About the team

The Security organization at ClickHouse is built around a single mission: build customer trust through resilient, pragmatic security. We are now establishing a new, centralized Security Engineering function — a dedicated team responsible for delivering security engineering work across all product lines and engineering dimensions at ClickHouse.

This team exists to solve a real problem: security product features (such as Transparent Data Encryption, secure networking, sandboxing, Identity and Access Management, and more) are cross-functional, complex, and critical to customer trust. We are creating a focused, empowered team that owns security engineering end-to-end — from architecture and design through to implementation and delivery.

About the role

We are looking for an experienced engineering leader to build and run this new function from the ground up. You will lead an existing Customer Identity engineering team, advocate for additional resources based on needs, and work in close partnership with the Product Security, GRC, and broader engineering and product management leadership teams.

This is a senior individual in our security organization — a builder, architect, and people leader in equal measure. You understand how to work at the intersection of security, product, and platform engineering, and you know how to create structure and accountability in a fast-moving, distributed environment.

What you will do:

Build and Lead the Security Engineering Function

• Establish and scale a new centralized Security Engineering team, starting with the Customer Identity team and growing with additional hires depending on work needs
• Define the operating model, collaborate on roadmap, and tracking systems for security engineering work across all product lines
• Hire, develop, and retain a high-performing team of security-focused software engineers
• Create a team culture grounded in engineering excellence, pragmatic security, and strong cross-functional partnership

Own Security Engineering Delivery

• Lead the design and implementation of security product features across ClickHouse Cloud, Postgres, Langfuse and OSS — including areas such as encryption, identity and access, network isolation, sandboxing, and authentication
• Drive end-to-end ownership of security engineering initiatives, reducing dependency on ad-hoc resource allocation from individual engineering teams
• Establish clear lanes and a dedicated tracking system for all security product features, providing consistent visibility to security and product leadership
• Manage cross-functional dependencies across Core, Data Platform, Cloud Platform, and Product Security teams

Partner Across Security, Engineering and Product

• Collaborate closely with the Product Management, Security teams to ensure engineering solutions are grounded in sound risk and threat modeling — freeing that team to focus on assurance and vulnerability work rather than implementation
• Work with GRC and Trust & Assurance to ensure security engineering outputs support compliance, customer enablement, and audit requirements
• Partner with engineering and product leadership to align on architecture direction, prioritization, and resourcing
• Serve as the primary point of accountability for security engineering commitments to product strategy and roadmap

What you bring along:

Leadership and Org Building

• Proven experience building and managing engineering teams, including hiring, performance management, and career development
• Track record of establishing new teams or functions — setting operating models, building culture, and creating accountability structures from scratch
• Ability to lead and influence cross-functional stakeholders, including senior engineering and product management leaders, without direct authority

Security Engineering Depth

• Strong hands-on background in security engineering or software engineering with a significant security focus — you can credibly review architecture, guide implementation, and challenge technical decisions
• Experience delivering security product features in cloud or SaaS environments — examples might include identity and access management, encryption, network security controls, or secure multi-tenancy
• Familiarity with cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, Azure), Kubernetes, and distributed systems
• Understanding of how security features intersect with product strategy, compliance requirements, and customer trust

Execution and Delivery

• Demonstrated ability to manage complex, cross-functional programs — defining roadmaps, managing dependencies, and delivering against commitments
• Strong instincts for prioritization and risk-based decision-making in fast-moving environments
• Experience building systems and processes that scale — tracking, reporting, and coordination tools that give leadership visibility without adding friction

Bonus Points:

• BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science or related field
• Previous experience at a cloud infrastructure, database, or developer tools company
• Previous contributions to open source projects