Associate Cybersecurity Engineer - Warrior Hire

This posting includes multiple available positions on the Access Management Team and the Cybersecurity Integrations (CSI) Team within the Technology Department as part of Southwest’s Warrior Hire Program. The mission of the Warrior Hire Program is to recruit and hire transitioning Veterans and guide and support them through the beginning of their corporate career by providing them opportunities for professional growth, camaraderie, and mentorship. If you're planning your transition to a civilian career or recently transitioned, this program is designed to support you in that transition and as you join our Southwest Family. Thank you to those who currently or previously served, giving us all the freedom to fly. Review the information below about the Teams these roles will support.

• Access Management Team: As an Associate Cybersecurity Engineer supporting the Access Management Team, you’ll build and secure modern identity solutions that protect both Southwest Employees and Customers. Associate Cybersecurity Engineers work with Ping Identity, AWS, and a variety of coding languages to deliver capabilities like adaptive MFA, enhanced login experiences, and secure account enrollment. You’ll operate in an agile environment with strong collaboration, daily pairing, and shared problem solving. This is a supportive, growth focused Team that values curiosity, innovation, and engineers who go above and beyond. 

• Cybersecurity Integrations (CSI) Team: As an Associate Cybersecurity Engineer supporting the CSI Team, you’ll build the systems, services, and libraries that help application Teams adopt core authentication, authorization, and data protection capabilities across the business. As a software‑focused engineering Team, you’ll deliver apps and integrations that support major customer and commercial transformation initiatives while continuously innovating and strengthening cloud infrastructure. You’ll work in Agile/Scrum with two‑week sprints, daily standups, and close collaboration with senior engineers and a Product Owner. Your tech stack centers on Java, Python, and AWS, with a growing emphasis on AI‑driven and cloud‑based cybersecurity integrations, enabling you to engineer secure, scalable solutions that directly enhance the airline’s cybersecurity posture.

Additional Details

• There is limited group of states or localities ineligible for Employees to regularly perform their work off-site. Those ineligible locations are: Alaska, California, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming, and Puerto Rico

• If an applicant currently resides in an ineligible state, they may relocate to an eligible state and be considered for the program. Relocation Assistance is not offered for this role. 

• U.S. citizenship or current authorization to work in the U.S. required and no current or future work authorization sponsorship available.

We’re committed to fair hiring practices and to making employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, military or veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other legally protected characteristics. 
 

Responsibilities

• Provide security guidance to application and Partner Teams to remediate security vulnerabilities, risk items, and policy exceptions

• Deliver training for clients in use of the key Cybersecurity systems, and automated environments

• Responsible for immediate response to production program issues

• Partner with production testers to identify defects and complete testing

• Test and implement system enhancements using techniques that preserve system integrity

• Assist in maintaining systems and regular functionality

• Triage, research potential defects, and partner to prioritize repairs. Transition features to Business support

• Follow established procedures and standards to ensure high quality and quantity of work

• Analyze and resolve multiple complex problems with minimal direction

• Respond to problems, perform root cause analysis, investigate information, perform impact analysis; formulate and execute plans to develop solutions with guidance

• May perform other job duties as directed by Employee's Leaders

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Knowledge of existing elements in value pipeline, including: PingFederate, eDirectory, Active Directory, CyberArk, and Micro Focus IDM

• Knowledge of Agile best practices

• Knowledge of software development methodologies, practices, concepts, and technologies obtained through formal training and/or work experience

• Ability to apply knowledge and skills of software development and testing to solve a range of problems

• Intermediate knowledge of at least one required programming language

• Skilled in strong communication and negotiation in working with various Technology or partner Teams

• Ability to analyze large, complex, and vague Business or technical problems, articulating the problem or root cause, and translating the analysis into viable solution recommendations

• Ability to take on multiple assignments, whether administrative or project related, while maintaining a successful level of completion in all responsible work

• Ability to develop, present and effectively communicate ideas and strategies to a variety of audiences

Education

• Required: High School Diploma or GED

Experience

• Required: Entry-level experience; developing skills and knowledge in developing, implementing, or integrating technologies for Enterprise security

Preferred experience with:

• PingFederate
• PingDirectory
• PingOne Suite
• AWS
• Lambda
• R53
• CloudWatch
• Python
• Bash
• Terraform

Licensing/Certification

• N/A

Physical Abilities

• Ability to perform work duties from [limited space work station/desk/office area] for extended periods of time

• Ability to communicate and interact with others in the English language to meet the demands of the job

• Ability to use a computer and other office productivity tools with sufficient speed and accuracy to meet the demands of the job

Other Qualifications

• Must maintain a well-groomed appearance per Company appearance standards as described in established guidelines

• Must be a U.S. citizen or have authorization to work in the United States as defined by the Immigration Reform Act of 1986

• Must be at least 18 years of age

• Must be able to comply with Company attendance standards as described in established guidelines

• Must be able to travel and / or attend Company and non-Company facilities and remote locations such as remote-based offices as necessary

Pay & Benefits

Competitive market salary from $89,450-$99,400 per year* depending on qualifications and experience. For eligible Leadership and individual contributor roles, additional bonus opportunities are available and awarded at the discretion of the company.

Benefits you’ll love

• Fly for free, as a privilege, on any open seat on all Southwest flights (your eligible dependents too)

• Southwest will help fund your 401(k) retirement savings with Company contributions up to 9.3% of your eligible earnings**

• Potential for annual ProfitSharing contribution in the Southwest Retirement Savings Plan- when Southwest profits, you profit***

• Competitive health insurance for you and your eligible dependents (including pets)

• Southwest offers health plan coverage options that start from the very first day of employment. You will have 30 days to select and enroll in your health plan with coverage retroactively available to your first day of employment.

• Explore more Benefits you’ll love: https://careers.southwestair.com/benefits

* Pay amount does not guarantee employment for any particular period of time

** 401(k) match contributions are subject to Retirement Savings Plan vesting schedule and applicable IRS limits

*** ProfitSharing contributions are subject to Retirement Savings Plan vesting schedule and are made at the discretion of the Company