Software Engineer, Trust & Safety

About the role

This role protects the Vercel platform by analyzing abuse tactics and implementing scalable defenses. The team designs production-ready systems that keep developer workflows fast and secure.

Software engineers turn product ideas into working code. Engineers work in small teams, review each other's work, and ship in small batches. Most teams follow agile practices such as sprints and daily standups. Engineers also write tests, fix bugs, and improve performance. The field values clear communication as much as technical skill. Engineers spend part of every week on planning, code review, and debugging, not just writing new code. The ability to explain a technical decision in plain words separates strong engineers from the rest.

Key facts

What you'll do

Analysis of real-world threat actor behavior identifies evolving abuse patterns and guides defensive measures. Research, prototyping, and implementation of LLM-driven techniques detect, classify, and prevent abuse while preserving platform performance. Production-ready systems are designed and operated to disrupt abusive behavior across the Vercel platform without impeding developer velocity. Internal tools, datasets, and evaluation pipelines are built, maintained, and fine-tuned to keep trust and safety workflows reliable and efficient.

Requirements

The posting states a bachelor's degree requirement. Systems are owned end-to-end from initial research through production deployment and iteration to ensure solutions reach users reliably. Real-world threat actor behavior and abuse tactics are understood to support effective defense strategies and policy design. LLMs are worked with directly, including prompt engineering, evaluation, and fine-tuning, to guide appropriate detection approaches. Cloud infrastructure, including AWS, is understood deeply to operate resilient systems at scale. Strong programming skills in JavaScript/TypeScript and Python allow implementation of detection logic, mitigations, and integrations. Five or more years of experience in abuse prevention, trust & safety, or security engineering provides context for designing safe, scalable defenses. A degree is required for this role.

Practical notes

For location-specific details, please connect with Vercel recruiting. Typical interview steps

Hiring for engineering roles usually starts with a recruiter screen, followed by one or two technical rounds. Candidates often solve a coding problem, discuss past projects, and answer system design questions. Some loops include a take-home task. Final rounds typically cover team fit and give candidates a chance to ask questions. Interviewers look for how you break down an unfamiliar problem, not just whether you reach the answer. Practicing a few problems aloud and reviewing your own past projects are the best preparation.

Good to know

Work in a domain focused on protecting platforms and users from abuse at scale. Use data analysis and detection logic to identify and respond to emerging threats. Apply security engineering practices alongside LLM-based techniques. Collaborate daily with security, product, and infrastructure teams. Rely on cloud infrastructure and tools such as AWS.

Questions to ask

Useful questions for the interview: what a typical week looks like, how work is assigned, what tools the team uses, and how feedback works. Asking how the role has changed recently and what the team wishes it had known when joining is also reasonable. Questions about the manager's priorities are especially valued.

Career growth

Engineering careers usually progress from individual contributor to senior, staff, and principal levels. Some engineers move into management and lead teams of five to twenty people. Others stay on the technical track. Growth follows demonstrated impact, not tenure alone. A typical engineering ladder has clear levels with defined expectations for scope, quality, and mentorship. Moving up usually requires owning outcomes end to end rather than completing assigned tickets.