Role Description
The Application Security Engineer is responsible for securing the software and applications that Credit Acceptance builds, buys, and operates. This role partners closely with engineering, product, architecture, and business teams to ensure that applications handling sensitive consumer, dealer, and loan data are designed, developed, and deployed in a secure manner, meeting both internal security standards and the regulatory expectations of a financial services environment.
This position focuses on embedding security into the software development lifecycle by providing hands-on technical guidance, performing threat modeling and application security reviews, defining secure design patterns and guardrails, and supporting engineering teams as they build and maintain modern web, mobile, API, and cloud-based applications.
This position will work from home; occasional planned travel to an assigned Southfield, Michigan office location may be required. However, this position is permitted to work at a Southfield, Michigan office location if requested by the team member.
Outcomes and Activities
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Partner with engineering and architecture teams to design and review application architectures (web, mobile, API, and microservices) for security, privacy, and regulatory compliance.
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Perform security reviews of applications and services at each stage of the SDLC, including:
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Design
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Code
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Building pipelines
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Dependencies
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Infrastructure-as-code
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Third-party components
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Identify and mitigate risks such as:
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Injection
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Authentication/authorization
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Injection and session management flaws (OWASP Top 10, ASVS)
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Insecure handling of NPI, PII, and payment data
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Management of open-source dependency vulnerabilities and software supply chain risks
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Insecure cloud configurations, secrets management, and exposed APIs
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Support threat modeling and risk assessments for new and existing applications, assisting teams in implementing practical mitigations.
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Assess and help mitigate security risks introduced by AI-assisted and agentic development tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, LiteLLM).
Governance, Standards, and Policy
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Contribute to and operationalize application security standards, secure coding guidelines, and secure design patterns used across the company.
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Evaluate application security tooling (SAST, DAST, SCA, IAST, secrets scanning, ASPM) and vendors to ensure alignment with security, privacy, and compliance requirements.
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Support compliance with regulatory and industry frameworks (e.g., PCI DSS, GLBA, NIST SSDF, SOX) in collaboration with legal, compliance, audit, and risk partners.
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Contribute to standards and guardrails for secure use of AI-assisted development tools and agentic coding workflows.
Collaboration & Advisory
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Act as a trusted security advisor to Engineering, Product, and DevOps teams building, maintaining, and operating applications at Credit Acceptance.
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Participate in design reviews, sprint planning, and architecture working sessions focused on secure development and deployment.
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Provide guidance on the secure use of frameworks, libraries, APIs, authentication systems, and cloud services that interact with company systems and data.
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Advise engineering teams on safe adoption of AI coding assistants and agentic development tools.
Continuous Improvement
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Stay current on application security threats, vulnerabilities, and best practices, including emerging risks across web, mobile, API, and cloud-native applications.
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Recommend improvements to tooling, processes, and controls to strengthen the company's application security posture and shift security left in the SDLC.
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Contribute to internal documentation, secure coding training, and security enablement for developers and engineering teams.
Qualifications
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Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience
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3+ years of experience in application security, product security, or secure software development.
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2+ years of hands-on experience performing application security reviews, penetration testing, threat modeling, or secure code review.
Preferred
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Experience securing modern web, mobile, and API-based applications in a regulated industry (e.g., financial services, healthcare).
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Familiarity with the OWASP Top 10, OWASP ASVS, and OWASP SAMM, and with software supply chain frameworks such as SLSA.
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Experience with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP) and containerized environments.
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Knowledge of regulatory and compliance considerations relevant to financial services (e.g., PCI DSS, GLBA, SOX).
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Experience embedding security into software development workflows (DevSecOps) and CI/CD pipelines.
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Hands-on experience with application security tooling such as SAST, DAST, SCA, IAST, secrets scanning, or ASPM platforms.
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Relevant certifications (e.g., GWAPT, GWEB, OSWE, CSSLP, CISSP) a plus.
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Familiarity with security considerations for AI-assisted development environments (e.g., GitHub Copilot, Claude Code) and LLM gateway/proxy tooling (e.g., LiteLLM).
Knowledge and Skills
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Strong understanding of modern software development practices, frameworks, and architectures (web, mobile, API, microservices, serverless).
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Working knowledge of common application vulnerabilities and exploitation techniques, and the controls that mitigate them.
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Understanding of authentication, authorization, identity, cryptography, and secure data handling patterns.
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Familiarity with threat modeling, security testing, and risk assessment techniques.
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Ability to read and reason about code in one or more common programming languages.
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Working knowledge of AI-assisted and agentic software development tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, LiteLLM) and the security risks they introduce in the SDLC.
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Ability to communicate security risks and recommendations clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
Target Compensation
A competitive base salary range from $85,695 – $125,685. This position is eligible for an annual variable cash bonus, between 7.5 - 15%. Bonus amounts are based on individual performance. Final compensation within the range is influenced by many factors including role-specific skills, depth and experience level, industry background, relevant education, and certifications.
Candidates who reside in the following major metropolitan areas may be eligible for a premium on top of the posted range based on their specific zone: San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, New York City, Los Angeles, and San Diego.
Benefits
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Excellent benefits package that includes 401(K) match, adoption assistance, parental leave, tuition reimbursement, comprehensive medical/dental/vision, and many nonstandard benefits that make us a Great Place to Work.
Company Values
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Positive by maintaining resiliency and focusing on solutions.
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Respectful by collaborating and actively listening.
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Insightful by cultivating innovation, accumulating business and role-specific knowledge, demonstrating self-awareness, and making quality decisions.
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Direct by effectively communicating and conveying courage.
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Earnest by taking accountability, applying feedback, and effectively planning and priority setting.
Expectations
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Remain compliant with our policies, processes, and legal guidelines.
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All other duties as assigned.
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Attendance as required by department.
