We’re building a world of health around every individual — shaping a more connected, convenient and compassionate health experience. At CVS Health®, you’ll be surrounded by passionate colleagues who care deeply, innovate with purpose, hold ourselves accountable and prioritize safety and quality in everything we do. Join us and be part of something bigger – helping to simplify health care one person, one family and one community at a time.
Position Summary
As the Principal Application Security Engineer – Threat Research, you will sit at the forefront of securing modern healthcare technology, combining deep engineering expertise with advanced threat research to protect applications and sensitive data at scale. The position drives the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of security across complex environments. By embedding security directly into development pipelines and leveraging automation, this role ensures resilience, scalability, and integrity across the full software lifecycle.
Equally critical, this role contributes to the broader mission of transforming how healthcare data is secured, owned, and trusted. It plays a key part in advancing security practices through research, innovation, and mentorship—elevating engineering teams while shaping how secure systems are built across the enterprise. The impact extends beyond technology, helping enable a future where healthcare innovation is delivered with confidence, accountability, and a strong foundation of security.
Role Responsibilities:
Development & Enforcement
- Develop and enforce engineering security policies and standards.
- Develop and enforce data security policies and standards.
- Drive security awareness across the organization.
- Lead the development and enforcement of comprehensive security policies and standards, integrating advanced security practices throughout the software development lifecycle to mitigate risks and align with industry-leading security protocols.
Collaboration & Expertise
- Collaborate with Engineering and Business teams to develop secure engineering practices.
- Act as a pivotal security leader, driving the integration of secure engineering practices across the organization while liaising with senior management to ensure a cohesive security strategy that aligns with business objectives.
Analysis & Configuration
- Analyze, develop, and configure security solutions across multi-cloud, on-premises, and colocation environments, ensuring application security, integrity, confidentiality, and availability of data.
- Lead security testing, vulnerability analysis, and documentation.
- Spearhead the evaluation and strategic deployment of cutting-edge security solutions, emphasizing scalability, performance, and adaptability, to fortify the organization's defense against evolving threats.
Operational Support
- Participate in operational on-call duties to support a 24/7 infrastructure across multiple regions and environments (cloud, on-premises, colocation).
- Lead by example in incident response situations, orchestrating rapid and effective responses while leveraging these experiences to bolster future resilience and response strategies.
Mentorship and Training
- Demonstrated leadership skills with developing a comprehensive mentorship program for junior engineers, including organizing regular training sessions to elevate the team's technical and security skills. This role requires a commitment to fostering a culture of continuous improvement and knowledge sharing.
Innovation and Research
- Proven track record with participation in security research and the exploration of next-generation security tools and practices. This includes encouraging the team to engage with the wider security community, contributing to open-source projects, and staying well-informed of emerging threats and innovative defense mechanisms.
Strategic Planning
- Play a key role in the strategic planning of the organization's security roadmap, including conducting thorough risk assessments, allocating budgets for security initiatives, and aligning long-term security strategies with overarching business goals. This responsibility includes advocating for security within the company and ensuring that security considerations are paramount in all technology decisions.
Required Qualifications
- 10+ years of experience in developing and deploying security technologies.
- 7+ years of experience with one or more general-purpose programming/script languages including but not limited to: Java, C/C++, C#, Python, JavaScript, Shell Script, PowerShell.
- 5+ years of with Public Cloud (AWS/Azure/GCP) & Network Security.
- 5+ years of experience with Docker, Kubernetes, Security-as-Code, and Infrastructure-as-Code.
- 5+ years of experience with implementing and managing data protection measures and compliance with data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA).
- 5+ years of experience designing, implementing, and managing Web Application Firewall (WAF) and Layer 7 security solutions.
- 5+ years of experience performing vulnerability analysis and risk prioritization using industry-standard tools, with the ability to provide clear, actionable remediation guidance to engineering and development teams.
- 3+ years of experience leading security initiatives from inception through to successful deployment, demonstrating exceptional project management skills and the ability to navigate complex stakeholder landscapes.
Preferred Qualifications
- Strong technical expertise with Architecting Public Cloud solutions and processes.
- Strong technical expertise with Networking and Software-Defined Networking (SDN) principles.
- Strong technical expertise with developing and interpreting Network, Sequence, and Dataflow diagrams.
- Experience with direct, remote, and virtual teams.
- Understanding of at least one compliance framework (HIPAA, HITRUST, PCI, NIST, CSA).
- Strong technical expertise with security solutions for data warehouses and big data platforms, particularly with technologies like Snowflake.
- Strong technical expertise in defining and implementing cyber resilience standards, policies, and programs for distributed cloud and network infrastructure, ensuring robust redundancy and system reliability.
- Experience in influencing industry security standards and contributing to open-source projects or security communities, highlighting a broader impact beyond the immediate organization.
Education
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience (High School Diploma and 4 years relevant experience)
Pay Range
The typical pay range for this role is:
$144,200.00 - $288,400.00
This pay range represents the base hourly rate or base annual full-time salary for all positions in the job grade within which this position falls. The actual base salary offer will depend on a variety of factors including experience, education, geography and other relevant factors. This position is eligible for a CVS Health bonus, commission or short-term incentive program in addition to the base pay range listed above. This position also includes an award target in the company’s equity award program.
Our people fuel our future. Our teams reflect the customers, patients, members and communities we serve and we are committed to fostering a workplace where every colleague feels valued and that they belong.
Great benefits for great people
We take pride in offering a comprehensive and competitive mix of pay and benefits that reflects our commitment to our colleagues and their families.
Additional details about available benefits are provided during the application process and on Benefits Moments.
Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with all federal, state and local laws.
Skills Required
- 10+ years of experience developing and deploying security technologies
- 7+ years of experience with general-purpose programming or scripting languages, including Java, C/C++, C#, Python, JavaScript, Shell Script, or PowerShell
- 5+ years of experience with public cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP and network security
- 5+ years of experience with Docker, Kubernetes, Security-as-Code, and Infrastructure-as-Code
- 5+ years of experience implementing and managing data protection measures and compliance with data protection regulations such as GDPR or CCPA
- 5+ years of experience designing, implementing, and managing Web Application Firewall and Layer 7 security solutions
- 5+ years of experience performing vulnerability analysis and risk prioritization using industry-standard tools
- 3+ years of experience leading security initiatives from inception through successful deployment
- Strong technical expertise architecting public cloud solutions and processes
- Strong technical expertise with networking and Software-Defined Networking principles
- Strong technical expertise developing and interpreting network, sequence, and dataflow diagrams
- Experience working with direct, remote, and virtual teams
- Understanding of at least one compliance framework, including HIPAA, HITRUST, PCI, NIST, or CSA
- Strong technical expertise with security solutions for data warehouses and big data platforms, particularly Snowflake
- Strong technical expertise defining and implementing cyber resilience standards, policies, and programs
- Experience influencing industry security standards and contributing to open-source projects or security communities
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience; alternatively, a high school diploma with four years of relevant experience
CVS Health Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about CVS Health and has not been reviewed or approved by CVS Health.
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage includes medical, dental, and vision with HSA-eligible options, free preventive care, virtual care, and access to MinuteClinic services. Mental-health resources such as counseling support are emphasized, and coverage is often considered solid for full-time colleagues.
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Retirement Support — A dollar-for-dollar 401(k) match up to 5% after one year and an Employee Stock Purchase Plan are consistently highlighted in Total Rewards materials. Feedback suggests retirement programs are a meaningful strength within the overall package.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Wellbeing offerings include up to 20 no-cost counseling sessions per issue, backup care, tuition assistance, and substantial in-store discounts, alongside broader wellness tools. These everyday perks expand value beyond base pay and can be especially meaningful for full-time schedules.
CVS Health Insights
What We Do
CVS Health is the leading health solutions company that delivers care in ways no one else can. We reach people in more ways and improve the health of communities across America through our local presence, digital channels and our nearly 300,000 dedicated colleagues – including more than 40,000 physicians, pharmacists, nurses and nurse practitioners. Wherever and whenever people need us, we help them with their health – whether that’s managing chronic diseases, staying compliant with their medications, or accessing affordable health and wellness services in the most convenient ways. We help people navigate the health care system – and their personal health care – by improving access, lowering costs and being a trusted partner for every meaningful moment of health. And we do it all with heart, each and every day.
