Staff Security Engineer, Defensive Cyber Engineering

About the role

Join Okta’s Defensive Cyber Engineering team as a Staff Engineer responsible for safeguarding Okta’s environments. You’ll work closely with the Security, Business Technology Engineering and Product teams to implement and manage security solutions and ensure that core infrastructure applications are protecting our workforce, endpoints, and corporate data.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a security subject matter expert (SME) for solution engineering, architecture reviews, security assessment, and vulnerability mitigation
• Lead technical efforts evaluating, designing, and implementing new enterprise security systems and feature enhancements
• Build, maintain, and enhance custom automation and cloud infrastructure using Terraform or similar tools to support team workflows and the enforcement of security controls
• Develop integrations with APIs, cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure), and security infrastructure to improve detection, response, and remediation
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to tackle global technology and security challenges
• Write and maintain scripts and automation to streamline security operations, with an emphasis on Python-based solutions
• Establish monitoring and alerting for security posture, misconfigurations, and threats across endpoints, SaaS, and cloud workloads
• Proactively identify and remediate security gaps; stay updated on emerging threats, solutions, and tooling across the industry

Requirements

• Hands on experience with enterprise security tools such as Okta, Crowdstrike and Palo Alto suite covering EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response), CASB (Cloud Access Security Broker), DLP (Data Loss Prevention), MDM (Mobile Device Management), SASE (Secure Access Service Edge), and SSPM (SaaS Secure Posture Management) capabilities
• Strong coding and scripting skills are required for building automation and custom tooling. Python experience is preferred, but proficiency in other languages (e.g., Bash, PowerShell, Go) is a plus
• Proven track record automating security controls and workflows using a cloud-first approach
• Experience with Terraform and other infrastructure-as-code tools to orchestrate security infrastructure
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines for security automation and drift management
• Strong communication skills across technical staff, support teams, executive leadership, and external vendors

Qualifications

• A strong desire to make tools and people work together to solve complex security problems is central to this role
• A hands-on engineering-first approach: maximizing the utility of existing security tools before strategically building or buying new solutions to address any remaining security gaps

Skills

• Working with advanced identity management technologies (MFA, SAML, OAuth, OIDC, WebAuthn)
• Deep understanding of Okta's ecosystem, including advanced configuration and integrations
• Experience with continuous compliance solutions (e.g., policy-as-code, automated evidence gathering)

Pay

The annual base salary range for this position for candidates located in the San Francisco Bay area is between: $180,000 USD - $247,500 USD

Below is the annual base salary range for candidates located in California (excluding San Francisco Bay Area), Colorado, Illinois, New York and Washington. Your actual base salary will depend on factors such as your skills, qualifications, experience, and work location. In addition, Okta offers equity (where applicable), bonus, and benefits, including health, dental and vision insurance, 401(k), flexible spending account, and paid leave (including PTO and parental leave) in accordance with our applicable plans and policies. To learn more about our Total Rewards program please visit: https://rewards.okta.com/us.

Benefits

Okta is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, marital status, age, physical or mental disability, or status as a protected veteran. We also consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and convictions records, consistent with applicable laws.

If reasonable accommodation is needed to complete any part of the job application, interview process, or onboarding please use this Form to request an accommodation.