• 5+ years’ experience in areas such as cloud service infrastructure, cloud security, networking, computer engineering
• 3+ years’ experience with focus in areas such as systems, network, web protocols, and/or application security AND 2+ years’ experience with SQL or other query languages
• Knowledge of current security trends, threats, and mitigation OR Previous experience on a Security Operations team, or experience coordinating responses to security incidents.
• Demonstrable proficiency in Python required. Other languages are a plus but not required (Go, Ruby, Shell/Bash scripting, Java, Javascript/Type Script, Rust, etc)
• Understanding of industry standard threat frameworks (Lockheed Martin Cyber Kill Chain, Diamond Model, MITRE ATT&CK)
• Strong knowledge of web protocols and an in-depth knowledge of Linux/Unix tools and architecture.
• Strong knowledge of Computer Science fundamentals, including; data structures, object-oriented programming, design, and analysis of algorithms

AWS Trust and Safety (T&S) Risk & Response (R&R) is seeking a motivated Security Engineer with a strong background in incident response, threat investigation, and developing solutions to security issues. As a Security Engineer in R&R, you will employ your technical skills to develop solutions to complex and ambiguous security-related events originating from AWS resources that threaten the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of other AWS customers, the AWS network, or external internet users. You will build proofs of concept and develop tooling/automation solutions that help T&S and AWS scale with the evolving threat landscape.

T&S is the primary organization within AWS responsible for mitigating customer resources that violate the AWS AUP. We work closely with AWS service teams to determine appropriate mitigation actions and act as the customer facing outreach team on their behalf.

AWS Sales, Marketing, and Global Services (SMGS) is responsible for driving revenue, adoption, and growth from the largest and fastest growing small- and mid-market accounts to enterprise-level customers including public sector. The AWS Global Support team interacts with leading companies and believes that world-class support is critical to customer success. AWS Support also partners with a global list of customers that are building mission-critical applications on top of AWS services.

Key job responsibilities

• You are a technical leader within the T&S organization. You must understand the mechanics of how security incidents occur in the cloud, understand the mitigation options, and provide guidance to frontline T&S employees in response to violations of the AUP.
• Use SQL and Python or similar scripting languages to automate tasks and retrieve data to identify trends in abuse.
• You will engage autonomously with AWS customers, programs, and services to create, build, and innovate security operations.
• Communicate ideas effectively, both verbally and in writing, to all types of audiences from front line employees to AWS VPs.
• Complete projects that contribute to the objectives and goals that strive to meet our strategic vision for the team.
• Partnering effectively with customers and stakeholders. You will help establish a roadmap and successfully deliver engineering solutions that drive towards accomplishing the team’s mission.
• Work effectively with customers, leaders, and other engineering teams. You must foster a constructive dialogue, harmonize discordant views, and lead the resolution of contentious issues (influence and build consensus).
• Proactively identify risks and bring them to the attention of your manager, customers, and stakeholders with plans for mitigation before they become larger events.
• You will be Amazon’s voice in technical security engagements with customers addressing abuse.
• Collect, analyze, and document information to author threat reports to drive scalable mitigation and remediation actions.
• Provide situational awareness on the current threat landscape and the TTPs associated with specific threats to our business, including ongoing malware campaigns.
• Collect data from intelligence communities, threat intelligence platforms, open source data repositories, and other sources to analyze TTPs and anomalies.
• Drive operational excellence and efficiency in everything you do, whether by researching new, or scaling up existing capabilities, creating effective mechanisms, and automating day-to-day tasks.
• Participate in scheduled 24/7 on-call duties.

A day in the life
R&R is the team within T&S who respond to reports of AWS AUP violations and security incidents to:

• Identify tactics, techniques, and procedures used by abusive threats and identify/execute remediation actions to remove the threat from AWS.
• Develop internal automations that facilitate the detection of AUP violations by threat actors and work with other AWS security teams to develop automated detections for abusive trends.
• Respond to incidents and manage the response for T&S from notification to remediation.
• Represent T&S as the technical expert on abuse during high-impact situations requiring immediate response to protect AWS and its customers from violations of the AWS AUP.

A successful candidate will have a firm grasp of cloud computing and a passion for developing technical solutions which facilitate the investigation and development of threat intelligence. You must be an enthusiastic learner and insatiably curious. You will have a demonstrated history of driving workable solutions, even in the face of resource limitations, as well as environmental, legal, and technical challenges. We seek a team player who prioritizes well, communicates clearly, and has a consistent track record of delivering results. You must be proactive in removing roadblocks, always looking for ways to innovate and operate more efficiently, and be able to handle multiple competing priorities in a fast-paced environment. You will need to influence internal and external globally dispersed stakeholders, and be able to effectively rally support for R&R’s projects and your own initiatives.

About the team
Diverse Experiences
Amazon values diverse experiences. Even if you do not meet all of the preferred qualifications and skills listed in the job description, we encourage candidates to apply. If your career is just starting, hasn’t followed a traditional path, or includes alternative experiences, don’t let it stop you from applying.

Why AWS ?
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform. We pioneered cloud computing and never stopped innovating — that’s why customers from the most successful startups to Global 500 companies trust our robust suite of products and services to power their businesses.

Work/Life Balance:
We value work-life harmony. Achieving success at work should never come at the expense of sacrifices at home, which is why we strive for flexibility as part of our working culture. When we feel supported in the workplace and at home, there’s nothing we can’t achieve in the cloud.

Inclusive Team Culture
Here at AWS, it’s in our nature to learn and be curious. Our employee-led affinity groups foster a culture of inclusion that empower us to be proud of our differences. Ongoing events and learning experiences, including our Conversations on Race and Ethnicity (CORE) and Amaze Con (gender diversity) conferences, inspire us to never stop embracing our uniqueness.
Mentorship and Career Growth

We’re continuously raising our performance bar as we strive to become Earth’s Best Employer. That’s why you’ll find endless knowledge-sharing, mentorship and other career-advancing resources here to help you develop into a better-rounded professional.

Amazon is strongly committed to diversity, and our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you are a person with a disability and require adjustments to your interview please let us know. We have specialist teams who manage disability accommodations for candidates through the recruitment process. If you need an adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please contact the Applicant-Candidate Accommodation Team (ACAT) via acat-africa@amazon.com, or inform your recruiter that you would like support and we will put you in contact with the relevant team.

• A MS degree in Computer Science, MIS, Computer Engineering, or 8+ years’ equivalent technology experience.
• 5+ years global analysis and threat mitigation background
• 5+ years scripting/programming experience: Python, C, C++, Java, Ruby, and/or Power Shell
• 3+ years of experience building with and securing AWS cloud services such as Lambda, EC2, and S3.
• Experience with virtualization technologies, familiarity with AWS and Guard Duty services is highly valued in particular.
• One or more professional network and security certifications such as Security+, CEH, CCNA, GSEC, CISA or CISSP (or equivalent work experience)
• Extensive knowledge of internet security issues and threat landscape.

Amazon is an equal opportunities employer, and we value your passion to discover, invent, simplify and build. We welcome applications from all members of society irrespective of age, sex, disability, sexual orientation, race, religion or belief. Amazon is strongly committed to diversity within its community and especially welcomes applications from South African citizens who are members of designated groups who may contribute to Employment Equity within the workplace and the further diversification of ideas. In this regard, the relevant laws and principles associated with Employment Equity will be considered when appointing potential candidates. We are required by law to verify your ability to work lawfully in South Africa. Amazon requires that you submit a copy of either your identity document or your passport and any applicable work permit if you are a foreign national, along with an updated curriculum vitae.