Security Engineer, Detection and Response (uk)

at Writer · AI Frontier · London, United Kingdom · Engineering, product & design

Security engineer focused on detecting and responding to threats targeting AI infrastructure, training data, and model deployments. This role involves building detection systems, automated response playbooks, leading incident response, proactive threat hunting across GPU clusters and training environments, and developing detection-as-code frameworks. It requires collaboration with AI Security research, Cloud Infrastructure, and Software Security Engineering teams to protect enterprise-grade AI platforms.

What you'd actually do

  1. Design and implement detection strategies that identify AI-specific threats including prompt injection, model extraction, data poisoning, adversarial examples, and unauthorized access to training datasets or model weights across our distributed infrastructure
  2. Build automated response playbooks and orchestration workflows that contain threats without human intervention, creating self-healing security systems that reduce mean time to response from hours to minutes while automatically remediating compromised inference endpoints
  3. Lead security incident response coordination across all teams (Cloud, AppSec, Enterprise, AI Security) when AI infrastructure or models are compromised, conducting forensic investigations on training pipeline attacks and model manipulation attempts while drafting clear incident communications for engineering and executive leadership
  4. Hunt proactively for sophisticated threats across GPU clusters and training infrastructure by analyzing model outputs for signs of compromise, reproducing AI-specific vulnerabilities from security research, and identifying visibility gaps in distributed training environments before adversaries exploit them
  5. Build detection-as-code frameworks with version control and automated deployment, onboard telemetry from AI training infrastructure and inference endpoints, and create dashboards that track model security metrics, GPU utilization patterns, and access to sensitive research data

Skills

Required

  • 3-5+ years in security operations, detection engineering, or incident response
  • 3+ years specifically securing AI/ML infrastructure, high-performance computing environments, or other distributed systems at scale
  • Strong programming skills in Python, KQL, SPL, or similar languages
  • Experience with SIEM platforms, detection technologies, and forensic investigation techniques
  • Demonstrated ability to build detection for novel attack techniques
  • Ability to conduct forensics in complex distributed environments
  • Self-directed execution mindset
  • Track record of securing high-value intellectual property
  • Track record of automating incident response in complex environments
  • Ability to identify critical security gaps through proactive threat hunting

Nice to have

  • Security guardrails

What the JD emphasized

  • AI-specific threats
  • automated response
  • GPU clusters
  • distributed training environments
  • AI infrastructure
  • model deployments
  • training data
  • model weights
  • inference endpoints
  • training pipeline attacks
  • model manipulation attempts
  • model outputs
  • AI-specific vulnerabilities
  • visibility gaps
  • detection-as-code frameworks
  • AI training infrastructure
  • inference endpoints
  • model security metrics
  • GPU utilization patterns
  • sensitive research data
  • operational security partner
  • AI Security's threat research
  • Cloud Infrastructure's GPU clusters
  • customer-impacting incidents
  • responsible AI development
  • security guardrails
  • critical AI security incidents
  • real-time threats
  • detection coverage
  • automation capabilities
  • AI systems evolve
  • securing AI/ML infrastructure
  • high-performance computing environments
  • distributed systems at scale
  • Python
  • KQL
  • SPL
  • custom detection logic
  • automate response workflows
  • operationalize security at scale
  • cloud-native and distributed computing environments
  • SIEM platforms
  • detection technologies
  • forensic investigation techniques
  • novel attack techniques
  • forensics in complex distributed environments
  • Self-directed execution mindset
  • securing high-value intellectual property
  • automating incident response
  • complex environments
  • identifying critical security gaps
  • proactive threat hunting
  • Connect across security, infrastructure, and AI research teams
  • build comprehensive defenses
  • Challenge assumptions

Other signals

  • AI-specific threats
  • automated response capabilities
  • defending cutting-edge AI/AGI systems
  • GPU clusters and distributed training environments
  • operational security partner
Read full job description

** 🚀 About WRITER**

WRITER is where the world's leading enterprises orchestrate AI-powered work. Our vision is to expand human capacity through superintelligence. And we're proving it's possible – through powerful, trustworthy AI that unites IT and business teams together to unlock enterprise-wide transformation. With WRITER's end-to-end platform, hundreds of companies like Mars, Marriott, Uber, and Vanguard are building and deploying AI agents that are grounded in their company's data and fueled by WRITER's enterprise-grade LLMs. Valued at $1.9B and backed by industry-leading investors including Premji Invest, Radical Ventures, and ICONIQ Growth, WRITER is rapidly cementing its position as the leader in enterprise generative AI.

Founded in 2020 with office hubs in San Francisco, New York City, Austin, Chicago, and London, our team thinks big and moves fast, and we're looking for smart, hardworking builders and scalers to join us on our journey to create a better future of work with AI.

📐 About the role

Join WRITER's security team as a staff detection and response engineer and help protect the AI infrastructure that's transforming how the world works. You'll build sophisticated detection systems that identify attacks targeting our AI platform, training data, and model deployments while creating automated response capabilities that scale with our explosive growth. This isn't just traditional security work – you're defending cutting-edge AI/AGI systems against adversaries who are evolving their tactics as fast as AI itself advances.

This role combines hands-on security engineering with strategic thinking to stay ahead of novel threats that don't exist in textbooks yet. You'll be the operational arm of our security function, translating threat intelligence into real-time detections, coordinating incident response across multiple teams, and hunting for sophisticated attacks across GPU clusters and distributed training environments. If you're excited by the challenge of securing systems that are fundamentally different from anything you've protected before, this is your opportunity to define what AI security engineering looks like at scale.

You'll work closely with our AI Security research team, Cloud Infrastructure, Software Security Engineering, and AI researchers to build a defense-in-depth strategy that protects one of the most valuable AI platforms in the industry. The threats are real, the stakes are high, and the problems are intellectually fascinating.

This role can be based in** **San reporting to our head of security operations.

🦸🏻‍♀️ What you’ll do

  • Design and implement detection strategies that identify AI-specific threats including prompt injection, model extraction, data poisoning, adversarial examples, and unauthorized access to training datasets or model weights across our distributed infrastructure
  • Build automated response playbooks and orchestration workflows that contain threats without human intervention, creating self-healing security systems that reduce mean time to response from hours to minutes while automatically remediating compromised inference endpoints
  • Lead security incident response coordination across all teams (Cloud, AppSec, Enterprise, AI Security) when AI infrastructure or models are compromised, conducting forensic investigations on training pipeline attacks and model manipulation attempts while drafting clear incident communications for engineering and executive leadership
  • Hunt proactively for sophisticated threats across GPU clusters and training infrastructure by analyzing model outputs for signs of compromise, reproducing AI-specific vulnerabilities from security research, and identifying visibility gaps in distributed training environments before adversaries exploit them
  • Build detection-as-code frameworks with version control and automated deployment, onboard telemetry from AI training infrastructure and inference endpoints, and create dashboards that track model security metrics, GPU utilization patterns, and access to sensitive research data
  • Collaborate cross-functionally as the operational security partner for all teams – translating AI Security's threat research into production detections, monitoring Cloud Infrastructure's GPU clusters for threats, detecting customer-impacting incidents for Software Security Engineering, and enabling responsible AI development through security guardrails
  • Maintain 24/7 on-call rotation for critical AI security incidents, responding to real-time threats targeting our platform while continuously improving detection coverage and automation capabilities as our AI systems evolve

⭐️ What you need

  • 3-5+ years in security operations, detection engineering, or incident response with a proven track record of identifying and stopping sophisticated attacks in production environments, plus 3+ years specifically securing AI/ML infrastructure, high-performance computing environments, or other distributed systems at scale
  • Strong programming skills in Python, KQL, SPL, or similar languages that allow you to build custom detection logic, automate response workflows, and create tools that operationalize security at scale across cloud-native and distributed computing environments
  • Experience with SIEM platforms, detection technologies, and forensic investigation techniques with demonstrated ability to build detection for novel attack techniques that don't have established patterns yet and to conduct forensics in complex distributed environments
  • Self-directed execution mindset with a track record of securing high-value intellectual property, automating incident response in complex environments, and identifying critical security gaps through proactive threat hunting before they become incidents
  • Deep alignment with WRITER's values – you naturally Connect across security, infrastructure, and AI research teams to build comprehensive defenses, you Challenge assumptions about what's possible in AI security engineering, and you Own the protection of our AI platform with unwavering accountability and a commitment to staying ahead of evolving threats

🍩 Benefits & perks (UK full-time employees):

  • Generous PTO, plus company holidays

  • Comprehensive medical and dental insurance

  • Paid parental leave for all parents (16 weeks)

  • Fertility and family planning support

  • Early-detection cancer testing through Galleri

  • Competitive pension scheme and company contribution

  • Annual work-life stipends for:

    • Wellness stipend for gym, massage/chiropractor, personal training, etc.
    • Learning and development stipend

  • Company-wide off-sites and team off-sites

  • Competitive compensation and company stock options