Staff Software Engineer - GRC, Program Definition

At Vanta, our mission is to secure the internet and protect consumer data. We believe that security should be monitored and verified continuously, and we empower companies to practice better security and prove it with ease. Vanta has a kind and talented team, and while some have prior security experience, many have been successful at Vanta without it. 

Our business has found incredible product-market fit and has monetized effectively since the day we signed our first customer. We’re growing at a blistering pace, which presents career-defining opportunities for engineers to accelerate their growth and to contribute to a rapidly-scaling company.

Visit our Vanta Engineering Blog to learn more about what our team is working on! 

The GRC (Governance, Risk and Compliance) organization is the primary org responsible for developing and maintaining Vanta's core product offerings. These teams are at the heart of Vanta moving upmarket to support enterprise customers and build products that enable our customers’ existing security and compliance programs to integrate seamlessly with Vanta, giving them invaluable insights and recommendations to continue to operate, mature and evolve their programs.

As a Staff Software Engineer at Vanta, you will play a critical role in driving the long-term technical strategy, leading complex initiatives, and making high-impact decisions that affect your product area and the broader engineering organization. You will set the tone for engineering excellence and culture. This role involves a mix of hands-on development, leadership, strategic thinking, and cross-functional collaboration. You will work closely with engineering leadership and product teams to ensure the alignment of systems with Vanta’s technical strategy, and you will actively influence key decisions across the organization.

What you’ll do as a Staff Software Engineer at Vanta:

• Identify, scope, and lead large technical projects, laying the groundwork for building highly performant, reliable, and customizable systems with long-term impact.

• Drive a portfolio of complex initiatives with a duration spanning multiple quarters, ensuring iterative and sustainable impact across product areas.

• Rally cross-functional teams to drive initiatives to completion, even without direct management of team members.

• Make strategic decisions that prioritize long-term success, while influencing Vanta’s technical direction alongside senior engineers and leadership.

• Champion engineering excellence by continuously improving processes, methodologies, and technical practices across the organization.

• Guide teams on tough technical decisions, balancing tradeoffs and resolving conflicts.

• Address product, technical, and operational challenges with clear, impactful solutions.

• Serve as a cultural leader, modeling collaborative behaviors and mentoring engineers to elevate organizational performance.

How to be successful in this role:

• Over 10 years of industry experience with deep expertise in one or more technical areas (e.g., frontend, databases, distributed systems, APIs, AI, etc.).

• Proven ability to lead complex technical initiatives, driving strategic projects and improving organizational processes in fast-paced, dynamic environments.

• Mastery in system design and software architecture, with a strong ability to balance technical considerations and execution constraints.

• Extensive experience building user-facing SaaS products, catering to both startup and enterprise users.

• Expertise in building 0→1 products and solving large-scale challenges, especially in environments that prioritize a bias for action.

• Strong leadership and mentorship experience, consistently up-leveling teams and leading by example.

• Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence and advocate for technical decisions at all levels of the organization.

• What you can expect as a US-based Vantan:

  • Industry-competitive compensation

  • 100% covered medical, dental, and vision benefits with dependents coverage

  • 16 weeks fully-paid parental Leave for all new parents

  • Health & wellness and remote workplace stipends

  • Family planning benefits through Carrot Fertility

  • 401(k) matching

  • Flexible work hours and location

  • Open PTO policy

  • 11 paid holidays in the US

  • Offices in SF, NYC, Dublin, and Sydney