Senior Manager - Security Incident Detection and Response

We're here to help the smartest minds on the planet build Superintelligence. The labs pushing the edge? They run on Lambda. Our gear trains and serves their models, our infrastructure scales with them, and we move fast to keep up. If you want to work on massive, world-changing AI deployments with people who love action and hard problems, we're the place to be. If you'd like to build the world's best deep learning cloud, join us. *Note: This position requires presence in our San Francisco office location 4 days per week; Lambda’s designated work from home day is currently Tuesday. About the RoleLambda Security protects some of the world's most valuable digital assets: invaluable training data, model weights representing immense computational investments, and the sensitive inputs required to leverage best of breed AI models. We're responsible for securing every byte that powers breakthrough artificial intelligence. Reporting to the Head of Security, you'll lead the Detection & Response team that acts as an intelligent backstop—ensuring Lambda is the safest place to build with AI by catching security issues in real-time while enabling our business to move at hypergrowth velocity. Your team will transform reactive security operations into a proactive threat management engine, dedicating the majority of their effort to automation, threat hunting, and capability building rather than constant firefighting. Your team will directly affect customers’ trust in the safety of their data by implementing enterprise-grade detection capabilities, automating incident response workflows, and hardening our multi-cloud and bare metal infrastructure while you are building sustainable programs where senior engineers thrive solving novel security challenges. With unique access to LLMs hosted on our own infrastructure, your team will pioneer AI-powered security solutions that wouldn't be possible anywhere else. Key priorities include 24/7 operational coverage, maintaining customer trust through rapid incident response, and delivering a comprehensive D&R strategy within your first 6 months. If you're excited about building security operations so efficient that they're 'almost boring,' where automation handles the routine so your team can focus on the novel, we want to talk. We value diverse backgrounds, experiences, and skills, and we are excited to hear from candidates who can bring unique perspectives to our team. If you do not exactly meet this description but believe you may be a good fit, please still apply and help us understand your readiness for a Senior Manager role. Your application is not a waste of our time. What You’ll DoTeam Leadership & Management:Build, hire, and lead a high-performing Detection & Response team that can scale with Lambda's hypergrowth while maintaining 24/7 operational excellenceDefine team processes, culture, and operating rhythms that balance startup agility with security discipline, creating an environment where senior engineers thrive on automation and novel challengesConduct regular one-on-ones, provide constructive feedback, and create clear career development paths that help security engineers advance their technical and leadership skillsDrive outcomes by managing project priorities, deadlines, and deliverables while establishing our blameless post-incident culture focused on systemic improvements rather than individual accountabilityTechnical Strategy & Execution:Define and implement threat management frameworks that transform reactive security operations into proactive threat hunting and detection, establishing automation standards that eliminate repetitive work and enable your team to focus on novel challengesArchitect incident response processes and escalation frameworks that protect Lambda from impact while scaling with the company’s growthGuide technology choices and evangelize new security tools, including pioneering AI-powered detection capabilities using our direct access to state-of-the-art LLMsStrategic Collaboration & Business Impact:Create data-driven insights showing where we are reacting most frequently to guide investments in preventative controlsPartner with Product and Platform engineering teams to evolve our detection and response capabilities as Lambda’s infrastructure growsEstablish executive reporting that translates technical incidents into business impact while maintaining a blameless culture focused on systemic improvementsOperational Excellence & Scaling:Drive weekly operations reviews that ensure nothing falls through the cracks while building institutional knowledge and defining repeatable processes from every incidentDefine sustainable on-call rotations and operational procedures that maintain 24/7 coverage without burning out senior engineersEstablish the team's 6-month strategic roadmap for comprehensive D&R capabilities while defining success criteria and measurable outcomesWhat We Think a Candidate Needs to Demonstrate to Succeed10+ years of security experience with 5+ years leading technical teams, demonstrating ability to build and manage independentlyProven ability to define and build security programs from the ground up that accelerate business initiatives, with demonstrated experience establishing team processes, technical frameworks, and cross-functional partnershipsExcellence at building automation-first security programs where technology eliminates toil and teams never do the same thing twiceClear understanding of the unique requirements of securing a cloud infrastructure providerProven ability to create sustainable team cultures where senior engineers thrive long-term rather than burning out on repetitive tasksStrong judgment in security response, understanding real business impact and calibrating actions proportionallyTrack record of translating technical security work into executive communications and business-aligned metricsThrives in high-ambiguity environments where you must build structure while executing at startup paceNice to HaveExcitement about leveraging our direct access to state-of-the-art LLMs to revolutionize security operations—imagine AI-powered threat hunting, automated security report generation, and intelligent vulnerability prioritization at a scale only possible when you host the AI infrastructure yourself. Experience building D&R programs at AI/ML companiesTrack record using AI/ML for security operations automation (yes, we know it’s all brand new)Background scaling security during hypergrowth (10x growth phases)Deep technical background allowing hands-on contribution when neededExperience with both build and buy decisions for security toolingExperience driving or providing significant evidence for compliance audits, such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI-DSS, HIPAA/HITECH, or FedRAMP. Salary Range InformationThe annual salary range for this position has been set based on market data and other factors. However, a salary higher or lower than this range may be appropriate for a candidate whose qualifications differ meaningfully from those listed in the job description. About LambdaFounded in 2012, ~400 employees (2025) and growing fastWe offer generous cash & equity compensationOur investors include Andra Capital, SGW, Andrej Karpathy, ARK Invest, Fincadia Advisors, G Squared, In-Q-Tel (IQT), KHK & Partners, NVIDIA, Pegatron, Supermicro, Wistron, Wiwynn, US Innovative Technology, Gradient Ventures, Mercato Partners, SVB, 1517, Crescent Cove. We are experiencing extremely high demand for our systems, with quarter over quarter, year over year profitabilityOur research papers have been accepted into top machine learning and graphics conferences, including NeurIPS, ICCV, SIGGRAPH, and TOGHealth, dental, and vision coverage for you and your dependentsWellness and Commuter stipends for select roles401k Plan with 2% company match (USA employees)Flexible Paid Time Off Plan that we all actually useA Final Note:You do not need to match all of the listed expectations to apply for this position. We are committed to building a team with a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and skills. Equal Opportunity EmployerLambda is an Equal Opportunity employer. Applicants are considered without regard to race, color, religion, creed, national origin, age, sex, gender, marital status, sexual orientation and identity, genetic information, veteran status, citizenship, or any other factors prohibited by local, state, or federal law. Apply to this Job