Application Security Engineer II

Thumbtack
Ontario +1 more
Remote

Who this role is best for

Best suited to software engineers with application security expertise working in a collaborative, remote-first environment.

Best fit for

  • Candidates with 4+ years of software engineering or application security experience and a track record of secure-by-default design
    — “4+ years of experience in software engineering and/or application security”
  • Individuals who can translate security concepts into practical solutions for engineering teams with varying expertise
    — “Clear written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain security issues to engineers with varying levels of security expertise”
  • Professionals who thrive in remote settings and are comfortable with cross-functional collaboration in a fast-growing tech environment
    — “We partner closely with Product, Engineering, Platform, and Data teams to shape system design”

Things to consider

  • The role demands independent execution and follow-through on security initiatives without constant oversight
    — “Strong sense of ownership over assigned work, with the ability to execute independently and follow through”
  • Candidates must be prepared to engage in threat modeling and design reviews as core responsibilities
    — “Participate in application security design reviews and threat modeling for new and existing systems”

How to stand out

  • Highlight experience with secure-by-default patterns and practical application of OWASP Top 10 knowledge
    — “Practical experience with application security techniques such as ... secure design patterns ... OWASP Top 10”
  • Emphasize prior work in embedding security into tooling and infrastructure, not just post-hoc remediation
    — “Design security into the system itself. This means building secure defaults, paved paths, and reusable building blocks”
  • Showcase ability to recommend security improvements that balance risk and engineering velocity
    — “Ability to assess security risks and break down complex problems, reason about tradeoffs, make sound recommendations”
Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · HighAutonomy · MediumDecision Impact · Team

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • deliver application security work within defined projects
  • identify and remediate application security risks
  • participate in security incident response
Typical background
4+ years of experience in software engineering and/or application security

Skills & requirements

Required

Application SecurityThreat ModelingSecure Coding PracticesOwasp Top 10Vulnerability RemediationAuthentication And AuthorizationSecrets Management

Preferred

Distributed SystemsLinux/unix System AdministrationIncident Response

Stack & domain

Application Security TechniquesThreat ModelingSecure Design PatternsAuthentication And AuthorizationSecrets ManagementVulnerability RemediationSecure Coding PracticesAbility To Assess Security RisksBreak Down Complex ProblemsReason About TradeoffsMake Sound RecommendationsDeliver Practical, Impactful SolutionsCybersecurityApplication SecuritySoftware Engineering

About the role

Original posting from Thumbtack via Ashby

THUMBTACK HELPS MILLIONS OF PEOPLE CONFIDENTLY CARE FOR THEIR HOMES.

Thumbtack is the one app you need to take care of and improve your home — from personalized guidance to AI tools and a best-in-class hiring experience. Every day in every county of the U.S., people turn to Thumbtack to complete urgent repairs, seasonal maintenance and bigger improvements. We help homeowners know which projects to do, when to do them and who to hire from our growing community of 300,000 local service businesses. If making an impact inspires you, join us. Imagine what we’ll build together.

ABOUT THE CYBERSECURITY TEAM

The Security Engineering team at Thumbtack is focused on enabling innovation at scale by making the secure path the easiest path. We believe strong security is not a blocker to velocity, but a force multiplier when it is designed into systems, platforms, and developer workflows from the start.

We partner closely with Product, Engineering, Platform, and Data teams to shape system design, guide architectural decisions, and evolve Thumbtack’s security posture as the company scales. Through collaboration, automation, and thoughtful tradeoffs, we help ensure Thumbtack can ship fast, innovate boldly, and maintain customer trust.

THE CHALLENGE

As Thumbtack scales and increasingly incorporates AI-powered features into our products and internal systems, security must evolve without slowing innovation. The number of services, deployment patterns, and data flows continues to grow, and traditional approaches that rely heavily on manual reviews or after-the-fact controls do not scale to meet this need.

Instead, the challenge is to design security into the system itself. This means building secure defaults, paved paths, and reusable building blocks that product and engineering teams can adopt with minimal friction. By embedding security directly into architectures, tooling, and infrastructure, we reduce cognitive load on engineers and enable teams to move quickly and confidently while meaningfully lowering risk.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

  • Own and deliver application security work within defined projects or domains. Contribute to cross-functional security initiatives, executing clearly scoped pieces of larger efforts.
  • Identify, prioritize, and help remediate application security risks in partnership with engineering teams.
  • Apply secure-by-default patterns and approved architectures when designing or reviewing systems.
  • Partner with product and engineering teams to assess risk and recommend practical, risk-informed security improvements. Participate in application security design reviews and threat modeling for new and existing systems.
  • Write code, reviews, and documentation to address vulnerabilities and reduce recurring classes of issues.
  • Participate in security incident response and contribute to post-incident analysis and remediation.

IN ORDER TO BE SUCCESSFUL, YOU MUST BRING

  • 4+ years of experience in software engineering and/or application security.
  • Practical experience with application security techniques such as threat modeling, secure design patterns, authentication and authorization, secrets management, and vulnerability remediation. Strong understanding of secure coding practices and common application security risks (e.g., OWASP Top 10).
  • Ability to assess security risks and break down complex problems, reason about tradeoffs, make sound recommendations, and deliver practical, impactful solutions with guidance when needed.
  • Strong sense of ownership over assigned work, with the ability to execute independently and follow through.
  • Clear written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain security issues to engineers with varying levels of security expertise.
  • A growth mindset and interest in learning from more senior engineers and expanding depth in both application and cloud infrastructure security over time.

EXPECTED SALARY RANGES

  • For candidates living in Ontario and British Columbia, the expected total cash compensation (base salary + variable pay, if applicable) range for this role is currently $118,200.00 - $152,900.00.

Actual offered salaries will vary and will be based on various factors, such as calibrated job level, qualifications, skills, competencies, and proficiency for the role.

Thumbtack embraces diversity. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and do not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, age, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, marital status, military or veteran status, genetic information, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, provincial, state, or local law. We also will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, consistent with applicable law.

Thumbtack is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation for a medical condition or disability during any part of the application process, please contact: recruitingops@thumbtack.com.

For information about how Thumbtack collects, uses, and shares personal information about job applicants, please see our Job Applicant Privacy Policy https://www.thumbtack.com/job-applicant-privacy-policy.

We put as much craftsmanship into candidate safety as we do into the hiring experience itself. While scammers may try to impersonate our team, we’ll never ask you for money, banking info, or SSNs during hiring. Check out our blueprint on how to spot the fakes. https://careers.thumbtack.com/recruiting-scams

Source: Thumbtack careers (Ashby)

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