Application Security Engineer II

About the role

Abnormal AI is looking for an Application Security Engineer II to secure the AI-powered systems at the core of our AWS-based platform (LLM-integrated features, agentic workflows, MCP connectors, and the model supply chain) against threats like prompt injection at production scale. This is an individual contributor role that blends deep application security expertise with strong engineering fundamentals. You will own the security architecture and development of secure coding practices while ensuring security is a foundational partner to our engineering stakeholders. You will coach developers across the engineering organization on application security principles, act as a technical liaison across teams, and contribute directly to keeping our applications and customers secure. This role reports to the Director of Security Engineering.

Key facts

What you'll do

Lead threat modeling and security architecture reviews with engineering teams by translating security risks into concrete development actions, with particular focus on AI-powered features (LLM integrations, agentic workflows, MCP connectors).

Architect, build, and maintain security tooling and integrations that make secure development the default in our CI/CD pipelines.

Design and deploy automated security testing to identify vulnerabilities early in the development process.

Serve as a hands-on technical contributor during security incidents by analyzing application-level behavior and enhancing response processes.

Coach developers on secure coding, security architecture, and threat modeling for AI-native systems.

Define and track key security posture metrics, building dashboards or reports to visualize security coverage and vulnerability trends.

Collaborate closely with DevOps and platform teams to embed security controls into infrastructure as code and deployment workflows.

Evaluate new attack surfaces introduced by AI model updates and MCP integrations, and drive corresponding security safeguards.

Partner with product managers to ensure security requirements are considered early in feature design and roadmap planning.

Contribute to the development and maintenance of security playbooks, incident response procedures, and compliance documentation.

Work with cross-functional stakeholders to establish security standards and best practices tailored for AI-driven applications.

Support the execution of security assessments, including code reviews, dependency analysis, and configuration reviews.

Help refine the secure development lifecycle by integrating feedback from production incidents and red team exercises.

Requirements

5+ years of experience in application security engineering roles, ideally securing AWS or comparable cloud-native environments with modern development practices.

Experience securing AI/ML-powered systems, or a clear ability to ramp fast on prompt injection, model supply chain, and agentic-workflow risks.

Strong programming skills in Python, Go, Java, or JavaScript/TypeScript. You write and read production code, not just review it.

Expertise in web application security including OWASP Top 10, authentication/authorization, cryptography, and secure API design, including securing modern architectures (microservices, containers, cloud-native).

Hands-on experience threat modeling and running security architecture reviews.

Proven ability to influence and collaborate cross-functionally with engineering, DevOps, and product teams, with strong written communication.

Ability to operate comfortably in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment while managing multiple priorities and deadlines.

Commitment to continuous learning and applying emerging security research to practical defense measures.

Nice to have

Experience working in fast-paced or startup environments, comfortable defining scope in a growing security program.

Hands-on experience with commercial security tools (Veracode, Checkmarx, SonarQube, Wiz, Semgrep, Burp Suite)

Prior experience building security telemetry pipelines or vulnerability management frameworks.

Exposure to compliance frameworks (SOC 2, ISO 27001) and how development decisions affect auditability.

Familiarity with bug bounty programs and vulnerability disclosure processes.

Practical notes

Compensation details are included in the job posting to ensure full transparency. The base salary range for this position in the United States is $130,100 to $187,000 USD, with total compensation potentially including bonus or incentive compensation, equity, and a comprehensive benefits package. Actual compensation will be determined based on several non-discriminatory factors including skills, experience, qualifications, and geographic location. AI and our hiring process Abnormal AI uses AI-assisted tools to help our recruiting team prepare for candidate interviews. These tools analyze resume content and role requirements to suggest interview questions and identify relevant topics to explore.