Staff Security Engineer, Data Security

Summary

Join Airbnb's Information Security team as a Staff Security Engineer specializing in Data Security and become the primary architect and owner of the company's data protection strategy. Partner with leaders across various departments to design, implement, and enforce robust data protection measures. A typical day involves strategic ownership of data security, technical leadership in implementing security solutions, managing third-party data security, conducting risk assessments, participating in incident response, mentoring engineers, and staying current on data security advancements. This role requires deep expertise in data security, strong understanding of global data protection regulations, and proven experience in leading cross-functional projects. The position is US-Remote Eligible with occasional office work or offsite attendance. Compensation includes a competitive salary range, bonus, equity, benefits, and Employee Travel Credits.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Security, or related field (or equivalent practical experience)
• 9+ years in security engineering roles, with deep expertise in data security
• Deep, hands-on expertise with encryption, key management, secure data storage, secure data transfer, data loss prevention, and security in cloud environments
• Strong understanding of global data protection and privacy regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA, PCI-DSS, SOC2)
• Demonstrated technical excellence in designing, building, and scaling data security solutions across complex, distributed systems
• Ability to independently identify and solve the most challenging, ambiguous technical problems that have broad organizational impact
• Track record of owning and delivering long-term, cross-functional projects and roadmaps in the area of data protection - directly driving key business outcomes
• Proven experience leading cross-functional initiatives and influencing organizational direction and architecture
• Exceptional communication, collaboration, and stakeholder management skills
• Experience interacting confidently and credibly with executives, non-technical partners, and external stakeholders, clearly articulating risk and technical tradeoffs
• Demonstrated commitment to fostering an inclusive, high-performing culture by developing others, promoting best practices, and leading by example in both technical and interpersonal domains

Responsibilities

• Define, drive, and continuously evolve a comprehensive data security strategy protecting data at rest (online/offline), in transit, and when shared with third parties
• Set the long-term vision and roadmap for data security at Airbnb working with partners to execute on the vision and roadmap
• Design and oversee the implementation of scalable, resilient protections for secure data storage and transfer, including encryption, key management, access controls, and secure data sharing frameworks
• Provide expert guidance to engineering teams and influence architecture and system design decisions
• Establish and enforce policies, standards, and technical solutions for secure data transfer and integration with external partners, vendors, and APIs, while also ensuring Airbnb’s compliance with global regulatory requirements
• Lead risk assessments and data security reviews for critical systems, products, and partners
• Collaborate with Security Compliance, Privacy, and Legal to ensure the practical compliance with the highest standards of global data protection laws (GDPR, CCPA, etc.)
• Partner with security and engineering response teams to contribute to technical investigations of significant data security incidents, perform root cause analysis, and champion remediation
• Use these incidents as a way to drive continuous improvement efforts to strengthen data security maturity
• Mentor, coach, and up-level engineers across the organization on data security best practices
• Develop and deliver training materials and documentation to empower both technical and non-technical teams
• Stay at the forefront of developments in data security
• Influence Airbnb’s internal and external security posture by participating in industry forums, adopting emerging technologies, and publishing best practices

Benefits

• Bonus
• Equity
• Benefits
• Employee Travel Credits