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Senior Detection Engineer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Senior Detection and Response Engineer

San Mateo, CA · Hybrid

$130K - $178K/yr

As a Senior Security Engineer on the Detection and Response (D&R) team at Roblox, you'll protect our user community alongside the underlying platform infrastructure. You'll design high-fidelity ...

Senior Security Engineer

Milpitas, CA · On-site

$131K - $217K/yr

We are seeking a highly experienced Senior Security Engineer to own, design, and continuously ... Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR/XDR) * Email Security Engineering * Vulnerability Scan ...

Senior Security Engineer

Milpitas, CA · On-site

$130K - $179K/yr

We are seeking a highly experienced Senior Security Engineer to own, design, and continuously ... Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR/XDR) * Email Security Engineering * Vulnerability Scan ...

Senior Security Engineer

Milpitas, CA · On-site

$130K - $179K/yr

We are seeking a highly experienced Senior Security Engineer to own, design, and continuously ... Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR/XDR) * Email Security Engineering * Vulnerability Scan ...

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 ...

Senior Offensive Security Engineer

San Mateo, CA · On-site

$130K - $178K/yr

Working closely with the larger InfoSec team, detection engineers, and external engineering partners, you'll identify security weaknesses, validate detection mechanisms, and provide actionable ...

Senior Security Engineer II

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$134K - $185K/yr

Where a Senior engineer executes and improves our cloud security controls, a Senior Cloud Security ... You'll go especially deep across three areas - secure architecture and threat modeling, detection ...

Senior Security Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$134K - $185K/yr

The Opportunity We're hiring a Senior Security Engineer to own how Ivo detects, responds to, and ... Own detection and response across Ivo's cloud, identity, and endpoint estate. * Build and tune ...

Senior Security Engineer II

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$134K - $185K/yr

Where a Senior engineer executes and improves our cloud security controls, a Senior Cloud Security ... Advance our detection strategy: design high-signal detections and SIEM rules (with our SIEM ...

Senior Security Engineer

Los Angeles, CA · On-site

$123K - $169K/yr

They are hiring a Senior Security Engineer to take ownership of their security posture, focusing on ... detection engineering, alert triage, threat hunting, and incident response. • Tune and operate ...

Senior Security Engineer

Los Angeles, CA · On-site

$123K - $169K/yr

They are seeking a Senior Security Engineer to take ownership of their security posture, managing ... detection engineering, alert triage, threat hunting, and incident response. • Tune and operate ...

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Showing results 1-20

Senior Detection Engineer information

What is the difference between Senior Detection Engineer vs Security Analyst?

AspectSenior Detection EngineerSecurity Analyst
Required CredentialsBachelor's in CS, Cybersecurity, or related; certifications like CISSP, GIACBachelor's in CS, Cybersecurity, or related; certifications like CompTIA Security+
Work EnvironmentDevelops detection tools, analyzes security data, creates detection rulesMonitors security alerts, investigates incidents, reports findings
Employer & Industry UsageTech companies, financial institutions, cybersecurity firmsIT departments, government agencies, large enterprises

While both roles focus on security, Senior Detection Engineers primarily develop and refine detection systems, whereas Security Analysts monitor and respond to security incidents. The Senior Detection Engineer role is more technical and development-oriented, while Security Analysts focus on incident response and analysis.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a senior detection engineer, and why are they important?

To excel as a Senior Detection Engineer, you need advanced knowledge of cybersecurity principles, threat detection methodologies, and experience with incident response, often supported by a degree in computer science or related certifications like CISSP or GIAC. Proficiency in SIEM platforms (such as Splunk or Sentinel), scripting languages (like Python), and EDR/XDR tools is typically required. Strong analytical thinking, problem-solving skills, and effective communication help you collaborate with teams and respond to evolving threats. These capabilities are crucial for proactively identifying and mitigating security risks to protect organizational assets.

What is a senior detection engineer?

A Senior Detection Engineer is a cybersecurity professional responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining systems that detect threats and malicious activities within an organization's network. They create and refine detection rules, analyze security alerts, and work closely with incident response teams to mitigate risks. Senior Detection Engineers also lead efforts to improve detection capabilities by researching new attack techniques and developing advanced monitoring solutions. Their expertise helps organizations proactively defend against evolving cyber threats.

What are some common challenges a senior detection engineer faces when developing and tuning detection rules?

A Senior Detection Engineer often encounters challenges such as balancing detection accuracy with false positive rates, staying ahead of evolving threat landscapes, and ensuring detection rules adapt to new attack techniques. They must also collaborate closely with other security teams to understand operational impacts and validate the effectiveness of their rules in real-world scenarios. Regular communication, continuous learning, and iterative testing are crucial to overcoming these challenges and maintaining a robust security posture.

How much do detection engineers make?

Detection engineers typically earn a median salary ranging from $90,000 to $130,000 annually, depending on experience, location, and certifications. Senior detection engineers with specialized skills in cybersecurity tools and threat detection may earn higher salaries, often exceeding $150,000.
What are the most commonly searched types of Detection Engineer jobs in California? The most popular types of Detection Engineer jobs in California are:
What are popular job titles related to Senior Detection Engineer jobs in California? For Senior Detection Engineer jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What cities in California are hiring for Senior Detection Engineer jobs? Cities in California with the most Senior Detection Engineer job openings:
Infographic showing various Senior Detection Engineer job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 92% Full Time, 2% Part Time, and 6% Contract. Highlights an 87% Physical, 4% Hybrid, and 9% Remote job distribution.

Senior Detection & Response Engineer

Anduril Industries

Costa Mesa, CA

$122K - $168K/yr

Other

Re-posted 16 days ago


Anduril rating

9.1

Company rating: 9.1 out of 10

Anduril

Based on 17 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

7.4

Company rating compared to similar companies: 7.4 out of 10

Manufacturers average

Based on 74,941 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz


Job description

ABOUT THE TEAM

Anduril's Information Security team is looking for a Senior Detection and Response Engineer to focus on building world class defensive controls to protect the infrastructure around our advanced defense technology products. This is a role with wide berth that will have the latitude to design and implement cutting edge security architecture.

ABOUT THE JOBWHAT YOU'LL DO
  • Collaborate with Counter Intelligence and Insider Threat teams to develop key signals and capabilities to identify nefarious activity.
  • Support internal tooling that surfaces detections to partner teams in real time, including API integrations, audit-trail instrumentation, and data-source health.
  • Collaborate with Counter Intelligence, SecOps, Insider Threat and other key stakeholders to architect and implement detection and response frameworks for Anduril's products, assets, and other custom applications.
  • Build and optimize tailored detection signatures and response automation using detection-as-code principles.
  • Lead threat modeling scenarios with cross-functional partners to understand weaknesses across OT, Cloud, Network, Endpoints, and other key worlds incorporating findings into security controls and/or detection signatures.
  • Lead large-scale baselines of data, collaborating across many teams to emit signals to incorporate into detections, new telemetry ingestion, and/or security controls.
  • Contribute directly to the development and advancement of our detection-as-code, data engineering, automation, and infrastructure capabilities.
  • Design and tune User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) capabilities - including baselining, anomaly detection, and risk scoring - to surface insider threat and counterintelligence signals across identity, endpoint, and data-access telemetry.
  • Work cross-collaboratively with different teams to mature the detection and response of threat actors in key worlds, developing data baselines, automation, and engineering capabilities to scale this capability across the business.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
  • Experience programming in one or more general purpose languages (Python, Go, Rust, SQL, etc.).
  • Experience conducting data analysis in large-scale data lake environments.
  • Experience deploying infrastructure as code (Terraform, CDK, CloudFormation, etc).
  • Experience working in a traditional software development lifecycle (i.e. Github, CI/CD, unit testing).
  • Extensive experience utilizing AWS / Azure security controls and services.
  • Broad range of practical security knowledge across the spectrum of endpoint, network, identity, application, and cloud infrastructure.
  • Deep understanding of adversarial tradecraft with an emphasis on counterintelligence and insider threat tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs).
  • Strong communication skills, both written and verbal, and experience collaborating with internal and external stakeholders.
  • Must be able to obtain and hold a U.S. Top Secret security clearance.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
  • Experience working directly with counterintelligence, insider threat, or special investigations teams in a cleared environment.
  • Experience deploying infrastructure using Kubernetes (EKS) and/or Docker containers (ECS).
  • Experience proactively threat hunting using threat and counter intelligence signals to identify potential risks and weaknesses in telemetry.

Although we list out what we generally look for, we are very likely missing other attributes and skills that you have that could make you a great fit, but are not currently listed. Research has shown this especially applies to women and other marginalized groups, who tend to apply if they check 100% of every box, versus men who apply if they hit roughly 60%. The point we're getting at, it doesn't hurt to take a chance and apply!


Working at Anduril

About Anduril, in their own words

From Anduril

As the world enters an era of strategic competition, Anduril delivers cutting-edge autonomy, AI, computer vision, sensor fusion, and networking technology to the warfighter in months, not years.


What Anduril employees say

Pay

Benefits

Hours and flexibility

Workplace

Get the full story on Breakroom


Anduril Industries logo

About Anduril Industries

Sourced by ZipRecruiter

Anduril Industries is a trailblazer in the technology industry based in Costa Mesa, CA, US. Founded in 2017 by Palmer Luckey, the creator of Oculus VR, the company focuses on developing innovative technology to equip and empower those in the defense sector. Its primary products include cutting-edge autonomous systems and AI software that assist in combating threats to national and global security. The mission of Anduril Industries is to integrate technology and defense by building transformative, scalable solutions that ensure a safer world.

Industry

Guided missile and space vehicle manufacturing

Company size

501 - 1,000 Employees

Headquarters location

Costa Mesa, CA, US

Year founded

2017

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