Data Risk Engineer
Your Role
As a Data Risk Engineer, you will implement and tune Alpaca's Data Loss Prevention (DLP) capabilities and handle day-to-day DLP alert response. You will triage signals across data movement, refine rulesets to improve signal quality, and partner with People/HR, Legal, Compliance, Engineering, and IT on data mishandling, including coaching users and correcting accidental misuse.
This role sits at the intersection of data protection, privacy, and financial services. Reporting to the Cyber GRC Lead, you will own DLP engineering and alert operations affecting customer data, proprietary information, and trading systems, while working alongside Security on higher-severity Insider Risk and data loss cases. This is a practical individual contributor role for someone experienced with DLP implementation, discreet when engaging employees, and eager to grow into leading Insider Risk investigations end-to-end. Prior experience in a regulated or financial services environment is a strong plus.
Things You Get To Do
Implement, operate, and tune DLP across SaaS, email, endpoints, and collaboration tools
Triage and work DLP alerts — determine what fired, why, whether it is real, and what to do next
Handle false positives and tune rules so the same noise does not keep coming back
Respond to user accidents and data mishandling: educate, correct course, and document what happened
Engage employees who share PII or sensitive data in the wrong systems, and help them use approved paths
Mature data classification and align DLP controls to sensitivity levels
Build and improve detections and monitoring for data movement risk across Google, Slack, cloud, source code, and related systems
Work with People/HR, Legal, Compliance, Engineering, and IT on data mishandling and related follow-up
Partner with the Cyber GRC Lead on higher-severity Insider Risk and data loss cases, and grow into leading investigations from intake through closure
Assess risk from unauthorized AI tooling and sensitive data exposure through approved and unsanctioned AI tools
Support audits and regulatory asks tied to DLP and data handling
Contribute data handling content to security awareness and training
Stay current on DLP, data protection, privacy, and financial services expectations
Who You Are (Must Haves)
Highly organized with strong attention to detail; comfortable in a fast-paced, high-demand, distributed environment
3+ years in DLP, data protection, or adjacent security work with real alert volume
Hands-on experience implementing and tuning DLP in SaaS and/or endpoint environments
Comfortable triaging alerts, deciding severity, and knowing when to escalate
Solid understanding of data classification, PII handling, and common ways data leaves the company by accident
Working knowledge of SIEM and log analysis (e.g., ELK/Elastic, Splunk)
Familiarity with frameworks such as NIST CSF, ISO 27001, SOC 2, and privacy regulations (GDPR, APPI)
Strong written communication; able to document alerts, coaching outreach, and case notes clearly
High integrity and discretion when handling confidential and sensitive information
Ability to work across People/HR, Legal, Compliance, Engineering, and IT
Interest in growing into Insider Risk investigation work
Who You Might Be (Nice to Haves)
Academic background, personal interest, or real-world experience in fintech, financial services, or trading platforms
Scripting or automation for detections and data analysis (e.g., Python, SQL)
Experience with major cloud platforms
Experience supporting or observing SOC 2, ISO 27001, or regulatory audits
Certifications such as CISSP, CISM, CIPP, or similar
Interest in AI-related data risk and using automation to improve triage quality
Familiarity with financial services regulatory expectations (e.g., SEC/FINRA, broker-dealer controls) and multi-jurisdiction privacy requirements
Prior exposure to Insider Risk, investigations, or incident response