Senior Security Engineer II

About the role

Braze is seeking a Senior Cloud Security Engineer II to join our Security Engineering function as a senior individual contributor and technical leader for cloud security. This role is a step up from our Senior Cloud Security Engineer position, focusing on setting technical direction, defining standards, and leading cross-team security initiatives. You will shape secure architecture, threat modeling, detection engineering, incident response, and Kubernetes/platform security across our cloud-native infrastructure spanning AWS, GCP, and self-managed Kubernetes. This is a pure individual contributor role where you lead through technical depth and influence rather than direct people management.

Responsibilities

• Set the technical direction (leadership & standards):
  • Define cloud security standards, guardrails, and reference architectures for Infrastructure, SRE, and Product Engineering.
  • Set your own objectives and roadmap for high-impact cloud security work in partnership with Security Engineering leadership.
  • Lead cross-functional security initiatives end-to-end, including scoping, timelines, stakeholder management, and delivery.
  • Mentor and uplevel other security and platform engineers through pairing, design review, and feedback.
  • Represent cloud security in architecture and design forums, translating complex attack paths and risk into actionable guidance.
• Secure architecture & threat modeling:
  • Own threat modeling as a repeatable, scalable practice for new cloud technologies and services.
  • Partner with Infrastructure, SRE, and Product Engineering to design secure-by-default cloud architectures.
  • Drive control-plane and IAM security strategy across AWS and GCP, including RBAC models and least privilege at scale.
  • Assess posture, surface systemic and emerging risks, and set priorities to reduce them.
• Detection engineering, incident response & automation:
  • Advance detection strategy by designing high-signal detections and SIEM rules for cloud threats.
  • Serve as a senior incident responder and cloud-forensics lead for investigations across AWS and GCP.
  • Codify incident response learnings into standard playbooks and preventative controls.
  • Own and optimize security tooling (e.g., CrowdStrike, Tenable) and lead vulnerability management workflows.
• Kubernetes & platform security:
  • Own the security of self-managed Kubernetes environments, including control plane, workload isolation, and admission control.
  • Set standards for Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) and pipeline security, hardening Terraform and CI/CD automation.
  • Establish best practices for patch management, base-image hardening, and version management.
  • Lead the security of large-scale distributed systems and self-managed data stores (e.g., MongoDB).

Requirements

• Several years owning cloud security in production, including on-call responsibilities.
• Hands-on experience with AWS as a primary cloud provider, working knowledge of GCP, and self-managed Kubernetes.
• Ability to read and write code (Python, Terraform preferred).
• Senior individual contributor who leads through technical depth and influence rather than authority.
• Ability to define objectives for ambiguous cloud security problems and deliver scalable solutions.
• Strong mentorship skills to uplevel peers through review, feedback, and standards.
• Deep expertise in secure architecture, threat modeling, detection engineering, and Kubernetes/platform security.

Pay

For candidates based in the United States, the pay range for this position at the start of employment is expected to be between $149,000 and $235,000/year, with an expected On Target Earnings (OTE) between $166,000 and $261,000/year (including bonus or commission). Your exact offer may vary depending on market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. This role also qualifies for equity grants of restricted stock (RSUs).

Benefits

• Competitive compensation, including equity.
• Retirement and Employee Stock Purchase Plans.
• Flexible paid time off.
• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life, and disability coverage.
• Family services, including fertility benefits and equal paid parental leave.
• Professional development supported by formal career pathing, learning platforms, and a yearly learning stipend.
• Curated in-office employee experience fostering community and innovation.
• Opportunities for community giving, including Volunteer Week and donation matching.
• Employee Resource Groups providing supportive communities within Braze.
• Collaborative, transparent, and fun culture recognized as a Great Place to Work®.

About Braze

Braze is the leading customer engagement platform empowering brands to deliver personalized experiences through composable intelligence (BrazeAI™). Our platform enables marketers to combine and activate AI agents, models, and features for smarter, faster, and more meaningful customer engagement. Braze is a modern, cloud-first SaaS company running on distributed systems across AWS, GCP, and self-managed Kubernetes, with offices in New York, Austin, Berlin, London, San Francisco, Singapore, Sydney, and other global locations.