Principal Threat Architect, AI-Era Detection & Response

About the role

TrendAI™ seeks a Principal Threat Architect to research and design core detection-and-response capabilities for the AI era. This role requires a deep understanding of AI threats and the ability to translate research into production-grade capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Research the evolving AI-era threat landscape, including AI-enabled attacks and threats to AI systems.
• Design scalable, robust detection-and-response systems that integrate with existing security tooling and workflows.
• Prototype and validate novel defensive approaches, converging open-ended research into concrete specifications.
• Partner with detection engineering, data science, and platform teams to transition prototypes into durable, production-grade capabilities.
• Provide technical leadership on core design decisions and trade-offs, setting direction for peers and adjacent teams.
• Communicate complex research and architectural direction clearly to technical and non-technical audiences, including leadership.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 8+ years in cybersecurity, with demonstrable depth in threat detection and response.
• Proven track record designing and delivering complex technical systems from concept through production deployment.
• Hands-on experience architecting scalable systems that integrate with existing security tooling and operational workflows.
• Working familiarity with AI/ML concepts and their application to threat detection, prevention, or response, including awareness of AI-specific threats and frameworks such as MITRE ATT&CK.
• Experience in a research, R&D, or emerging-technologies function, with a demonstrated ability to take ambiguous, open-ended problems and converge them into concrete specifications.
• Proficiency in at least one production programming language (e.g., Python).
• Strong written and verbal communication, including conveying complex technical concepts to varied audiences.

Qualifications

• Master's in computer science, machine learning, or a security-related discipline.
• Direct experience with AI/ML security — securing ML/GenAI models, adversarial ML, or defending against AI-enabled attacks — aligned with frameworks such as the OWASP Top 10 for LLMs.
• Experience building or operating detection-and-response platforms (EDR / XDR / MDR, SIEM, SOAR) or agentic SOC architectures.
• Hands-on experience with large-scale data-processing systems and modern distributed architectures.
• Proficiency in systems languages such as C/C++ or Rust in addition to Python.
• Familiarity with cloud security across AWS, Azure, or GCP and with hybrid/multi-cloud environments.
• Publication, patent, or conference-presentation record in threat research or applied AI security.
• Experience within a vendor CTO office, security research lab, or comparable innovation function.

Benefits

We offer comprehensive benefits including medical, dental, and vision insurance, life insurance, short and long-term disability, pre-partum, maternity, parental, and medical leave, mental health wellness program, adoption assistance, wellness incentive, pet insurance, a 401(k) with company match, paid time off, and 14 annual holidays. We also provide tuition assistance and employee resource groups.

Pay

Competitive compensation with bonus opportunity tied to company performance, along with room to enhance your skills through ongoing learning and broad technological opportunities.

Schedule

The role offers flexible scheduling to accommodate your needs.