Principal Security Engineer

Applications deadline: We are conducting interviews actively and aim to fill this role as soon as we find someone suitable.

The opportunity: We’re looking for a Principal Security Engineer to own security at Apollo Research from end to end. You’ll be the first dedicated security hire at Apollo. Security at Apollo exists to maintain the trust of our frontier AI lab partners and enable our research mission. This role sits within the engineering team and reports directly to the CEO.

You have the opportunity to:

• Build and own Apollo’s security programme.
• Own the security roadmap, conduct risk assessments, and evolve the programme as the organisation grows.
• Maintain the trust of our frontier AI lab partners.
• Become the primary security point of contact for partner security teams, produce and maintain technical documentation, and demonstrate that our security posture meets required standards.
• Set security direction for engineering.
• Define security principles and AppSec strategy which the engineering team implements, building paved roads that make the secure path easy for engineers.
• Define how Apollo uses AI tools, agents, and integrations.
• Decide what’s approved, what data can go where, and how new tools get vetted, balancing security with research needs.
• Own the security tooling stack and automate security operations.
• Select, implement, and manage security controls including EDR/MDR, endpoint management, email protection, and identity management, automating deployments and provisioning.
• Drive compliance and certification.
• Lead certification efforts (ISO 27001, SOC 2) as needed to meet partner requirements, treating compliance as a by‑product of good security practice.
• Own IT administration across the organisation.
• Manage Google Workspace, define access policies, and build secure onboarding and off‑boarding processes.

What we’re looking for:

• Engineering mindset. Treat security operations and GRC as engineering problems, reaching for automation and systems solutions over manual processes.
• Pragmatism. Understand that security exists to enable Apollo’s mission and maintain partner trust, and tailor advice to our risk profile.
• Leadership. Capable of building out our security programme from scratch.
• Hands‑on. Willing and able to drive implementation yourself.
• Speed. Make good‑enough decisions quickly and execute fast once a decision is made.
• Adaptability to new developments. Have a strong base of knowledge enabling decisions under uncertainty as AI tooling and the threat landscape evolve.
• Stakeholder credibility. Earn trust from non‑security people internally and credibly represent Apollo to lab partner security teams externally.

Key Requirements:

• 7+ years experience in security engineering, security operations, or a related technical security role.
• Track record of building buy‑in for security practices and being trusted by non‑security people.
• Experience building or significantly maturing a security programme.
• Familiarity with cloud security (AWS IAM, networking, infrastructure review).
• Experience with compliance frameworks (ISO 27001, SOC 2).
• Hands‑on experience with endpoint management (Kandji, Jamf, or similar) and identity/access management.
• Experience administering Google Workspace or equivalent.
• Interest in Apollo’s mission of AI safety.

Nice to haves:

• Ability to review infrastructure‑as‑code (Terraform) and application code (Python) for security issues.
• Experience as a security point of contact for external partners or customers.
• Demonstrated interest in AI safety (e.g. worked at an AI safety org, relevant coursework or research).

Benefits:

• This role offers market competitive salary, equity, and competitive benefits.
• Salary: £130,000 - £200,000.
• Equity.
• Flexible work hours and schedule.
• Unlimited vacation.
• Unlimited sick leave.
• Lunch, dinner, and snacks provided for all employees on workdays.
• Paid work trips, including staff retreats, business trips, and relevant conferences.
• A yearly $1,000 (USD) professional development budget.

Logistics:

• Time Allocation: Full‑time.
• Location: The office is in London, and the building is shared with the London Initiative for Safe AI (LISA) offices. This is an in‑person role.
• Work Visas: We can sponsor UK visas.