Senior Security Engineer

**January** Senior Security Engineer; $200K – $234K - Offers Equity; New York City, Hybrid

**About Company** At January, we're rebuilding one of the most broken parts of consumer finance: what happens after someone falls behind on debt. Our autonomous, compliant collections platform works directly for creditors, using data and AI to personalize outreach and offer consumers clearer, more compassionate ways to resolve what they owe. Creditors recover more effectively with less risk; consumers get dignity and control during a distressing situation.

January has serviced $20B+ in debt and engaged 20M+ consumers. We outperform traditional agencies by 30%+ for 80%+ of our clients, consumer satisfaction is ~50% higher than at the largest banks, and the product is roughly 300x more efficient than traditional collection agencies. Customers like Affirm and LendingClub stay and expand. We're now growing beyond late-stage debt collection into a multi-product platform, backed by Series B funding, with ~100+ people working out of Nolita, NYC.

**About the Role** As a Senior Security Engineer, you'll set a new standard for security in an industry where trust is profoundly broken. Join at a rare inflection point: we've earned the hard-fought trust of leading financial institutions, and now you'll build the security foundation that scales this trust to tens of millions of consumers. You'll architect dual trust — securing both consumer-facing experiences and bank-grade enterprise systems — while solving technical challenges that exist nowhere else: privacy-preserving data systems, multi-jurisdiction compliance automation, and AI-enabled decisioning. You'll shape security strategy and culture from the ground up with direct influence on company direction, proving your security work isn't overhead. It's the competitive moat that unlocks enterprise partnerships and enables market expansion.

**Responsibilities** - Embed security as a competitive advantage: Transforms January's security into product capabilities that banks choose us for, not just a compliance checkbox they tolerate. Unlocks Tier 1 partnerships and enterprise deals competitors can't close. - Drive security-by-design across product and application development: Partners with product and engineering to identify and elevate critical risks before production, with deep focus on application security (frontend, Flask services, database). Embeds security into discovery and design while building secure-by-default patterns into development workflows. Accelerates product development through early engagement and clear guidance, not late-stage gate-keeping. - Architect systems for bank-grade data protection: Designs and implements data classification, encryption, and access control meeting regulated client requirements. Establishes automated controls ensuring sensitive data never leaves authorized boundaries. - Cultivate a security-first engineering culture: Influences engineering teams to adopt security-first thinking without sacrificing velocity. Leads incident response with clarity and urgency, ensuring January emerges from security events stronger through rigorous post-mortems. - Scale compliance with minimal overhead: Maintains SOC 2, PCI-DSS, and financial compliance through automated systems. Builds infrastructure that auto-generates audit evidence and eliminates compliance bottlenecks.

**Required Skills** A. 5+ years of security engineering experience, ideally in cloud-native or fintech environments B. Hands-on building application-level security controls in cloud environments (AWS, Terraform, Snowflake) C. Track record implementing security that accelerates velocity, not blocks it D. Technical depth: secure coding (Python, JavaScript), infrastructure-as-code, CI/CD security E. Proficiency in common scripting and programming languages, such as Python, JavaScript, and Bash, is strongly preferred. F. Knowledge of OWASP, secure coding practices, and common vulnerability patterns

**Bonus Skills** - Experience with compliance frameworks (SOC 2, PCI-DSS, bank security standards) preferred. - Influences through partnership, decides rapidly despite uncertainty - Translates technical trade-offs into business language

**Ideal Background** - Engineering Cheat Sheet: link here - Eng Overview Snapshot: january.com/eng-overview - Background from **top‑pedigree schools** (e.g., Harvard, Berkeley, NYU). - Prior experience at **high‑caliber engineering companies** (e.g., Asana‑type orgs, likened to “Palantir‑model” engineering cultures). - Clear **“spike” signals** in the resume: entrepreneurial ventures (even failed), founding side projects, starting clubs, or other forms of hustle and ambition. - Rapid rise through ranks at previous companies and evidence of high‑ceiling potential

**Logistical Info** - Location: New York (hybrid, 3+ days per week in-office) - Compensation: $200K – $234K + Equity - Number of openings: 1 - **Other:** Open to relocation for strong non-NYC candidates (must relocate within 60 days); visa transfers by default (not new visas), case-by-case discussion

**Green Flags** - Startup / scrappy-stage pedigree with a clear standout ("spike") on at least one dimension. - Concrete AI/LLM work shipped in production (not IDE assistance). - Individual ownership with quantified, durable outcomes. - Strong writing and structured communication (writing-first culture); a specific, personal reason for January. **Red Flags** - "Cog in the machine" — big-tech / incumbent with no evidence of standout impact or initiative. - Fewer than 5 years of relevant experience (junior). - Below the tenure/level bar; no startup or scrappy-stage experience. - AI usage only at the tool-name level with nothing concretely built.

**Interview Process** - Recruiter Screen - Hiring Manager Screen - Panel Round - Executive Interview - Offer