About this role
Leading engagement with the external AI security community and serving as the internal expert for AI-related security risk occupy the daily routine for the Principal Engineer, AI/ML Security at digitalocean98. Reporting to the VP and Deputy CISO while collaborating closely with Security Data Science and Security Engineering teams, the person in this role defines how security controls integrate into customer-facing products and builds in-house AI models, guardrails, and automations. Responsibilities also include leading adversarial testing, executing threat modeling across the AI lifecycle from data ingestion to model serving, and owning the multi-year AI security roadmap.
Operating in Austin as a remote position, the team focuses on operationalizing machine learning security at cloud scale and architecting robust AI Risk and Governance frameworks. Candidates who thrive here possess deep practitioner-level knowledge of adversarial machine learning attacks and defenses, combined with strong programming skills in Python and Go. The ideal applicant translates complex academic research into practical engineering guidance and effectively communicates technical risk to executive and board-level audiences.
What you will do
- Collaborate with Product Security and Engineering leadership to integrate AI security controls into customer-facing products.
- Partner with Security Data Science and Engineering to build, deploy, and maintain in-house AI models, guardrails, and automated tooling.
- Execute threat modeling across the entire AI lifecycle, encompassing data ingestion, fine-tuning, retrieval-augmented generation, and model serving.
- Lead adversarial testing and AI red teaming initiatives such as prompt-injection, jailbreaking, evasion, and poisoning evaluations.
- Own and drive the multi-year AI security strategy and roadmap to prioritize risks as the threat landscape evolves.
- Architect the AI Risk and Governance framework by establishing policies, standards, and controls for responsible system deployment.
- Communicate risk posture and program progress to the CISO, senior leadership, and board members using clear business context.
What you need
- Bring 10 or more years of experience in cybersecurity, including 4 to 5 years focused on AI/ML security, adversarial machine learning, or security data science.
- Demonstrate a track record of defining and driving organizational-level AI or security programs and owning overarching strategies.
- Possess practitioner-level knowledge of adversarial machine learning attacks and defenses such as evasion, poisoning, and model extraction.
- Write strong production-grade code in Python and Go to build security tooling, detection mechanisms, and guardrails independently.
- Review and evaluate complex AI and machine learning system architectures across data ingestion, feature engineering, and training pipelines.
- Hold a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Security, Mathematics, or a related field, or possess equivalent practical experience.
- Maintain fluency in industry frameworks including OWASP LLM Top 10, MITRE ATLAS, NIST AI RMF, and the EU AI Act.
Nice to have
- Prior experience in a cloud provider, security product company, or large-scale internet platform operating AI systems at customer-facing scale
- Familiarity with LLM security in production environments involving RAG pipelines, agentic frameworks, and model APIs
Benefits
- Reimbursement for relevant conferences, training, and education
- Access to LinkedIn Learning with over 10,000 courses
- Employee Assistance Program and local employee meetups
- Flexible time off policy
- Bonus eligibility determined by company and individual performance
- Equity compensation upon hire and option to participate in the Employee Stock Purchase Program
Skills and tech stack
Questions candidates ask
Is this position remote?
This is a remote role.
What is the compensation range for this role?
The salary range for this position is $230,400 to $288,000 based on market data, relevant years of experience, and skills.
What programming languages are required?
Strong programming skills in Python and Go are required with a track record of building security tooling and automation.
Who does this role report to?
In this role, you will report to the VP, Deputy CISO and partner closely with Security Data Science and Security leadership teams.
What are the application limits at the company?
You may apply to a maximum of 3 positions within any 180-day period.