Principal Software Engineer & Architect, Cyber Defense Engineering

About the role

The ServiceNow Security Organization (SSO)

The ServiceNow Security Organization (SSO) delivers world-class, innovative security solutions to reduce risk and protect the company and our customers. We enable our customers to migrate their most sensitive data and workloads to the cloud, accelerating our business so that we are the most trusted SaaS provider. We create an environment where our employees are proud to work and can make a positive impact.

ServiceNow runs mission-critical workflows for a large share of the world's enterprises. Cyber Defense Engineering protects ServiceNow and the platform our customers run on. Cyber defense doesn't scale through headcount alone. It scales when systems make defenders exponentially more effective. Data is how we get there.

As Principal Software Engineer & Architect, you will own the technical direction of the data and platform systems behind detection, investigation, hunting, response, and AI-driven defense. Several engineering teams will build against your architecture, and your decisions will show up in measurable security outcomes.

What You'll Do

• Own the architecture of our multi-system security data platform, from ingestion to access, including the data that powers detection, investigation, hunting and risk analytics. Decide what data lives where, weighing business value, performance, retention, and cost, and remove duplication across systems.
• Define shared schemas, data models, and data contracts so telemetry from different sources is consistent, trustworthy, and joinable for both people, automation and AI.
• Build the data foundation for applied AI in security operations: data and feature pipelines, model evaluation, retrieval, and governed data access for AI agents that investigate and respond to threats.
• Build access control, data protection, auditability, and compliance into the architecture so the platform is secure by design.
• Lead technical design across teams, resolve tradeoffs on shared platforms, and keep the architecture coherent as the organization grows. Drive major decisions to closure through design and decision documents.
• Set engineering standards for source control, CI/CD, testing, and observability. Mentor engineers through design and code review.
• Tie platform investments to measurable outcomes: detection coverage; time to detect, investigate, and mitigate; data quality and freshness; and more.

Qualifications & Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, software engineering, or a similar field.
• 10+ years of software engineering experience, with 3+ years in a principal, staff, or architect role.
• Proven experience designing and operating large-scale cloud data platforms in production, including data modeling, data warehouse design, and high-volume streaming and batch telemetry pipelines across multiple systems.
• Hands-on ML/AI experience, including shipping ML or LLM-based systems to production, and working knowledge of how data quality, freshness, and lineage limit model performance.
• Proficiency in SQL and at least one general-purpose language (Python, Go, or Java).
• A record of setting technical direction across teams without formal authority.
• Clear, concise writing and a habit of documenting decisions and their rationale.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience applying ML and graph-based analysis to security problems, such as anomaly detection, entity correlation, incident investigations, or attack path analysis.
• Experience in security operations, such as SIEM platforms, security datalakes, detection engineering, or incident response.
• Knowledge of secure data access patterns such as RBAC/ABAC, masking, and policy-as-code.
• Advanced degree in machine learning, AI, or a related field.

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Pay and benefits

For positions in this location, we offer a base pay of $221,200 - $387,100, plus equity (when applicable), variable/incentive compensation and benefits. Sales positions generally offer a competitive On Target Earnings (OTE) incentive compensation structure.

Please note that the base pay shown is a guideline, and individual total compensation will vary based on factors such as qualifications, skill level, competencies, and work location. We also offer health plans, including flexible spending accounts, a 401(k) Plan with company match, ESPP, matching donations, a flexible time away plan and family leave programs.

Compensation is based on the geographic location in which the role is located and is subject to change based on work location.

Additional Information: Work Personas

We approach our distributed world of work with flexibility and trust. Work personas (flexible, remote, or required in office) are categories that are assigned to ServiceNow employees depending on the nature of their work and their assigned work location. Learn more here. To determine eligibility for a work persona, ServiceNow may confirm the distance between your primary residence and the closest ServiceNow office using a third-party service.