Security Software Engineer; TDR

About the Team

The Security Engineering team at Byte Dance builds and operates the core systems that protect one of the world's largest internet platforms and its global user community. We tackle challenges that span threat detection and response (TDR), infrastructure protection, and the emerging frontier of AI and LLM system security—at the scale of Tik Tok and Byte Dance. Our engineers combine deep systems‑building expertise with strong security fundamentals to deliver high‑impact, production‑grade solutions in a fast‑paced, globally distributed environment.

• Design and build innovative threat detection, prevention, and response (TDR) systems that protect large‑scale platforms, critical infrastructure, and globally distributed endpoints.
• Drive the security of LLM‑based systems and AI agent architectures—identifying novel attack surfaces, developing defensive frameworks, and ensuring the safe deployment of AI‑powered products at scale.
• Own the end‑to‑end lifecycle of distributed security systems operating across global regions—from deployment and capacity planning through production reliability, observability, and continuous iteration at scale.
• Partner closely with cross‑functional global teams to turn vague problem statements and emerging threat patterns into clear product requirements, and ship high‑impact security capabilities on aggressive timelines.

• Bachelor's degree or above in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related fields, with at least 3 years of hands‑on software development experience.
• Strong fundamentals in algorithms and data structures; proficiency in Go, Java, or Rust, with the ability to write clean, reliable, and production‑ready code.
• Strong back‑end development skills, including experience with cloud‑native infrastructure, networking, and building services that run reliably at scale.
• Hands‑on experience using AI‑assisted and agentic development workflows to accelerate engineering velocity and quality, paired with a strong personal standard for building software quickly and well.
• Proven ability to think critically, break down complex or ambiguous problems, and formulate clear, practical solutions in a timely manner.

• Experience designing and implementing threat detection and response (TDR) systems, including detection engineering, automated response pipelines, and integration with modern security architectures.
• Familiarity with security challenges in LLM‑based systems or AI agent architectures—such as prompt injection, model abuse, tool‑use exploitation, or securing agentic workflows.
• Hands‑on experience with cloud‑native infrastructure (e.g., Kubernetes, observability stacks), large‑scale streaming/batch data pipelines, and building distributed systems that power real‑time detection and prevention at scale.
• Experience working in globally distributed teams and driving cross‑functional projects end‑to‑end, from ambiguous problem definition through rollout and iteration.
• Demonstrated ability to lead technical initiatives, mentor engineers, and influence security direction beyond your immediate team.

The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $212,800 - $450,000 annually. Compensation may vary outside of this range depending on a number of factors, including a candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies, and experience, and location. Base pay is one part of the Total Package that is provided to compensate and recognize employees for their work, and this role may be eligible for additional discretionary bonuses/incentives, and restricted stock units.

Employees have day‑one access to medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401(k) savings plan with company match, paid parental leave, short‑term and long‑term disability coverage, life insurance, well‑being benefits, among others. Employees also receive 10 paid holidays per year, 10 paid sick days per year, and 17 days of Paid Personal Time (prorated upon hire with increasing accruals by tenure).

Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with all federal, state, and local laws including the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act. Our company believes that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship on the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of the conditional offer of employment: