience with compliance frameworks and the ability to translate regulatory requirements into engineering controls
• Show proficiency in Python, Go, or similar languages with experience building security tooling, automation, or detection systems

Qualifications

• Proven ability to define security architecture and threat models for complex distributed systems spanning multiple engineering teams
• Experience with compliance frameworks and the ability to translate regulatory requirements into engineering controls
• Proficiency in Python, Go, or similar languages with experience building security tooling, automation, or detection systems

Skills

• Deep expertise across application security, infrastructure security, and cloud-native security
• Hands-on experience with AI/ML security challenges including model serving attack surfaces, prompt injection mitigation, and adversarial robustness
• Experience with compliance frameworks and the ability to translate regulatory requirements into engineering controls
• Proficiency in Python, Go, or similar languages with experience building security tooling, automation, or detection systems

Benefits

At Akamai, we support your health, well-being, finances, and life beyond work. See our benefits. FlexBase adapts to your job's needs. Akamai's FlexBase program is yet another way we show our commitment to providing employees with an exceptional workplace experience. It's not about telling employees where to work; it's about supporting employees to do their best work. We trust our incredible employees to work in ways that suit them best: at home, in an office, or a combination of both.

Pay

For US based candidates only - the base salary for this position ranges from $132,100 - $237,900/year; a candidate’s salary is determined by various factors including, but not limited to, relevant work experience, skills, certifications and location. Compensation for candidates outside the US will vary. The compensation package may also include incentive compensation opportunities in the form of annual bonus or incentives, equity awards and an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP).

Schedule

Compensation for candidates outside the US will vary. The compensation package may also include incentive compensation opportunities in the form of annual bonus or incentives, equity awards and an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP).