Instacart

Detection Engineer II

Canada full-time Mid CAD145,000 - CAD153,000
full-time Mid level Technology & IT Salary listed Curated
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About the role

We're transforming the grocery industry

At Instacart, we invite the world to share love through food because we believe everyone should have access to the food they love and more time to enjoy it together. Where others see a simple need for grocery delivery, we see exciting complexity and endless opportunity to serve the varied needs of our community. We work to deliver an essential service that customers rely on to get their groceries and household goods, while also offering safe and flexible earnings opportunities to Instacart Personal Shoppers.

Instacart has become a lifeline for millions of people, and we’re building the team to help push our shopping cart forward. If you’re ready to do the best work of your life, come join our table.

Instacart is a Flex First team

There’s no one-size fits all approach to how we do our best work. Our employees have the flexibility to choose where they do their best work—whether it’s from home, an office, or your favorite coffee shop—while staying connected and building community through regular in-person events. Learn more about our flexible approach to where we work.

Overview
Instacart's Detection Engineering team sits at the core of our Security organization, building and operating the systems that identify, surface, and respond to threats across one of North America's largest grocery technology platforms. We own the full detection lifecycle, from telemetry collection and signal design to automated response, across a complex, cloud-native environment spanning endpoint, cloud, container, and SaaS.
As a Detection Engineer, you'll be a technical anchor on the team: developing high-fidelity detection logic, hunting for novel attacker techniques, and raising the bar for how we think about coverage, quality, and scale. You'll work closely with Engineering, Red Team, Incident Response, Fraud, and Trust & Safety to ensure our detections reflect real-world adversary behavior (and not just signatures).
We operate with a detection-as-code mindset: everything we build is versioned, tested, and deployed through repeatable pipelines. We care deeply about reducing noise, improving analyst efficiency through automation and SOAR, and continuously evolving our coverage as the threat landscape shifts.
If you're energized by hard forensic problems, enjoy translating attacker TTPs into durable detection logic, and want to help shape the future of a growing security function, this role is for you.
About the Job

Develop, tune, document, and maintain detection logic across multiple log sources including endpoint, cloud, container, and SaaS products.

Assist in cyber forensic investigations across a variety of log sources

Optimize log ingestion pipelines and telemetry collection to ensure high-quality, actionable security data while managing volume and cost

Design and build SOAR playbooks and automation workflows to streamline detection triage, enrichment, and response actions

Mentor/knowledge share with other detection engineers on threat hunting methodologies, detection logic development, and investigation techniques

About You
Minimum Qualifications

2+ years of experience in a detection engineering, incident response, or offensive security role.

Experience with 1 or more public cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP)

Deep understanding of attacker TTPs across modern zero trust environments, including identity compromise, token theft, and abuse of trust boundaries

Proficient understanding of macOS internals and telemetry available to identify macOS specific threats

Experience implementing detection-as-code workflows including version control, peer review processes, automated testing, and CI/CD deployment pipelines

Basic proficiency with Python, Golang, or other programming/scripting languages

Relevant certifications: GCFA, GCFE, GNFA, GREM, OSCP, GCIA, or similar

Preferred Qualifications

Background in offensive security or red teaming

Knowledge of machine learning for threat detection

Instacart provides highly market-competitive compensation and benefits in each location where our employees work. This role is remote and the base pay range for a successful candidate is dependent on their permanent work location. Please review our Flex First remote work policy here. Currently, we are only hiring in the following provinces: Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia.

Offers may vary based on many factors, such as candidate experience and skills required for the role. Additionally, this role is eligible for a new hire equity grant as well as annual refresh grants. Please read more about our benefits offerings here.

For Canadian based candidates, the base pay ranges for a successful candidate are listed below.

CAN

$145,000—$153,000 USD

Originally posted on Himalayas

Interview prep

Walk in with sharper answers.

Use this as a quick practice sheet before you speak with the employer.

Mid
Technology & IT Python Remote Collaboration Detection Engineer Technology Mid level

Likely questions

  1. Tell us about work you have done that is close to the Detection Engineer II role.
  2. How would you approach your first 30 days at Instacart?
  3. Which of Python, Remote Collaboration and Detection have you used recently, and what did it help you achieve?
  4. Describe a time you solved a problem without waiting to be told exactly what to do.
  5. How do you handle busy days, changing priorities, or pressure at work?

Prepare before the call

  • A recent example that proves your experience with Python, Remote Collaboration and Detection.
  • One short story with a problem, your action, and the result.
  • Two examples that show the strengths listed on your CV.
  • A clear reason why this role and company interest you.
  • Your availability, preferred work style, and salary expectations.

Ask them

  • What would success look like in the first 90 days?
  • What are the main problems this hire should help solve?
  • How does the team give feedback and measure good work?
  • What does a normal working week look like for this role?
Practice line

I am interested in the Detection Engineer II role because I can bring practical experience in Python, Remote Collaboration and Detection, learn the team quickly, and contribute to the outcomes Instacart needs from this hire.

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