Data & AnalyticsHybrid

Head of Detection and Response

Plaid · Hybrid

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Last seen by MeritLog September 13, 2026Source: AshbySource version: ashby-public-job-posting-v1

MeritLog read this listing from Plaid's Ashby job board and last checked it on September 13, 2026.

Source: the employer's Ashby job board. Open the original listing for current details.

Job details

Work model: Hybrid
Salary: $216K - $329.4K
Location: San Francisco HQ
Company website: dashboard.plaid.com

Hiring context

How this role compares at Plaid

Plaid has 110 live roles in MeritLog’s catalog across 8 job families, and 25 of them are in data & analytics. 105 of those listings publish a pay range, a disclosure rate of 95%.

This role's posted range of $216K - $329.4K sits above 85% of the 104 other Plaid roles quoted over the same currency and period.

Plaid concentrates this hiring in:

Counted across the job boards MeritLog tracks, at the time this page was served. Pay comparisons use only listings that publish a complete range in the same currency and period.

What the role asks for

What you'd do

Form and set up Plaid’s Detection and Response team from scratch, defining its culture and operational standards.
Lead the day-to-day operations for incident response and evaluate the overall effectiveness of the detection and response program.
Manage and mentor a technical team responsible for detection infrastructure, AI-driven triage, and investigation tooling.
Oversee Fraud Operations and Red Team activities to ensure a proactive and comprehensive security posture.
Partner with senior leadership (CISO, CTO, COO) to communicate security risks and maturity gains achieved through influence and cross-functional collaboration.
Define and track metrics to evaluate and demonstrate the effectiveness of the D&R program

What they're asking for

8-14 years of overall detection and response or security engineering experience.Experience
Strong technical background in security or detection engineering, with the ability to guide work on SIEMs, EDR, and SOC operations.Skill
Experience managing a team of security analysts and engineers in an operational, platform, or infrastructure context.Skill
Ability to build cross-functional relationships and drive security maturity through influence rather than authority.Skill
High-empathy communication skills with the ability to represent technical work to Staff-level leadership.Skill
Strong AI-first skillset applicable to security operations.Skill
Nice to have:SkillPreferred
Experience at a fintech or high-technology organization adjacent to payments/finance.Skill
Background in fraud investigation or software engineering.Skill

Parsed by MeritLog from the employer’s own posting. The full description follows below.

Job description

We believe that the way people interact with their finances will drastically improve in the next few years. We’re dedicated to empowering this transformation by building the tools and experiences that thousands of developers use to create their own products. Plaid powers the tools millions of people rely on to live a healthier financial life. We work with thousands of companies like Venmo, SoFi, several of the Fortune 500, and many of the largest banks to make it easy for people to connect their financial accounts to the apps and services they want to use. Plaid’s network covers 12,000 financial institutions across the US, Canada, UK and Europe. Founded in 2013, the company is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York, Seattle, Washington D.C., Raleigh, London, and Amsterdam. We are hiring for a leader for the newly forming Detection and Response team at Plaid. Our mission is to protect Plaid's financial infrastructure by detecting and responding to suspicious activity across the company. We are responsible for the entire lifecycle of detection and response, including detection infrastructure, AI triage and response, investigation tooling, Red Teaming, and Fraud Operations. Security is foundational to the trust thousands of businesses and millions of consumers place in Plaid, and we work directly to reduce risks and enable our business to move faster and safer. As the Head of Detection and Response, you will be the founding leader responsible for standing up and evaluating Plaid's detection and response team. You will lead a specialized technical team of analysts and engineers, gain deep experience partnering with the CISO and cross-functional engineering leaders, and build critical security infrastructure at scale. This is a unique leadership opportunity to manage a team that encompasses traditional security operations alongside Red Teaming and Fraud Operations, directly impacting Plaid's security posture and long-term stability. Responsibilities: - Form and set up Plaid’s Detection and Response team from scratch, defining its culture and operational standards. - Lead the day-to-day operations for incident response and evaluate the overall effectiveness of the detection and response program. - Manage and mentor a technical team responsible for detection infrastructure, AI-driven triage, and investigation tooling. - Oversee Fraud Operations and Red Team activities to ensure a proactive and comprehensive security posture. - Partner with senior leadership (CISO, CTO, COO) to communicate security risks and maturity gains achieved through influence and cross-functional collaboration. - Define and track metrics to evaluate and demonstrate the effectiveness of the D&R program Qualifications: - Must haves: - 8-14 years of overall detection and response or security engineering experience. - Strong technical background in security or detection engineering, with the ability to guide work on SIEMs, EDR, and SOC operations. - Experience managing a team of security analysts and engineers in an operational, platform, or infrastructure context. - Ability to build cross-functional relationships and drive security maturity through influence rather than authority. - High-empathy communication skills with the ability to represent technical work to Staff-level leadership. - Strong AI-first skillset applicable to security operations. - Nice to have: - Experience at a fintech or high-technology organization adjacent to payments/finance. - Background in fraud investigation or software engineering. Our mission at Plaid is to unlock financial freedom for everyone. To support that mission, we seek to build a diverse team of driven individuals who care deeply about making the financial ecosystem more equitable. We recognize that strong qualifications can come from both prior work experiences and lived experiences. We encourage you to apply to a role even if your experience doesn't fully match the job description. We are always looking for team members that will bring something unique to Plaid! Plaid is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and values diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, ethnicity, religion or religious belief, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, military or veteran status, disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Plaid is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you need any assistance with your application or interviews due to a disability, please let us know at accommodations@plaid.com. Please review our Candidate Privacy Notice here https://plaid.com/legal/#candidate-privacy-notice. Additional compensation in the form(s) of equity and/or commission are dependent on the position offered. Plaid provides a comprehensive benefit plan, including medical, dental, vision, and 401(k). Pay is based on factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's work experience and skillset, and location. Pay and benefits are subject to change at any time, consistent with the terms of any applicable compensation or benefit plans.

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