Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Avalara is an AI-first company focused on revolutionizing tax compliance through innovative technology. They are seeking a Principal Security Engineer to lead the design and implementation of platform-wide security capabilities, partnering with various teams to enhance security across their SaaS platform.
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
Skills
- 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
Benefits
- Paid time off
- Paid parental leave
- Bonuses
- Private medical insurance
- Life insurance
- Disability insurance
- Inclusive culture and diversity
- 8 employee-run resource groups, each with senior leadership and exec sponsorship
Company Overview
Avalara is a cloud-based platform that provides tax compliance software and automated solutions. It was founded in 2004, and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, USA, with a workforce of 5001-10000 employees. Its website is http://www.avalara.com.Company H1B Sponsorship
Avalara has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships, with 4 in 2026, 26 in 2025, 33 in 2024, 35 in 2023, 37 in 2022, 39 in 2021, 26 in 2020. Please note that this does not guarantee sponsorship for this specific role.