Senior Security Engineer II (Austin)

At Braze, we have found our people. We’re a genuinely approachable, exceptionally kind, and intensely passionate crew.We seek to ignite that passion by setting high standards, championing teamwork, and creating work-life harmony as we collectively navigate rapid growth on a global scale while striving for greater equity and opportunity – inside and outside our organization.To flourish here, you must be prepared to set a high bar for yourself and those around you. There is always a way to contribute: Acting with autonomy, having accountability and being open to new perspectives are essential to our continued success.Our deep curiosity to learn and our eagerness to share diverse passions with others gives us balance and injects a one-of-a-kind vibrancy into our culture.If you are driven to solve exhilarating challenges and have a bias toward action in the face of change, you will be empowered to make a real impact here, with a sharp and passionate team at your back. If Braze sounds like a place where you can thrive, we can’t wait to meet you.Braze is a modern, cloud-first SaaS company running entirely on cloud-native infrastructure — large-scale, distributed systems spanning AWS, GCP, and self-managed Kubernetes, backed by self-managed data stores such as MongoDB. We're looking for a Senior Cloud Security Engineer II to join our Security Engineering function as a senior individual contributor and technical leader for cloud security.This is a step up from our Senior Cloud Security Engineer role. Where a Senior engineer executes and improves our cloud security controls, a Senior Cloud Security Engineer II sets the technical direction: you define the standards and reference patterns other engineers build on, lead cross-team security initiatives end to end, take on the ambiguous problems that don't yet have a playbook (and write the playbook), and raise the bar for the whole team through mentorship and review. You'll go especially deep across three areas — secure architecture and threat modeling, detection engineering and incident response, and Kubernetes and platform security — and you'll shape how Braze does cloud security across Engineering. This is a pure IC role; you lead through technical depth and influence rather than direct people management.WHAT YOU'LL DOSet the technical direction (leadership & standards):Define the cloud security standards, guardrails, and reference architectures that Infrastructure, SRE, and Product Engineering build on — turning point-in-time fixes into durable, org-wide patternsSet your own objectives and roadmap for high-impact cloud security work, in partnership with Security Engineering leadership, and drive it to measurable outcomesLead cross-functional security initiatives end to end — scope, timeline, stakeholders, and delivery — guiding technical debates to a decision and owning the resultMentor and uplevel other security and platform engineers through pairing, design review, and feedback; act as a force multiplier and the go-to technical resource for cloud securityRepresent cloud security in architecture and design forums, translating complex attack paths and risk into clear, actionable guidance engineers will actually adoptSecure architecture & threat modeling:Own threat modeling as a discipline for new cloud technologies, services, and patterns adopted across Engineering — making it a repeatable, scalable practice rather than a one-off exercisePartner with Infrastructure, SRE, and Product Engineering to design secure-by-default cloud architectures and build practical, scalable controls across AWS, GCP, and self-managed systemsDrive control-plane and IAM security strategy across AWS and GCP, including relationships with external identity providers, RBAC models, and least privilege at scaleContinually assess posture, surface systemic and emerging risk, and set the priorities that reduce itDetection engineering, incident response & automation:Advance our detection strategy: design high-signal detections and SIEM rules (with our SIEM Management function) and own detection coverage for cloud threats end to endServe as a senior incident responder and cloud-forensics lead for cloud and run-time security investigations across AWS and GCP — and codify what you learn into standard IR playbooks and preventative controlsOwn and optimize security tooling such as CrowdStrike (EDR/CSPM/IR), Tenable, and native cloud security services, and lead our vulnerability management workflow — scanning, triage, prioritization, and remediation — for cloud assetsKubernetes & platform security:Own the security of our self-managed Kubernetes environments — control plane, nodes, workload isolation, admission control, run-time security, and the CI/CD supply chain feeding themSet the standards for Infrastructure-as-Code and pipeline security (Terraform preferred): design and harden IaC and CI/CD automation so security is built into how we shipEstablish best practices for patch management, base-image hardening, and version management across containerized and VM-based environmentsLead the security of large-scale, distributed systems and self-managed data stores (e.g., MongoDB), accounting for their real-world operational and security implicationsWHO YOU AREYou are a senior individual contributor who leads through technical depth and influence rather than authority. You can take an ambiguous, open-ended cloud security problem, define the objective yourself, and deliver a solution that becomes the way Braze does it going forward. You translate complex cloud attack paths, IAM misconfigurations, and multi-step threat scenarios into guidance engineers adopt, and you balance strong controls with operational reality. You raise the people around you — through mentorship, review, and the standards you set — and you stay current with the cloud security landscape, tools, and threats. Above all, you can walk someone through the messy middle — what you tried, what broke, and what you'd do differently.THE FEW HARD PREREQUISITES:These are the genuinely pass/fail requirements:Several years owning cloud security in production — on-call for it, not adjacent to itHands-on, not theoretical: AWS as primary cloud, working GCP, self-managed KubernetesYou read and write code (Python, TF)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 multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. In addition to cash compensation, this role qualifies for a comprehensive Total Rewards package that includes equity grants of restricted stock (RSUs) so that you will own a piece of our company.WHAT WE OFFERBraze benefits vary by location, and we encourage you to review our specific benefits offerings for each country here. More details on benefits plans will be provided if you receive an offer of employment.From offering comprehensive benefits to fostering hybrid ways of working, we’ve got you covered so you can prioritize work-life harmony. Braze offers benefits such as:Competitive compensation that may include equityRetirement and Employee Stock Purchase PlansFlexible paid time offComprehensive benefit plans covering medical, dental, vision, life, and disabilityFamily services that include fertility benefits and equal paid parental leaveProfessional development supported by formal career pathing, learning platforms, and a yearly learning stipendA curated in-office employee experience, designed to foster community, team connections, and innovationOpportunities to give back to your community, including an annual company-wide Volunteer Week and donation matching Employee Resource Groups that provide supportive communities within BrazeCollaborative, transparent, and fun culture recognized as a Great Place to WorkABOUT BRAZEBraze is the leading customer engagement platform that empowers brands to Be Absolutely Engaging. Braze helps brands deliver great customer experiences that drive value both for consumers and for their businesses. Built on a foundation of composable intelligence, BrazeAI allows marketers to combine and activate AI agents, models, and features at every touchpoint throughout the Braze Customer Engagement Platform for smarter, faster, and more meaningful customer engagement. From cross-channel messaging and journey orchestration to Al-powered decisioning and optimization, Braze enables companies to turn action into interaction through autonomous, 1:1 personalized experiences.The company has been consistently recognized as a Leader in marketing technology by industry analysts, and was named a G2 “Best of Marketing and Digital Advertising Software Product” in 2026. Braze was also named a 2026 Best Places to Work by Built In, a 2025 America’s Greenest Companies by Newsweek, and a 2025 Fortune Best Workplace in Technology by Great Place To Work. Braze is also proudly certified as a Great Place to Work in the U.S., the UK, Australia, and Singapore. The company is headquartered in New York with offices in Austin, Berlin, Bucharest, Chicago, Dubai, Jakarta, London, Paris, San Francisco, São Paulo, Singapore, Seoul, Sydney and Tokyo.BRAZE IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYERAt Braze, we strive to create equitable growth and opportunities inside and outside the organization.Building meaningful connections is at the heart of everything we do, and that includes our recruiting practices. We're committed to offering all candidates a fair, accessible, and inclusive experience – regardless of age, color, disability, gender identity, marital status, maternity, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or status as a protected veteran. When applying and interviewing with