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Offensive Security Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

SoFi's Cyber Defense organization is looking for an Offensive Security Lead to mature and grow our Penetration Testing and Red Team functions. This is a hands‑on leadership role for someone who has ...

SoFi's Cyber Defense organization is looking for an Offensive Security Lead to mature and grow our Penetration Testing and Red Team functions. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who has ...

As an Offensive Security Engineer within the Detection and Response team (DART), you'll engage in the offensive security assessments that strengthen our defense capabilities. Working closely with the ...

Senior Offensive Security Engineer

San Mateo, CA · On-site

$130K - $178K/yr

As an Offensive Security Engineer within the Detection and Response team (DART), you'll engage in the offensive security assessments that strengthen our defense capabilities. Working closely with the ...

Offensive Security Manager

San Francisco, CA

$130K - $176K/yr

As an Offensive Security Manager, you will help organizations navigate an evolving threat landscape and a complex regulatory environment by delivering high-value, practical cybersecurity and risk ...

Offensive Security Manager

San Jose, CA · On-site

$130K - $175K/yr

As an Offensive Security Manager, you will help organizations navigate an evolving threat landscape and a complex regulatory environment by delivering high-value, practical cybersecurity and risk ...

Offensive Security Manager

Los Angeles, CA · On-site

$119K - $161K/yr

As an Offensive Security Manager, you will help organizations navigate an evolving threat landscape and a complex regulatory environment by delivering high-value, practical cybersecurity and risk ...

Offensive Security Manager

Sacramento, CA · On-site

$118K - $159K/yr

As an Offensive Security Manager, you will help organizations navigate an evolving threat landscape and a complex regulatory environment by delivering high-value, practical cybersecurity and risk ...

You will join a team working with world-class offensive security researchers. The work is critical directly shapes the security posture of Apple. You will conduct offensive research into AI-specific ...

You will join a team working with world-class offensive security researchers. The work is critical directly shapes the security posture of Apple. You will conduct offensive research into AI-specific ...

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Showing results 1-20

Offensive Security information

See California salary details

$56.3K

$131.2K

$183.6K

How much do offensive security jobs pay per year?

As of Sep 14, 2026, the average yearly pay for offensive security in California is $131,221.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $109,500.00 and $148,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is offensive security?

An Offensive Security job involves proactively identifying and exploiting security vulnerabilities in systems, networks, and applications to help organizations strengthen their defenses. Professionals in this field, such as ethical hackers and penetration testers, simulate real-world cyberattacks to find weaknesses before malicious actors can exploit them. They use various tools, techniques, and frameworks to assess security risks, provide recommendations, and improve overall cybersecurity posture. Offensive security experts often work for security firms, enterprises, or government agencies to ensure robust digital protection.

What does a typical day look like for someone working in offensive security?

A typical day in Offensive Security involves conducting penetration tests, vulnerability assessments, and red teaming exercises to identify and exploit potential weaknesses in systems and networks. You may spend time analyzing findings, preparing detailed reports, and collaborating with IT teams to discuss remediation strategies. The role often requires staying current with emerging threats and tools, as well as participating in team meetings to review attack simulations or incident scenarios. Regular communication with clients or internal stakeholders is also common to explain technical concepts in an accessible way. The dynamic nature of the work keeps each day interesting and fosters continuous learning and problem-solving.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in offensive security, and why are they important?

To thrive as an Offensive Security professional, you need a deep understanding of networks, operating systems, penetration testing methodologies, and typically hold a degree in computer science or a related field. Familiarity with tools such as Metasploit, Burp Suite, Nmap, as well as certifications like OSCP or CEH, is often required. Strong analytical thinking, attention to detail, effective communication, and ethical judgment are essential soft skills. These abilities are crucial for identifying vulnerabilities, communicating risks, and helping organizations improve their security posture.

What are popular job titles related to Offensive Security jobs in California?

For Offensive Security jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Offensive Security jobs in California look for?

The top searched job categories for Offensive Security jobs in California are:

What cities in California are hiring for Offensive Security jobs?

Cities in California with the most Offensive Security job openings:

Infographic showing various Offensive Security job openings in California as of September 2026, with employment types broken down into 56% Full Time, 18% Part Time, and 26% Contract. Highlights an 60% In-person, and 40% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $131,221 per year, or $63.1 per hour.

Offensive Security Lead

San Francisco, CA • On-site

SoFi
Finance and Insurance • 1 - 5K employees

Other

Posted 9 days ago


Job description

Employee Applicant Privacy Notice

Who we are:

Shape a brighter financial future with us.

Together with our members, we’re changing the way people think about and interact with personal finance.

We’re a next-generation financial services company and national bank using innovative, mobile-first technology to help our millions of members reach their goals. The industry is going through an unprecedented transformation, and we’re at the forefront. We’re proud to come to work every day knowing that what we do has a direct impact on people’s lives, with our core values guiding us every step of the way. Join us to invest in yourself, your career, and the financial world.

The Role:

SoFi’s Cyber Defense organization is looking for an Offensive Security Lead to mature and grow our Penetration Testing and Red Team functions. This is a hands‑on leadership role for someone who has spent years both doing the work and building the program around it — someone equally comfortable running a red team engagement against a critical banking platform and designing the operating model that lets a small team of offensive operators keep pace with a fast-growing fintech.

A defining part of this role is modernizing how the team scales. We’re looking for a leader who has already built and implemented AI-assisted penetration testing and red teaming programs — using AI tooling to accelerate reconnaissance, exploit development, attack‑path analysis, and reporting — and who can bring that experience to bear on the program.

You’ll own the strategy, staffing, tooling, and execution quality of both disciplines, report into Cyber Defense leadership, and act as a trusted advisor to engineering, product, and risk partners across the company.

What You’ll Do:

  • Lead and unify Penetration Testing and Red Team into a single, cohesive Offensive Security function — shared standards, shared tradecraft, shared reporting, distinct missions.

  • Set and execute the offensive security roadmap, aligning testing scope and cadence to SoFi’s risk profile, regulatory obligations, and the pace of product and platform change in the company.

  • Build and scale AI-augmented offensive security capabilities — design and implement tooling and workflows (AI‑assisted recon, vulnerability triage, exploit chaining, purple‑team simulation, report generation) that increase the team’s coverage and throughput without sacrificing depth or tradecraft.

  • Personally lead and contribute to engagements where needed — network, application, cloud, and AI pentests; adversary emulation and full‑scope red team operations — staying technically credible with the team you lead.

  • Manage and develop the team: hire, coach, mentor, and grow a mix of penetration testers and red team operators; build clear career paths between the two disciplines and into leadership or other disciplines.

  • Own program metrics and maturity: define KPIs for coverage, finding severity and remediation velocity, engagement quality, and program ROI; report progress to senior leadership and risk committees.

  • Partner cross‑functionally with Vulnerability Management, SOC/Incident Response, Application Security, and engineering teams to ensure offensive findings drive real remediation and inform detection engineering.

  • Manage external partnerships — third‑party pentest and red team tooling and/or execution vendors, — including scoping, quality oversight, and budget.

  • Represent Offensive Security in audits, regulatory exams, and executive briefings, translating technical risk into business risk clearly and credibly.

What You’ll Need:

  • 8+ years in offensive security, with demonstrated hands‑on experience in both penetration testing and red team/adversary emulation — not just one discipline.

  • 2+ years directly managing or leading offensive security teams, ideally within a regulated industry (financial services, fintech, healthcare, or similar).

  • Proven experience designing and implementing AI‑led or AI‑assisted offensive security programs — you can speak concretely to what you built, what tooling/models you used, what scaled and what didn’t, and how it changed team output.

  • Deep technical fluency across network, web/application, cloud (AWS/GCP/Azure), and mobile attack surfaces, plus familiarity with adversary emulation frameworks (e.g., MITRE ATT&CK) and C2 tooling.

  • Track record of building programs from the ground up or maturing existing ones — process, tooling, metrics, and team structure, not just individual engagements.

  • Strong written and verbal communication skills; comfort presenting findings and program strategy to engineering leaders, risk teams, and executives.

  • Experience operating in a highly regulated environment and working with auditors/examiners is a strong plus.

  • Relevant certifications (OSCP, OSCE, OSEP, GPEN, GXPN, CRTO, or equivalent demonstrated experience) preferred but not required in lieu of strong hands‑on track record.

Compensation and Benefits

The base pay range for this role is listed below. Final base pay offer will be determined based on individual factors such as the candidate’s experience, skills, and location.

To view all of our comprehensiveand competitivebenefits, visit our**Benefits at SoFi**page!

SoFi provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion (including religious dress and grooming practices), sex (including pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions, breastfeeding, and conditions related to breastfeeding), gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, ancestry, age (40 or over), physical or medical disability, medical condition, marital status, registered domestic partner status, sexual orientation, genetic information, military and/or veteran status, or any other basis prohibited by applicable state or federal law.The Company hires the best qualified candidate for the job, without regard to protected characteristics.Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.New York applicants: Notice of Employee RightsSoFi is committed to an inclusive culture. As part of this commitment, SoFi offers reasonable accommodations to candidates with physical or mental disabilities. If you need accommodations to participate in the job application or interview process, please let your recruiter know or email accommodations@sofi.com.We are unable to accommodate remote work from Hawaii, Alaska or Puerto Rico at this time.
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