Lead Product Platform Security Engineer

Avalara is an AI-first company focused on cloud compliance solutions, and they are seeking a Lead Product Platform Security Engineer to enhance their platform security. The role involves leading the design and implementation of security capabilities, driving the adoption of security standards, and partnering with engineering teams to embed security into workflows.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the design and implementation of secure-by-default platform capabilities, including authentication, secrets management, encryption, identity controls, and security automation services
• Establish and drive adoption of zero-trust architecture principles, least-privilege access models, and platform security standards across infrastructure and engineering environments
• Serve as the technical lead for Platform Security initiatives, providing direction, prioritization, and technical leadership across multiple teams and stakeholders
• Act as a subject matter expert on threat modeling, software supply chain security, cloud security, infrastructure security, and secure software development practices
• Drive complex, cross-functional security programs with clearly defined milestones, measurable outcomes, and organizational impact
• Develop and execute strategic remediation programs that improve security posture and reduce risk across the enterprise
• Partner with engineering leaders to integrate security capabilities into development platforms, CI/CD systems, and cloud-native architectures
• Evaluate and implement AI-enabled approaches that improve security operations, vulnerability management, and platform protection capabilities
• Mentor engineers and help elevate platform security expertise across the broader engineering organization

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, or a related technical discipline
• 12+ years of relevant professional experience, including at least 5 years focused on cloud, infrastructure, or platform security
• Strong programming experience in Java, Go, Python, or similar languages used for security automation and platform engineering
• Deep expertise in cloud platform security across AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, or OCI environments
• Expertise in container security, Kubernetes security, service mesh technologies, Infrastructure as Code, and cloud security posture management
• Strong understanding of identity and access management, network security, vulnerability management, runtime security, and software supply chain security
• Proven experience designing and integrating security tooling into CI/CD pipelines, software delivery workflows, and cloud-native platforms
• Experience leading large-scale security initiatives involving multiple engineering teams and stakeholder groups
• Strong communication and technical leadership skills with the ability to influence engineering organizations
• Experience securing large-scale SaaS or cloud-native platforms
• Experience leading platform security or security engineering programs
• Experience with AI-enabled security tooling and emerging AI security technologies
• Security certifications such as CISSP, CCSP, GCSA, or equivalent
• Experience establishing security standards, architecture patterns, and engineering governance practices