Staff Security Engineer

Forward Financing is a financial technology company based in Boston, Massachusetts with team members throughout the United States, Dominican Republic, and Canada. The company is on a mission to unlock the capital that fuels small businesses across America. Recognized as a Best Place to Work by Built In Boston and certified as a Great Place To Work®, Forward is investing in its employees, technology, and customer experience – with long-term success in mind every step of the way.

We are a rapidly growing fintech company on a mission to revolutionize small business lending, and we believe the strategic use of data and models is the key to achieving this goal. Our proprietary platform leverages data and technology to provide fast and flexible financing to underserved businesses across the country. Our Engineering team serves as a key driver of innovation. We are seeking a highly experienced and proactive Security Engineer to join our team, helping us build and maintain the secure software that powers our FinTech product. In this role, you will be instrumental in ensuring proactive threat identification and response across our platforms.

In this role you will:

• Design, architect, and implement scalable detection pipelines across various platforms, including cloud environments (AWS), endpoints, identity, DLP, and SaaS.

• Mature our Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) and centralized logging capabilities, focusing on enrichment, correlation, and high-signal detections.

• Develop detection-as-code practices and CI/CD pipelines for deploying and tuning detection logic.

• Leverage infrastructure-as-code (IAC) technologies to establish automated security configurations for platform hardening and cloud-native control enforcement.

• Collaborate closely with Information Security and peer partners like Engineering and IT to evaluate, advise on, and deploy new security technologies.

• Partner with AppSec, offensive security, and Cloud Engineering teams to identify detection opportunities and test control efficacy.

• Act as the Incident Commander of the Security Incident Response Team (SIRT), overseeing triage, containment, and forensics during investigations.

• Contribute to the continuous improvement of our vulnerability management program by triaging issues and identifying gaps in pre-production versus post-production detection.

• Ensure alignment to industry frameworks such as CIS Controls, ISO 27XXX, and NIST, embedding defensible security practices across the stack.

• Implement necessary security changes to support our Identity Governance Access (IAG) program and Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) models.

Role Requirements:

(Even if you don’t check every box, but see yourself contributing, please apply.)

• Expertise in architecting and deploying detection pipelines across platforms like AWS, GCP, or Azure using tools such as Chronicle, Splunk, Panther, or open-source equivalents.

• Typically has 7 or more years of experience in detection engineering, security operations, or a similar role.

• Deep familiarity with adversary TTPs (MITRE ATT&CK), anomaly-based detection techniques, and event correlation strategies.

• A strong red + blue team mindset; you think like an attacker and build defenses that go beyond surface-level detection.

• Experience operationalizing detection-as-code pipelines (e.g., CI/CD for detection logic).

• Expertise in cloud control plane monitoring, identity threat detection, and infrastructure log analysis.

• Ability to communicate detection priorities and incident insights to technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• History of working on a Security Incident Response Team (SIRT) investigating events, triaging potential incidents, containing environments, and conducting forensics analysis.

• Typically has a Bachelor's Degree in computer science, Mathematics, or equivalent technical degree; or equivalent industry experience.

• Experience with modern programming languages such as Ruby, Java, Python, or Go.

It would be nice if you also had:

• Expertise in architecting and deploying detection pipelines across platforms like AWS, GCP, or Azure using tools such as Chronicle, Splunk, Panther, or open-source equivalents.

• Significant experience in evaluating, running PoCs, and deploying new security tooling solutions.

• Experience managing multiple AWS environments (VPCs, firewalls, IAM, GuardDuty, CloudTrail, WAF).

• Experience leading teams securing containerized services deployed in production on orchestration platforms such as Kubernetes.

• Demonstrated understanding of modern microservices architectures, design patterns, resiliency techniques, and optimizations

• Prior Devops or Software engineer experience is a plus

Total Rewards:

Additionally, we offer a comprehensive total rewards package, including but not limited to: medical, dental, vision, commuter benefits, a flexible time-off policy, paid parental leave, 401k match for US employees, wellness reimbursement, volunteering days, annual professional development budget, and charitable donation match.

Forward is proud to be a remote-first company, keeping workplace flexibility a top priority for our employees. As a business, we are focused on impact; we are more concerned with your contributions to the success of the company than where you get your work done. To help facilitate in-person collaboration, employees are welcome to work from one of our premiere office locations.

When we aren’t collaborating to drive business and support our customers, we’re finding virtual and in-person ways to get to know our colleagues, celebrate team wins, and have fun together!

Forward Financing Core Values:

• Drive the Mission - We believe in financial opportunity for underserved small businesses. We say “yes” when others say “no.”

• Keep It Real - We value direct communication, candid feedback, and authenticity. We are an open book.

• Act with Kindness - We create an environment where caring is cool and helping is the norm. We do the right thing.

• Shoot for Extraordinary - We are inspired by innovative thinking and continuous improvement. We never settle for yesterday’s best.

About Us:

Forward Financing is a financial technology company based in Boston, Massachusetts with team members throughout the United States, Dominican Republic, and Canada. The company is on a mission to unlock the capital that fuels small businesses across America. Whether facing challenges accessing traditional financing or simply needing a convenient, flexible solution, Forward is committed to funding more of the millions of small businesses nationwide. Forward offers revenue-based financing – delivering an upfront sum of working capital in exchange for a set amount of the business’s future revenue. By simplifying the requirements, streamlining the process, and using advanced proprietary technology, Forward is often able to deliver funds same day – giving more businesses the financial opportunity they need to thrive. Plus, with their dedicated teams and award-winning service, customers get personalized support when they need it most.

Since 2012, Forward has expanded access to capital by providing over $4.1 billion in funding to more than 80,000 small businesses. The company is A+ rated by the Better Business Bureau with an Excellent / 4.7 stars rating on Trustpilot.com. Recognized as a Best Place to Work by Built In Boston and certified as a Great Place To Work®, Forward is dedicated to empowering both its team and the customers they serve, helping them succeed and thrive.

US Equal Opportunity Employment Information

Forward Financing is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and is committed to fostering a fair and inclusive culture built on a foundation of high performance and exceptional customer experience. With a laser focus on employee impact, we’re able to reduce biases and ensure the right people are in the right jobs to contribute to our mission. The varied perspectives of our people fuel innovation and make us a stronger team. By embracing what makes each of us unique, we create a supportive environment where people feel valued, accepted, and empowered to thrive.

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