Principal AI Security Engineer

The Principal AI Security Engineer is responsible for designing, governing, and advancing Lumen's enterprise AI security program and internal AI-driven security capabilities and innovations. This role operates at the intersection of AI/ML systems, cybersecurity architecture, governance, advanced defensive capability development, and innovation.

In addition to ensuring the secure deployment of AI technologies, the role emphasizes proactive security and AI-specific risk reduction by spearheading AI vulnerability management initiatives, conducting regular penetration tests, and identifying potential threats before they impact the organization. The engineer will lead efforts to detect, assess, prioritize, and remediate vulnerabilities unique to AI/ML environments-including model, data, supply chain, and operational risks-ensuring that AI systems remain resilient as threats evolve.

A critical aspect of this position includes developing and maintaining enterprise AI governance frameworks that guide secure architecture, responsible use, lifecycle management, and regulatory alignment. This role also oversees AI risk management practices, including risk assessments, control design, evaluation of emerging threats, and continuous monitoring to ensure AI systems operate securely, ethically, and in compliance with internal and external standards., * Lead enterprise-wide initiatives to continuously identify, assess, and remediate vulnerabilities across AI/ML systems, including models, data pipelines, and runtime environments. Oversee the development and execution of vulnerability scanning, penetration testing, and red-teaming exercises specific to AI technologies.

• Architect and enforce comprehensive AI security governance structures that align with Responsible AI guidelines, regulatory mandates, and organizational risk appetite. Develop policies, standards, and approval processes that ensure full lifecycle oversight of AI/ML systems, supporting auditability, transparency, and accountability in all AI operations.
• Direct identification, evaluation, and mitigation of risks inherent to AI/ML deployments. Lead risk assessments, threat modeling, and scenario analysis to anticipate potential weaknesses and prioritize mitigation strategies.
• Spearhead proactive threat intelligence, detection, and response initiatives targeting AI/ML environments. Develop and operationalize advanced monitoring and analytics to uncover emerging threats, adversarial attacks, and anomalous behaviors unique to AI workloads.
• Engineer, implement, and maintain layered security controls, reference architectures, and control baselines that address vulnerabilities, enforce governance, and mitigate risks throughout the AI/ML stack
• Integrate automated discovery, authoritative inventory, and lineage tracking solutions to maintain continuous visibility and enforce policy across AI development and production environments, ensuring rapid identification and remediation of security gaps.
• Align all AI security capabilities with comprehensive governance frameworks and enterprise security policies, supporting regulatory compliance, audit readiness, and responsible innovation.
• Design and build internal tools, automation, and processes that enhance vulnerability detection, threat intelligence, and risk assessment specific to AI/ML environments.
• Drive the adoption of emerging technologies, methodologies, and frameworks that strengthen Lumen's ability to anticipate, detect, and respond to AI-specific security challenges., * Deep understanding of AI/ML systems, including model training, inference pipelines, orchestration frameworks, and agent based systems.
• Expertise in AI specific threat classes, including prompt injection, data leakage, data poisoning, model extraction, adversarial inputs, and jailbreak techniques.
• Experience securing generative AI, multimodal models, and agentic AI systems in enterprise environments.

• Proven experience implementing enterprise scale security solutions spanning cloud, containers, CI/CD, and runtime environments.
• Strong grounding in vulnerability management, remediation workflows, and risk based prioritization, including AI specific vulnerabilities.
• Ability to translate security architecture and governance requirements into enforceable technical controls.
• Experience in application and automation development for security tooling and integration

General Requirements for Senior AI Security Roles:

• 15+ years in cybersecurity, with significant experience in security and advanced threat domains
• Demonstrated leadership as a principal level or enterprise architect, influencing standards and strategy without direct authority
• Strong understanding of Responsible AI, data classification, lineage, and compliance considerations
• Ability to communicate complex AI security concepts to engineering teams, executives, and governance bodies
• Experience operating in large, federated enterprise environments with complex cloud and DevOps ecosystems

This information reflects the anticipated base salary range for this position based on current national data. Minimums and maximums may vary based on location. Individual pay is based on skills, experience and other relevant factors.

Location Based Pay Ranges:

$152,066 - $202,755 in these states: AL, AR, AZ, FL, GA, IA, ID, IN, KS, KY, LA, ME, MO, MS, MT, ND, NE, NM, OH, OK, PA, SC, SD, TN, UT, VT, WI, WV, and WY. $159,670 - $212,893 in these states: CO, HI, MI, MN, NC, NH, NV, OR, and RI. $167,273 - $223,031 in these states: AK, CA, CT, DC, DE, IL, MA, MD, NJ, NY, TX, VA, and WA.

Lumen offers a comprehensive package featuring a broad range of Health, Life, Voluntary Lifestyle benefits and other perks that enhance your physical, mental, emotional and financial wellbeing. We're able to answer any additional questions you may have about our bonus structure (short-term incentives, long-term incentives and/or sales compensation) as you move through the selection process.

Learn more about Lumen's:

• Benefits
• Bonus Structure

#LI-Remote

Lumen is the trusted network for AI. We're transforming how businesses connect, secure, and scale in an AI-driven world. By connecting people, data, and applications quickly, securely, and effortlessly, we help organizations move faster and unlock what's next. At Lumen, people power progress. Our culture is built on teamwork, trust, and transparency, giving you the flexibility, support, and opportunity to make a lasting impact. We're looking for top-tier talent ready to take on the challenge. Join us in building the future.