Principal Software Engineer, Platform Security (San Francisco)

To get the best candidate experience, please consider applying for a maximum of 3 roles within 12 months to ensure you are not duplicating efforts.Job CategorySoftware EngineeringJob DetailsAbout SalesforceSalesforce is the #1 AI CRM, where humans with agents drive customer success together. Here, ambition meets action. Tech meets trust. And innovation isn’t a buzzword — it’s a way of life. The world of work as we know it is changing and we're looking for Trailblazers who are passionate about bettering business and the world through AI, driving innovation, and keeping Salesforce's core values at the heart of it all.Ready to level-up your career at the company leading workforce transformation in the agentic era? You’re in the right place! Agentforce is the future of AI, and you are the future of Salesforce.We are looking for a highly skilled Principal Engineer to join our Endpoint Protection & Infrastructure Vulnerability Scanning team. Reporting directly to the Sr. Director of Endpoint Protection & Infra Vuln Scanning, you will serve as a technical anchor for a critical security engineering team — driving architecture, leading end-to-end software delivery, and setting engineering standards across the organization.This is a hands-on, high-impact role for a deeply technical engineer who thrives at the intersection of software development, security infrastructure, and platform engineering.What You'll DoLead end-to-end software development across complex security data pipelines from ingestion to canonical data stores and downstream consumers.Own system architecture for vulnerability scanning and endpoint protection platforms, including authoring System Design Records (SDRs) and Architecture Decision Records (ADRs).Drive platform reliability through availability monitoring strategies, alerting frameworks, and infrastructure hardening.Design and build APIs and services including REST API optimization, policy evaluation engines, integration adapter registries, and projection/aggregation services.Set engineering standards across the team for code quality, design consistency, and documentation practices.Mentor and guide Lead and Senior Engineers through PR reviews, sprint planning, and technical deep dives.Collaborate cross-functionally with security architects, platform teams, and partner engineering orgs to ensure clean system integration and dependency alignmentWorkload split is approximately 75% new feature development and 25% maintenance, on-call, and bug remediationSupport on-call operations on a rotating schedule, including flexibility for major incidents across time zones.Leverage AI-assisted development tools to accelerate delivery, enforce engineering rigor, and support multi-language development.What We're Looking For10+ years of core software development experience with mastery in multiple programming languages and platforms.Strong foundation in database engineering, API development, and data pipeline construction, including experience with event-driven architectures, and distributed systemsDemonstrated ability to craft and deliver large, sophisticated projects across the full software lifecycle, including experience with products released for public consumption across multiple releases.Proven experience with infrastructure hardening and operational reliability (alerting, availability monitoring, MTTR reduction).Ability to design systems at scale including experience with architecture reviews, design documentation, and cross-team alignment; experience working with engineering teams, architects, and executive leadership to craft architectural vision and roadmap.Develops technical performance architecture that solves the most complex performance and scalability challenges, with the ability to drive long-term design strategies spanning multiple complex projects.Strong engineering process discipline: PR reviews, design reviews, sprint execution, and documentation; experience with Agile/Scrum methodologies and short release cyclesAbility to provide mentorship to team members, supporting their understanding of architecture and aiding in their technical growthSkilled at fostering cross-functional technical collaboration to surface, escalate, and resolve critical issues effectively.Ability to deliver technical reports and performance presentations to customers and at industry eventsA related technical degree requiredResponsibilitiesEnsure company and customer data remains secure, utilizing knowledge of a wide variety of security disciplines, including network, application and infrastructure security.Audit Salesforce cloud infrastructure against industry and company security standards, develop uplift plan, and execute on plan to align cloud infrastructure with those standards.Collaborate with various internal teams, including infrastructure, engineering, operations, and product development to design and architect infrastructure (i.e. network, operating system, databases) and applications to protect against attackers. Serve as a hands-on technical specialist, responsible for handling the complex and detailed technical work necessary to establish and maintain enhanced cloud security.Architect, configure, manage, and deploy technologies to improve Salesforce’s ability to prevent intrusions. Track down targeted vulnerabilities and defend against active adversaries. Research, gather threat intelligence and build, optimize, and automate systems to consume threat feeds and track adversariesCreate innovative solutions to complex security problems, including the design and use of software to identify security issues, deploy security solutions, and perform reporting activitiesUtilize graduate-level research/analytical skills to understand the latest threats and methodologies for effectively designing advanced controls in the prevention, detection, and reaction to threats to the environments.Mentor and guide engineering teams to achieve team deliverables.Communicate clearly to both Engineering and Executive audiences.Desired QualificationsYou have 5+ years experience in a computer network-related occupationYou have 2+ years experience in each of the following skills:Unix/Linux system administration, including working with Windows environments and hardening guidelines;Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Microsoft Azure and other public and private cloud infrastructure (EC2, VPC, ELB, S3, EMR, IAM); andBuilding and operating secure infrastructuresYou have some experience in each of the following skills:Security disciplines including security engineering, vulnerability analysis, firewalls, and encryption technologiesTransmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) networking, such as Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) stack, TCP, and Software-Defined Networking (SDN)Writing code in programming languages such as Python,and Ruby to automate software/systemsUtilizing knowledge of core protocols and cryptographic standards to guide secure implementationsSecurity technologies, including host and network-based protection and detection technologiesNetwork, host and application security practicesUnleash Your PotentialWhen you join Salesforce, you’ll be limitless in all areas of your life. Our benefits and resources support you to find balance and be your best, and our AI agents accelerate your impact so you can do your best. Together, we’ll bring the power of Agentforce to organizations of all sizes and deliver amazing experiences that customers love. Apply today to not only shape the future — but to redefine what’s possible — for yourself, for AI, and the world.AccommodationsIf you need a reasonable accommodation during the application or the recruiting process, please submit a request via this Accommodations Request Form.Please note that Salesforce uses artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help our recruiters assess and evaluate candidates’ resumes and qualifications throughout the recruiting process. Humans will always make any candidate selection and hiring decisions. Please see our Candidate Privacy Statement for more information about how we use your personal data and your rights, including with regard to use of AI tools and opt out options.Posting StatementSalesforce is an equal opportunity employer and maintains a policy of non-discrimination with all employees and applicants for employment. What does that mean exactly? It means that at Salesforce, we believe in equality for all. And we believe we can lead the path to equality in part by creating a workplace that’s inclusive, and free from discrimination. Know your rights: workplace discrimination is illegal. Any employee or potential employee will be assessed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications – without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, transgender status, age, disability, veteran or marital status, political viewpoint, or other classifications protected by law. This policy applies to current and prospective employees, no matter where they are in their Salesforce employment journey. It also applies to recruiting, hiring, job assignment, compensation, promotion, benefits, training, assessment of job performance, discipline, termination, and everything in between. Recruiting, hiring, and promotion decisions at Salesforce are fair and based on merit. The same goes for compensation, benefits, promotions, transfers, reduction in workforce, recall, training, and education.In the United States, compensation offered will be determined by factors such as location, job level, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Certain roles may be eligible for incentive compensation, equity, and benefits. Salesforce offers a variety of benefits to help you live well including: time off programs, medical, dental, vision, mental health support, paid parental leave, life and disability insurance, 401(k), and an employee stock purchasing program. Mo