Director of Information Security

About the role

Information Security at HackerRank is responsible for protecting our platform, our customers, and our employees - while enabling teams to build and ship with confidence. We work closely with Engineering, Product, GTM, IT, and Legal to ensure security is embedded into how we operate, not layered on after the fact.

This is a senior leadership role responsible for owning HackerRank’s information security function end-to-end. You’ll set direction, build and lead the team, and be the primary security partner to Engineering, Product, and Go-To-Market teams. You’ll help customers and prospects feel confident sharing their data by providing reliable information and following through with internal teams.

You’ll work closely with Go-To-Market (GTM), product, engineering, and IT teams to complete customer security questionnaires, respond to follow-up questions, and support day-to-day security operations. This role contributes to improving HackerRank’s security posture through execution, documentation, and collaboration.

The Director of Information Security will lead and scale HackerRank’s global information security function, managing the Information Security team, setting and executing security strategy, driving risk management, and ensuring the security of our technology, data, and customer environments.

This role operates globally and partners closely with the PED team, Product, Engineering, IT, GTM, and Customer teams to align security strategy with business objectives, mitigate risk, and enable secure growth. The Director will also represent HackerRank’s security posture in customer and executive-facing discussions.

What you’ll do

Security Strategy & Ownership

• Own HackerRank’s information security strategy across application security, cloud security, data protection, and incident response
• Set clear priorities, standards, and expectations for how security operates across the company
• Anticipate future risks as the business, product, and customer base scale

Customer Trust & GTM Partnership

• Act as a senior, customer-facing security leader in sales cycles, renewals, and security reviews
• Own responses to complex customer security questionnaires and escalations
• Partner closely with GTM leadership to unblock deals while maintaining a high security bar

Leadership & Team Building

• Lead and grow the information security team, including hiring, mentoring, and performance management
• Create clear ownership across security operations, compliance, and risk
• Build strong working relationships with Engineering, Product, and IT leadership

Compliance & Risk Management

• Own and evolve compliance programs (e.g., SOC 2, ISO 27001 / 42001, GDPR)
• Lead audits, risk assessments, and remediation efforts with clarity and follow-through
• Translate risk into clear, actionable decisions for business and technical leaders

Execution & Incident Readiness

• Ensure strong day-to-day security operations, including monitoring, vulnerability management, and incident response
• Lead response to security incidents and post-incident reviews when required
• Drive continuous improvement through better tooling, automation, and processes

Who you are

• Bring 10+ years of experience in information security, with experience leading security programs or teams
• Strong background in SaaS, cloud-native, or product-led companies
• Experience in setting up security frameworks and compliance standards (SOC 2, ISO, GDPR, NIST)
• Experience partnering closely with Engineering, Product, and GTM teams
• Calm, clear communication - especially in high-stakes or ambiguous situations
• Bonus: Experience scaling security in a fast-growing SAAS company

You will thrive in this role if you:

• Are comfortable owning security decisions and explaining trade-offs to senior leaders
• Enjoy being customer-facing and representing security with clarity and confidence
• Can balance pragmatism and rigor - protecting the company without slowing it down
• Know how to move teams through influence, not fear or bureaucracy