Your role and responsibilities

We're not just building better tech. We're rewriting how data moves and what the world can do with it. With Confluent, data doesn't sit still. Our platform puts information in motion, streaming in near real-time so companies can react faster, build smarter, and deliver experiences as dynamic as the world around them.

It takes a certain kind of person to join this team. Those who ask hard questions, give honest feedback, and show up for each other. No egos, no solo acts. Just smart, curious humans pushing toward something bigger, together.

One Confluent. One Team. One Data Streaming Platform.

About the Role:
As a Staff Application Security Engineer at Confluent, you will join a team of security architects and engineers responsible for shaping and advancing the application security strategy across our on-premises products and cloud services. In this role, you will go beyond implementation to define the long-term security posture of our ecosystem, spanning high-scale distributed systems, on-prem deployments, and globally operated cloud platforms.

You will lead the design and evolution of application security architecture, ensuring security is embedded throughout the product lifecycle-from early design decisions to cloud deployment and ongoing operations. Acting as a strategic partner to Engineering and Product leadership, you will influence architectural direction and proactively mitigate systemic and emerging security risks.

This role plays a key part in building and sustaining a strong security culture across Engineering, Product, and the broader organization. You will architect and oversee security automation and tooling that scales security operations and enables consistent, high-quality outcomes. The ideal candidate brings deep technical expertise and sound security judgment, with a proven ability to eliminate entire classes of vulnerabilities through architecture, automation, and cross-functional leadership.

What You will Do:
• Partner closely with Engineering, Product, and Platform teams to identify security risks early, influence architectural decisions, and drive adoption of secure-by-design practices across the organization.
• Define and standardize threat modeling frameworks and security design standards, and lead security design reviews for complex, distributed systems, providing actionable architectural guidance to engineers and product managers.
• Serve as the subject matter expert (SME) for product security implementation reviews, overseeing security code reviews and API security testing while providing definitive remediation guidance.
• Architect and drive the roadmap for security automation, building scalable software security tooling to transform product security operations and vulnerability management practices.
• Design and lead the deployment of automation and orchestration frameworks that integrate security seamlessly into the cloud-native deployment pipeline.
• Proactively identify new vulnerability classes, lead research initiatives and orchestrate complex table-top exercises to keep the organization ahead of the evolving threat landscape.
• Strategically identify and deploy advanced technology controls to maximize observability and harden key attack surfaces across the ecosystem.

Required education

Bachelor's Degree

Preferred education

Master's Degree

Required technical and professional expertise

• 10+ years of hands-on application security experience, who can drive measurable security improvements across large-scale, distributed systems and global engineering organizations.
• Comprehensive knowledge of security fundamentals as applied to modern web applications and cloud-native platforms including secure software design and architecture, secure coding practices, common vulnerability classes.
• Ability to partner as a trusted peer with Engineering and Product leadership to embed security into the core architecture of the organization.
• Ability to lead technical investigation and response to application security incidents while driving preventive improvements through architecture and automation.
• Proven experience evolving the software development lifecycle to embed security by default, from securing CI/CD pipelines and build systems to implementing automated security guardrails in cloud-native deployment workflows. Passionate about applying AI and LLMs to automate complex security workflows, reduce manual toil, and drive measurable improvements in security outcomes.
• Experience in Go, Python, or Java, with the ability to design and build scalable security automation frameworks.
• Experience in leading cross-functional initiatives in distributed environments, translating security requirements into clear, executable technical roadmaps.
• A data-driven decision-maker who can balance security requirements with business velocity and engineering trade-offs to deliver outcomes.
• Ability to raise the organization's security bar through architectural reviews, advanced technical guidance, and the development of engineers across all levels.

Preferred technical and professional experience

• 12+ years of hands-on application security experience

OTHER RELEVANT JOB DETAILS

IBM offers a competitive and comprehensive benefits program. Eligible employees may have access to:

- Healthcare benefits including medical & prescription drug coverage, dental, vision, and mental health & well being

- Financial programs such as 401(k), cash balance pension plan, the IBM Employee Stock Purchase Plan, financial counseling, life insurance, short & long- term disability coverage, and opportunities for performance based salary incentive programs

- Generous paid time off including 12 holidays, minimum 56 hours sick time, 120 hours vacation, 12 weeks parental bonding leave in accordance with IBM Policy, and other Paid Care Leave programs. IBM also offers paid family leave benefits to eligible employees where required by applicable law

- Training and educational resources on our personalized, AI-driven learning platform where IBMers can grow skills and obtain industry-recognized certifications to achieve their career goals

- Diverse and inclusive employee resource groups, giving & volunteer opportunities, and discounts on retail products, services & experiences

We consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable law.

This position was posted on the date cited in the key job details section and is anticipated to remain posted for 21 days from this date or less if not needed to fill the role.

IBM will not be providing visa sponsorship for this position now or in the future. Therefore, in order to be considered for this position, you must have the ability to work without a need for current or future visa sponsorship.

The compensation range and benefits for this position are based on a full-time schedule for a full calendar year. The salary will vary depending on your job-related skills, experience and location. Pay increment and frequency of pay will be in accordance with employment classification and applicable laws. For part time roles, your compensation and benefits will be adjusted to reflect your hours. Benefits may be pro-rated for those who start working during the calendar year.