Staff Security Engineer

Google’s Silicon team is building secure foundations for devices that matter, including Tensor SoC and Pixel smartphones. As a Staff Security Engineer based in Mountain View, CA (onsite), you will help strengthen system security through offensive security work, threat modeling, security reviews, and vulnerability mitigation across firmware and software.

Role overview

In this position, you will assess attack surfaces and validate security risks using penetration testing and vulnerability research. You will also collaborate with software and hardware engineers to identify issues early, improve defenses, and apply system-level security thinking to increase attack resistance across the platform.

Responsibilities

• Conduct offensive security assessments, vulnerability research, and penetration testing across Tensor SoC firmware and software stacks.
• Perform architecture and implementation-level threat modeling, design reviews, and security audits.
• Develop automated testing tools, fuzzers, and exploits to identify and validate hardware and software vulnerabilities.
• Partner cross-functionally with hardware, software, and product teams to design mitigation strategies and drive security best practices.
• Use software and hardware security knowledge to improve overall system security and attack resistance, proposing hardware and software mitigation strategies for vulnerabilities.

Required qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience.
• 8 years of experience with offensive security engineering (e.g., penetration testing, threat modeling, vulnerability testing, or code-level security auditing).
• 8 years of coding experience in one or more general purpose languages (C, C++, Python, or Rust).
• 3 years of experience leading teams in a technical capacity or leading technical risk analysis in an enterprise environment.
• Experience with embedded software, device drivers, kernels, or firmware.

Preferred qualifications

• Master’s degree or PhD in Computer Science, or a related technical field.
• Experience with reverse engineering, static analysis or dynamic analysis (fuzzing) and exploit development.
• Experience with security reviews, penetration testing, vulnerability analysis, and finding and fixing security issues.
• Experience with commercial electronic devices, preferably smartphones.
• Knowledge of security engineering, computer and network security, authentication, security protocols, and applied cryptography.

Technologies

• C, C++, Python, Rust
• Tensor SoC, Pixel smartphones
• Firmware, device drivers, kernels

Location and compensation

• Location: Mountain View, CA (onsite)
• Salary: USD 207,000 - 300,000 per yearly
• US benefits: $207,000 - $300,000 (USD) + 20% bonus target + equity + benefits

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience.