Principal Application Security Consultant

Job Description:

Prudent Technologies and Consulting is seeking an experienced Principal Application Security Engineer to lead our rapidly expanding web application penetration testing services. This senior-level position will play a critical role in advancing our offensive security capabilities, mentoring junior security consultants, and delivering high-value security assessments to our global client base. The ideal candidate will combine technical expertise in web application security with leadership skills and client engagement experience to drive our security consulting practice forward.

As a Principal Application Security Engineer, you will serve as a technical leader within our offensive security practice, specializing in web application penetration testing methodologies. You will lead complex security engagements, provide subject matter expertise to clients and internal teams, mentor junior security consultants, and contribute to the development of our service offerings. This position requires a deep understanding of application security principles, extensive hands-on testing experience, and exceptional communication skills to translate technical findings into actionable business insights.

Responsibilities:

• Lead complex web application penetration testing engagements for enterprise clients, ensuring delivery of high-quality assessments that meet or exceed client expectations.
• Serve as the principal security advisor to clients, translating technical findings into business context and providing strategic remediation guidance.
• Develop and enhance the organization's application security testing methodologies, incorporating industry best practices like OWASP and MITRE ATT&CK frameworks.
• Perform advanced manual testing to identify sophisticated vulnerabilities beyond the capabilities of automated tools, including business logic flaws, authentication bypasses, and authorization weaknesses.
• Conduct comprehensive threat modeling sessions with development teams to identify security risks early in the software development lifecycle.
• Lead code reviews to identify security vulnerabilities in client applications and provide remediation guidance.
• Create detailed technical reports and executive summaries that clearly articulate security findings, business impact, and prioritized remediation recommendations.
• Mentor junior security consultants, providing technical guidance and contributing to their professional development.
• Collaborate with sales teams to scope complex engagements, participate in pre-sales activities, and support business development efforts.
• Contribute to research initiatives that enhance the company's security testing capabilities and industry reputation.
• Evaluate emerging tools and technologies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of security testing processes.

Qualifications:

Required Qualifications:

• 5-8+ years of professional experience in application security, with a strong focus on web application penetration testing.
• Demonstrated expertise in identifying, exploiting, and documenting complex web application vulnerabilities following OWASP methodologies.
• Proficiency with industry-standard penetration testing tools including Burp Suite Professional, DAST scanners, and other exploitation frameworks.
• Experience leading security assessments across diverse technologies and environments including web applications, APIs, cloud services (AWS, Azure, GCP), and modern web frameworks.
• Strong understanding of secure coding practices, common vulnerability patterns, and remediation strategies across multiple programming languages and frameworks.
• Exceptional technical writing skills, with the ability to produce clear, concise, and compelling security assessment reports for both technical and executive audiences.
• Proven ability to build trusted relationships with clients and effectively communicate complex security concepts to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Experience mentoring junior security professionals and leading technical teams.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, cybersecurity, or related technical field.
• Good to have advanced security certifications such as OSWE, GWAPT, GPEN, OSCP, or equivalent industry recognitions.
• Experience developing custom tools or scripts to automate aspects of penetration testing using Python, Go, or similar languages.
• Prior software development experience that informs a deep understanding of modern application architectures and development practices.
• Contributions to the security community through published research, CVE discoveries, open-source tool development, or conference presentations.
• Experience with mobile application security testing (iOS and Android) and API security assessment methodologies.
• Knowledge of cloud security architecture and specialized cloud service penetration testing techniques.
• Experience with AI/ML system security evaluation and testing methodologies.

Education:

• Direct work experience performing application penetration testing assessments; ability to begin testing immediately with guidance on Prudent's specific approach and methodology.
• Bachelor's degree in computer science, cybersecurity, or related technical field.