Security Engineer

Get to Know Us Horizon3.ai is a fast-growing, remote cybersecurity company dedicated to the mission of enabling organizations to proactively find, fix and verify exploitable attack vectors before criminals exploit them. Our flagship product, the NodeZeroTM platform, delivers production-safe autonomous pentests and other key assessment operations that scale across the largest internal, external, cloud, and hybrid cloud environments. NodeZero has been adopted by organizations of all sizes, from small educational institutions to government agencies and Global 100 enterprises. It is used by IT Ops/SecOps teams, consulting pentesters, and MSSPs and MSPs. We are a fusion of former U.S. Special Operations cyber operators, startup engineers & operators, and formerly frustrated cybersecurity practitioners. We're committed to helping solve our common security problems: ineffective security tools and false positives, resulting in alert fatigue, blind spots, "checkbox” security culture, cybersecurity skills shortage, and the long lead time and expense of hiring outside consultants. Collectively, we are a team of learn it alls, committed to a culture of respect, collaboration, ownership, and results. What You’ll Do This role will lead the engineers responsible for securing our Cloud environments and embedding security into the software development lifecycle. The ideal candidate brings strong technical depth in cloud security, practical application security experience, and the ability to partner effectively across engineering, infrastructure, and compliance. By strengthening both our cloud and application security posture, this role will directly support the security, resilience, and scalability of our platform and internal systems. This role will be responsible for….. Lead, coach, and grow the Security Engineering team, including both Cloud Security Engineers and Application Security Engineers Set priorities and operating rhythms for the team, balancing strategic security investments, day-to-day engineering support, and incident response Design and implement security controls across our Cloud environments, such as but not limited to: AWS, Azure, GCP, Digital Ocean, OCI, etc.., including IAM, SCPs, VPC security, S3 bucket policies, security groups, key management, and logging Continuously monitor and improve cloud posture by managing and tuning services such as GuardDuty, Security Hub, AWS WAF, CloudTrail, and Inspector Partner with engineering teams to embed security into the SDLC, including secure design reviews, threat modeling, architecture review, and CI/CD security automation Lead the application security program, including secure coding practices, vulnerability management, developer enablement, and product security reviews Continuously monitor and improve application security tooling by managing and tuning services such as SonarQube, Dependency Track, ZAproxy, Trufflehog, Trivy, Build and maintain GitLab CI/CD pipelines and tooling for automated security testing and scanning of cloud resources and applications Conduct threat modeling, architecture reviews, and risk assessments for cloud deployments, product features, and new systems Implement security monitoring, secure systems hardening, and detective controls for malicious activity across AWS and application environments Respond quickly to new and emerging threats and vulnerabilities; support investigations, post-mortem analysis, root cause identification, and preventive actions Define and enforce identity and access management best practices, including least privilege, federated identity, role-based access control, and automated remediation Develop and maintain security policies, standards, and procedures aligned to frameworks such as SOC 2, GDPR, ISO 27001, FedRAMP, NIST, CIS, and MITRE ATT&CK Create metrics, reporting, and risk narratives that communicate security posture, trends, and priorities to business owners and leadership Evaluate and recommend new tools, techniques, and controls to improve the security posture of our cloud and application environments Demonstrate a commitment to integrity, process improvement, and customer satisfaction As a Manager, you will be responsible for: Recruiting and onboarding talented individuals to support our organizational goals Mentoring, coaching, equipping, and developing your team Recognizing and retaining high performers Leading horizontally with peer management and senior leaders What You’ll Bring Must be proficient in AWS security services, Terraform, GitLab, and modern CI/CD security practices Must have a deep understanding of AWS security architecture, IAM, cloud posture management, data security principles, and secure SDLC practices Must have experience leading or closely partnering with Application Security efforts, including threat modeling, vulnerability management, and security reviews Must be knowledgeable in compliance standards and security frameworks, including SOC 2, GDPR, ISO 27001, FedRAMP, NIST, CIS, and MITRE ATT&CK Must have strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain technical risks and tradeoffs to both technical and non-technical stakeholders Must be able to work independently and as part of a team, with a strong sense of ownership and accountability Must have experience developing metrics and reporting that communicate risk and security posture to leadership Must have familiarity with DLP concepts, including data classification, identification, and protection Experience: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Information Systems, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience 5+ years of experience in cybersecurity 5+ years of experience securing AWS environments 5+ years of experience securing cloud-native systems and modern software delivery pipelines Prior experience leading security engineers or serving as a technical lead in a security engineering function Required Tech Stack Experience AWS Terraform Crossplane ArgoCD GitLab CI/CD security tooling Cloud security monitoring and posture tools IAM and access control systems What Sets You Apart? Experience leading both Cloud Security and Application Security teams AWS Certified Security – Specialty CISSP or other relevant security certifications Experience in high-growth SaaS or cybersecurity companies Experience building security programs that scale across engineering organizations Broad knowledge across the security domain, with deeper specialization in one or more areas such as incident management, detection engineering, response tooling, or logs/events processing Compensation and Values At Horizon3, we believe that our people are our greatest asset, and our compensation philosophy reflects this core value. We are committed to fostering an environment where all employees feel valued, respected, and rewarded for their contributions. Our compensation structure is designed to be fair, competitive, and transparent, ensuring that every team member is recognized and compensated equitably across roles, levels, and locations. In accordance with various State’s transparency regulations, we provide the following salary range information for this position: Base salary range: $149,850 - $185,000 annually. The exact salary will be determined based on the selected candidate’s location, qualifications, experience, and relevant skills. Additional compensation: All full-time roles are eligible for an equity package in the form of stock options. Perks of Horizon3.ai Inclusive Team: We value diversity and promote an inclusive culture where everyone can thrive. Growth Opportunities: Be part of a dynamic and growing team with numerous career development opportunities. Innovative Culture: Work in a collaborative environment that encourages creativity and out-of-the-box thinking. Hybrid & Remote Work: We embrace a mix of remote and hybrid work models depending on role and location, including our Chicago office, where some roles require regular in-office presence. Competitive Compensation: We offer competitive salary, equity and benefits. Our benefits include health, vision & dental insurance for you and your family, a flexible vacation policy, and generous parental leave. You Belong Here Horizon3 is not just an equal opportunity employer - we are a community that values diversity, equity, and inclusion as fundamental principles of our culture and success. We are dedicated to fostering a workplace where everyone feels welcome and respected, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, hair length or any other legally protected status by law. Our commitment to diversity and inclusion means we strive to attract, develop, and retain a workforce that reflects the varied communities we serve. We believe that diverse perspectives drive innovation and strengthen our ability to create cutting-edge cybersecurity solutions. At Horizon3, every team member is valued and supported in an environment that encourages personal and professional growth. We welcome candidates from all backgrounds and experiences, and we encourage all qualified individuals to apply. Come be a part of Horizon3, where your unique contributions are recognized, and your potential is limitless. Other Duties Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice. Application Note In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.