Product Security Engineer - Engine by Starling - London

At Engine by Starling , we are on a mission to find and work with leading banks all around the world who have the ambition to build rapid growth businesses, on our technology.

Engine is Starling's software-as-a-service (SaaS) business, the technology that was built to power Starling Bank, and a year ago we split out as a separate business. 

Starling Bank has seen exceptional growth and success, and a large part of that is down to the fact that we have built our own modern technology from the ground up. This SaaS technology platform is now available to banks and financial institutions all around the world, enabling them to benefit from the innovative digital features, and efficient back-office processes that has helped achieve Starling's success.

Our technologists are at the very heart of Engine and enjoy working in a fast-paced environment that is all about building things, creating new stuff, and disruptive technology that keeps us on the cutting edge of fintech. We operate a flat structure to empower you to make decisions regardless of what your primary responsibilities may be, innovation and collaboration will be at the core of everything you do. Help is never far away in our open culture, you will find support in your team and from across the business, we are in this together!

The way to thrive and shine within Engine is to be a self-driven individual and be able to take full ownership of everything around you: From building things, designing, and discovering to sharing knowledge with your colleagues and making sure all processes are efficient and productive to deliver the best possible results for our customers. Our purpose is underpinned by five values: Listen, Keep It Simple, Do The Right Thing, Own It, and Aim For Greatness.

Hybrid Working

We have a Hybrid approach to working here at Engine - our preference is that you're located within a commutable distance of our offices so that we're able to interact and collaborate in person.

About the role:

As a Product Security Engineer at Engine, you will be a technical strategist responsible for proactively identifying and mitigating security risks across our platform and products. Your primary mission is to ensure we build secure systems by providing expert security analysis, architectural guidance, and process leadership. You will lead threat modelling sessions, conduct in-depth security reviews of new features, manage our penetration testing programme, and triage complex findings. This role requires a deep understanding of technology and attack vectors, combined with the ability to think strategically and communicate complex risks to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Engine by Starling engineers are excited about helping us deliver new features, regardless of what their primary tech stack may be. Hear from the team in our latest Blog or our case studies with Women in Tech .

We are looking for an experienced Product Security Engineer to join our growing Security Engineering team, working closely with the GRC team and the various Engine Technology teams to make sure security is at the heart of all our technical processes. Your place within the team will depend on your individual strengths and interests.

This role will cover a wide array of security areas across our multi-tenant SaaS cloud environments and internal infrastructure and will require a skilled individual to spearhead efforts in fortifying both infrastructure and application platforms, against potential threats.

What you’ll get to do?

• Conduct comprehensive security architecture and design reviews, ensuring that security is embedded from the start
• Lead the threat modelling process (e.g., using STRIDE) for new products and features, identifying potential design flaws and defining security requirements
• Manage the end-to-end penetration testing lifecycle, from scoping engagements with technical teams to triaging, validating, and driving the remediation of findings
• Analyse and interpret results from security tools (SAST, DAST, vulnerability scanners) to prioritise and address the most critical risks
• Act as a key security advisor to engineering teams, providing expert guidance on security best practices, vulnerability mitigation, and secure design patterns
• Translate regulatory requirements (PCI DSS, SOC 2, ISO 27001) into concrete technical controls and implementation plans in collaboration with the GRC team

• Lead incident response efforts, including investigation and remediation of security breaches
• Support our internal security awareness and training programs and advocating the DevSecOps mindset that we have created across our technology teams

Requirements

What skills are essential:

• Significant experience in a security-focused role with a strong emphasis on risk analysis, threat detection, and architectural review
• Proven expertise in conducting threat modelling and security design reviews for complex, cloud-native applications (AWS/GCP, Kubernetes)
• Deep understanding of common application and infrastructure vulnerabilities (OWASP Top 10, MITRE ATT&CK) and their mitigation
• Experience managing penetration testing engagements and working with development teams on remediation
• Mature understanding and experience with cloud security architecture (AWS, Google Cloud)
• The ability to read and understand code (e.g., Go, Python) and Infrastructure-as-Code (Terraform) to effectively analyse security risks
• The ability to document security requirements from various stakeholders
• A practical understanding of how to integrate security into the software development lifecycle
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical risks to diverse audiences
• A thorough understanding of the incident response process and the principles of Zero Trust architecture
• A proactive approach to staying updated with the latest security threats, vulnerabilities, and mitigation techniques

What skills are desirable, but not essential:

• Hands-on experience helping a company achieve and maintain compliance with frameworks like SOC 2, ISO 27001, or PCI DSS
• Experience in automating security controls and compliance checks against standards and frameworks which include SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS/3DS
• Experience performing secure code reviews and using SAST/DAST tools for security approvals
• Expertise in Kubernetes, securing clusters and meshes (Cilium is preferable), networking best practices and RBAC implementation (CKA, CKS qualifications are a plus)
• Container security knowledge including container image provenance (e.g. Sigstore, Notary) with an in-depth knowledge of container runtimes
• Strong understanding of network protocols & practices, firewalls, intrusion detection/prevention systems and WAFs
• Understanding of integrating security into the software development lifecycle
• Experience performing secure code reviews and security approvals including the use of static and dynamic application security testing (SAST/DAST) tools
• Experience in Cryptography management & enhancements
• Experience configuring and utilising cloud-native security logging, monitoring, and detection services
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code and infrastructure provisioning tools (Cloudformation, Terraform) for analysis and review
• Scripting and programming skills (e.g., Python, Go) for creating proof-of-concepts or small scripts to validate findings
• Relevant security certifications such as ISC2 CC, CISSP, CCSP, CISM, AWS Security Specialist or GCP Professional Cloud Security Engineer

Our Interview process

Interviewing is a two way process and we want you to have the time and opportunity to get to know us, as much as we are getting to know you! Our interviews are conversational and we want to get the best from you, so come with questions and be curious. In general you can expect the below, following a chat with one of our Talent Team:

• Initial interview with our Staff Security Engineer - ~45 minutes
• Take home technical task to be discussed in the next interview
• Technical interview with some of our Security and Information Security team members - ~1.5 hours
• Final interview with our CTO / deputy CTO ~45 minutes

Benefits

• 33 days holiday (including public holidays, which you can take when it works best for you)
• An extra day’s holiday for your birthday
• Annual leave is increased with length of service, and you can choose to buy or sell up to five extra days off
• 16 hours paid volunteering time a year
• Salary sacrifice, company enhanced pension scheme
• Life insurance at 4x your salary & group income protection
• Private Medical Insurance with VitalityHealth including mental health support and cancer care. Partner benefits include discounts with Waitrose, Mr&Mrs Smith and Peloton
• Generous family-friendly policies
• Incentives refer a friend scheme
• Perkbox membership giving access to retail discounts, a wellness platform for physical and mental health, and weekly free and boosted perks
• Access to initiatives like Cycle to Work, Salary Sacrificed Gym partnerships and Electric Vehicle (EV) leasing

About Us

You may be put off applying for a role because you don't tick every box. Forget that! While we can’t accommodate every flexible working request, we're always open to discussion. So, if you're excited about working with us, but aren’t sure if you're 100% there yet, get in touch anyway. We’re on a mission to radically reshape banking – and that starts with our brilliant team. Whatever came before, we’re proud to bring together people of all backgrounds and experiences who love working together to solve problems.

Engine by Starling is an equal opportunity employer, and we’re proud of our ongoing efforts to foster diversity & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment at Engine by Starling are considered without regard to race, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. 

When you provide us with this information, you are doing so at your own consent, with full knowledge that we will process this personal data in accordance with our Privacy Notice. By submitting your application, you agree that Engine by Starling and Starling Bank will collect your personal data for recruiting and related purposes. Our Privacy Notice explains what personal information we will process, where we will process your personal information, its purposes for processing your personal information, and the rights you can exercise over our use of your personal information.