Director, Engineering, Ads Safety, Actor Safety

Minimum qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 15 years of professional experience in software development.
• 10 years of management experience.

Preferred qualifications:

• Master’s degree or PhD in Computer Science or related technical fields.
• Experience with Cybersecurity or Ads Safety Domain.
• Passion for, and has provided thought leadership around, user privacy, security and ethics.

As a Director of Engineering in Ads Safety, you will be responsible for leading a team of exceptionally skilled engineers on Actor Safety: utilizing technology to distinguish legitimate users and malicious actors. Malicious actors represent some of the largest threats to the system and to our users: scams can cost users their savings, fake products can do real harm, and organized crime can use money made here to sponsor other malevolent acts.

In an environment characterized by sophisticated threats, advanced evasion techniques, and constantly evolving adversarial tactics, your leadership will be critical in maintaining user trust and upholding the integrity of our Ads platforms.

You will be at the forefront of developing and implementing cutting edge machine learning and artificial intelligence to detect and mitigate fraudulent activities. By enhancing verification processes and integrating human review mechanisms with our partners, you will improve our multi-layered defense system capable of adapting to new and emerging threats.

Your role demands an understanding of threat analysis and adversarial behaviors, enabling us to anticipate potential vulnerabilities and proactively develop countermeasures. Collaborating closely with cross-functional teams across trust and safety, policy, legal, and compliance, you will ensure that our systems not only meet regulatory requirements but lead the industry for quality and excellence.

You will inspire a high-performing team dedicated to innovation, resilience, and the relentless pursuit of a secure and trustworthy advertising environment for users, advertisers, and publishers worldwide, on one of the largest advertising systems on the planet.

Google Ads is helping power the open internet with the best technology that connects and creates value for people, publishers, advertisers, and Google. We’re made up of multiple teams, building Google’s Advertising products including search, display, shopping, travel and video advertising, as well as analytics. Our teams create trusted experiences between people and businesses with useful ads. We help grow businesses of all sizes from small businesses, to large brands, to YouTube creators, with effective advertiser tools that deliver measurable results. We also enable Google to engage with customers at scale.

The US base salary range for this full-time position is $278,000-$399,000 + bonus + equity + benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target salaries for the position across all US locations. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process.

Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include bonus, equity, or benefits. Learn more about benefits at Google.

• Develop and drive the overarching strategy and roadmap for actor analysis within Ads Safety. 
• Lead efforts to identify, assess, and counteract emerging threats posed by bad actors. Utilize comprehensive threat modeling to understand the Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) employed by adversaries aiming to exploit our systems.
• Oversee the development and deployment of cutting-edge machine learning models and AI technologies designed to detect and mitigate malicious activities. 
• Work with our partners, implement a multi-layered approach that combines automated detection with rigorous human oversight. Establish verification protocols and review mechanisms to accurately assess actor legitimacy, minimizing false positives and negatives.
• Foster a proactive defense posture by anticipating adversarial moves and developing countermeasures.