As a Staff Software Engineer on Robinhood’s Security Engineering team, you will lead the design and evolution of systems that manage identity, authentication, authorization, secure connections, and encryption across both internal services and customer-facing applications. You will guide technical direction for large-scale backend services, including scaling proprietary access management platforms to support high traffic and low latency requirements, while also developing secure access patterns and monitoring systems for AI-driven workflows. Responsibilities include building and maintaining certificate lifecycle management and public key infrastructure systems with strong observability and automation, as well as partnering closely with engineering teams across infrastructure, product, and data to integrate secure access controls into new and existing systems. This role requires expertise in Go, Python, or Rust, experience with Kubernetes and AWS, and a deep understanding of authentication protocols such as OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, SAML, and WebAuthn. You will ensure that systems meet strict reliability and latency expectations while mentoring other engineers through code reviews and design discussions.
Design and build systems for authentication and authorization in internal services and customer-facing applications.
Lead the technical direction of access management platforms, scaling them to handle high traffic and low latency.
Develop secure access patterns and monitoring systems for AI and machine learning workflows across engineering teams.
Build and maintain certificate lifecycle management and public key infrastructure systems with strong observability.
Partner with various engineering teams to integrate secure access controls into new and existing systems.
What we're looking for
8+ years of experience building backend or security systems, including identity and access management at scale.
Expertise in authentication protocols such as OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, SAML, WebAuthn.
Strong programming skills in Go, Python, Rust; experience with Kubernetes and AWS.
Experience designing highly available distributed systems with clear performance goals.
Ability to guide technical decisions and mentor engineers through code reviews and design discussions.
Market check
Salary context
This
$230,000–$270,000
range sits above
93%
of similar postings on FindRole.
Peer median band
$143,000–$234,000
Median floor and ceiling across peers.
Typical midpoint (25–75%)
$168,500–$214,500
Middle half of comparable postings.
Based on 240 comparable postings.*
* 240 is the maximum number of comparable postings sampled.
Employer
About Robinhood
Robinhood is a financial technology company offering commission-free stock, ETF, options, and cryptocurrency trading through its mobile app, aimed at democratizing access to financial markets. Industry: Financial Technology & Investment App
Robinhood currently has
56 open roles
on FindRole.
Listed pay typically runs
$191,000–$225,000
across 55 roles with salary data.