--- title: 'Senior Security Engineer at Beacon AI' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-security-engineer-beacon-ai-san-carlos-y5008v1nmjt2' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-10-18' --- # Senior Security Engineer at Beacon AI - **Company:** Beacon AI - **Location:** San Carlos, CA - **Compensation:** $173k–$225k - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** hybrid - **Posted:** 2026-10-06 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-18 - **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/beaconai/97312048-fbe5-4168-b2d2-620f43a85ae4 ## Job description ## About Beacon AI We’re a fast-moving team of aviators, engineers, and operators building an AI platform to make flying safer, more efficient, and more capable. Backed by top investors, we’ve secured a dozen Department of Defense contracts and partnered with major airlines to deliver mission-critical systems. We operate without silos or heavy processes. Small, focused teams own what they build, ship quickly, and learn fast, pushing the boundaries of how humans and AI work together in aviation. ## Role Overview We are seeking a Senior Security Engineer to ensure the security and integrity of Beacon AI’s systems and data across commercial and Department of Defense (DoD) environments. This is a hands-on security engineering role focused on designing and operating secure systems, partnering closely with software teams, and protecting mission-critical flight safety technology while meeting applicable security and compliance standards, including FedRAMP and DoD Impact Level (IL) requirements. ## What You’ll Do - Design and implement secure architectures across applications, cloud infrastructure, backend services, and in-cockpit edge systems, including environments built to FedRAMP Moderate baseline and DoD IL4/IL5 environments. - Protect sensitive data through strong controls for access management, encryption, and secure data handling, consistent with NIST 800-53 and NIST 800-171 requirements. - Identify, assess, and mitigate security risks through vulnerability assessments, penetration testing, and security reviews. - Lead incident response efforts, including detection, containment, remediation, and follow-up analysis. - Integrate security into the SDLC by partnering with software teams on threat modeling, secure code review, and automated security checks in CI/CD and infrastructure-as-code. - Implement and operate security monitoring and logging to detect and respond to threats in real time. - Support authorization and compliance efforts (ATO packages, SSPs, POA&Ms) for FedRAMP and DoD accreditation processes. - Help maintain CMMC 2.0 readiness and alignment with DFARS cybersecurity clauses across the environment. - Secure our AI systems, including LLM and retrieval-based features, against risks like prompt injection, data leakage, and model misuse. What Will Make You Successful - 5+ years of hands-on experience in security engineering roles securing complex systems and data, including production cloud environments (AWS or AWS GovCloud strongly preferred) - Strong knowledge of security principles, threat modeling, and defensive security practices. - Experience with common security tools and technologies (e.g., SIEM, IDS/IPS, vulnerability scanning, encryption). - Familiarity with security and compliance frameworks such as NIST 800-53/800-171, ISO 27001, and CMMC. - Direct experience with FedRAMP authorization processes (ATO, SSP, POA&M) and/or DoD Impact Level (IL4/IL5) environments. - Comfort being an early security owner: setting priorities, building from scratch, and balancing risk against a fast-moving product roadmap. - Proven ability to collaborate effectively with software engineers on secure system design. - Hands-on mindset with strong analytical and problem-solving skills. Bonus Points - Passion for aviation and a desire to improve air travel efficiency and safety. - Experience working with aviation, aerospace, or DoD customers, particularly in ITAR-controlled environments. - Familiarity with zero trust architectures or advanced security approaches. - Experience with StateRAMP, IL5/IL6 systems, or classified/controlled unclassified information (CUI) handling. - Experience securing mobile (iOS), embedded, or edge devices operating in disconnected or constrained environments. - Relevant security certifications such as CISSP, CISM, or CEH. Work Location This is a hybrid role based in San Carlos, CA, with 3+ days per week onsite and the option to work remotely on remaining days. ## Perks & Benefits (Full-Time Employees) - Healthcare: 100%* of employee medical premiums covered; 25% for dependents - Time Off: 3 weeks PTO plus 13+ paid company holidays - 401(k): Offered (no current employer match, but we are committed to enhancing this benefit in the future) Due to U.S. export control regulations, we can only hire U.S. Persons (U.S. citizens, Green Card holders, lawful permanent residents, or individuals granted asylum or refugee status). We are unable to provide visa sponsorship or support visa transfers. All work must be performed in the United States. Beacon AI is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. We prohibit harassment or discrimination of any kind in the workplace and comply with all applicable federal, state, and local employment laws. ## About Beacon AI ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Beacon AI builds an AI Copilot for pilots to enhance flight safety and operational efficiency, serving commercial airlines, defense fleets, and aircraft operators. - **Entity Type**: Private (Series A – $15M led by Costanoa Ventures, August 2024) - **Headquarters**: San Carlos, California, USA - **Founded**: 2021 - **Founders**: Matt Cox (Co‑Founder & CEO) ## Core Business - **Primary Industry**: Aviation software / AI‑powered pilot assistance - **Target Customers**: Airlines, Public & Government Fleets, Air Charter Operators, Corporate Flight Departments, OEMs, System Integrators - **Mission Statement**: “An AI Assistant or Copilot in every professional flight deck; pulling forward the future.” – Beacon AI ## Products & Services - **Safety Net**: AI‑driven procedures, checklists, configuration management, and pilot safety system (alerts, compliance monitoring) - **Coach**: In‑flight debrief and playback, live flight support, fleet monitoring, third‑party integration - **Superhuman**: Route optimization, divert calculations, and performance analytics – all running as a hardware‑lite onboard assistant ## Market Standing - **Valuation**: Not publicly disclosed - **Key Metric**: Total funding – **$21.25M** (Series A $15M, Seed $5M, Grant $1.2M, Pre‑Seed) - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Costanoa Ventures (lead), Sam Altman (Apollo Projects / Hydrazine), JetBlue Ventures, Scout Ventures, Lachy Groom, Mischief, Countdown Capital - **Growth Signals**: - Signed a **$49.5M Phase 3 Prototype OTA** with USSOCOM to bring first‑of‑its‑kind pilot assistant to production - Awarded a **U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command** contract (April 2026) - Employee count grew ~7.4% month‑over‑month (current ~18‑19 employees) - Job postings increased **+72.7% monthly** and **+137.5% quarterly** as of mid‑2026 ## Competitive Advantages - **Unique team blend**: Founders and engineers combine deep professional pilot experience with self‑driving car software expertise (e.g., autonomous driving, military aviation backgrounds) - **Hardware‑lite AI assistant**: Differentiates from traditional avionics by focusing on intelligent software augmentation rather than complex hardware integration - **Defense‑grade contracts**: Early validation from USSOCOM and U.S. Air Force demonstrates trust in safety‑critical environments ## Strategic Focus - Scaling production of the AI Copilot for both defense and commercial fleets - Expanding integrations with aircraft systems and third‑party platforms - Aggressively hiring across engineering (backend, iOS, AI/LLM, cloud infrastructure, frontend) and business roles to meet contract demand ## Why Work Here - **Culture & Ratings**: 5.0/5.0 on LinkedIn (6 reviews); Career 5.0, Culture 4.8, Compensation 4.6 – employees highlight challenging work and high growth - **Work Environment**: In‑office (onsite) at San Carlos, CA; small, tight‑knit team (≈19 people) - **Notable Perks / Engineering**: Work on cutting‑edge AI for aviation safety with direct impact on pilots and passengers; cross‑discipline collaboration (aviation, AI, software) - **Open Roles** (as of mid‑2026): Lead Backend Engineer, iOS/Mobile Engineer (EFB, Health Wearable), AI/LLM Engineer (multiple levels), Cloud Infrastructure Engineer, Frontend Engineer, Product Designer, and more ## Sources 1. [beaconai.co](https://beaconai.co/) 2. [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/beacon-ai) 3. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/beacon-ai) 4. [cbinsights.com](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/beacon-ai) 5. [jobs.beaconai.co](https://jobs.beaconai.co/) ## Other roles at Beacon AI - [Staff Applied AI Engineer, Agentic Systems](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-applied-ai-engineer-agentic-systems-beacon-ai-san-carlos-a28hjgddpg94) — San Carlos, CA - [Staff Software Engineer, iOS/Mobile](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-software-engineer-ios-mobile-beacon-ai-san-carlos-ywxjx3x4wr7n) — San Carlos, CA - [Senior Software Engineer, iOS/Mobile](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-ios-mobile-beacon-ai-san-carlos-9src47xg89t6) — San Carlos, CA - [Software Engineer, Advanced Pilot Assistant Software (Autonomy/Robotics)](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-advanced-pilot-assistant-software-autonomy-robotics-beacon-ai-f9sf9xqz5fgr) — San Carlos, CA - [Senior Software Engineer, Advanced Pilot Assistant Software (Autonomy/Robotics)](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-advanced-pilot-assistant-software-autonomy-robotics-k83wgx2vk54s) — San Carlos, CA - [Senior Software Engineer, Frontend/Web App](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-frontend-web-app-beacon-ai-san-carlos-s83a3sqegpke) — San Carlos, CA - [Staff Software Engineer, Frontend/Web App](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-software-engineer-frontend-web-app-beacon-ai-san-carlos-y2v9fzr6pbg7) — San Carlos, CA - [Staff Software Engineer, Cloud Infrastructure](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-software-engineer-cloud-infrastructure-beacon-ai-san-carlos-gm8w11qkt02d) — San Carlos, CA - [Senior Software Engineer, Cloud Infrastructure](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-cloud-infrastructure-beacon-ai-san-carlos-hwtey1mamdsb) — San Carlos, CA - [Software Engineer, Frontend/Web App](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-frontend-web-app-beacon-ai-san-carlos-4mhqnf8da9wz) — San Carlos, CA