Security Engineer at Amazon · AI safety & security

Making AI safe enough to help heal minds.

I believe AI, built safely, can compress decades of progress in neuroscience, mental health and human well-being into years. My part is the “built safely”: finding how AI systems break, and making them trustworthy enough to deserve that future.

Read the vision Download resume
0+
CTF players trained in secure coding
0+
assets reviewed for AppSec
0+
clients' software secured
1
filed patent, co-inventor

01 — The vision

Decades of progress, in years.

Some of the hardest things people live with start in the brain: depression, anxiety, addiction, neurological disease. Progress has been slow because the brain is so hard to study. Capable AI could change the pace of that research, but only if we can trust it.

Today's pace
decades
With AI, built safely
years

Neuroscience

AI that helps researchers understand how the brain works, faster than any lab could alone.

Mental health

Better understanding, and better care, for conditions that quietly shape millions of lives.

Human well-being

Tools that leave people healthier, more capable and more in control of their own lives.

Safety is the precondition

None of this happens if AI can be hijacked, jailbroken or misused. That is the problem I work on every day.

02 — AI safety & security work

Finding where AI breaks, before it matters.

Independent research on how LLMs and AI agents fail, and tools that make it safer to build with them.

Autonomous agentCSAW winner

CTFc

Autonomous AI agent for web reconnaissance, source-code vulnerability analysis and step-by-step exploitation guidance. Won the CSAW LLM CTF Attack Challenge with a generative, autonomous AI framework.

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LLM supply chain

LLMPackageGuard

Detects hallucinated packages, typosquats, CVEs and malicious repos in AI-generated code, with a real-time Chrome extension that protects developers who rely on LLM-written code.

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Security agents

SecScout

Autonomous engine that maps complex web applications and internal API dependencies into pre-computed, structured attack paths for security agents and automated pentesting frameworks.

View on GitHub

03 — Experience

Breaking and defending systems since 2020.

  1. Jul 2025 – Present

    Security Engineer @ Amazon

    • Subject matter expert for incident response and technical investigations; mentor analysts on investigation methods.
    • Build tools and AI-driven analytics that strengthen detection and speed up incident investigation and resolution.
    • Co-inventor on a filed patent for a security-at-scale system that began at the Amazon BST Hackathon; recognized with the “Biggest Payoff” award across all of BST and the Amazon Patentee Award.
  2. May 2025 – Jun 2025

    Security Analyst (Contract) @ Tapestry

    • Performed AppSec reviews on 200+ assets using SAST/DAST, triaging findings and securing applications before release.
  3. Jan 2024 – May 2025

    Security Developer @ CTFd, New York

    • Developed real-world CTF challenges on the OWASP Top 10 and advanced exploits for 5,000+ players, strengthening their secure coding skills and helping reduce vulnerabilities in the code they ship.
    • Built security-awareness challenges on phishing, social engineering and data protection for non-technical users.
  4. Sep 2024 – Dec 2024

    Software Security Analyst @ Ithaca Clean Energy, New York

    • Conducted VAPT and source code analysis, uncovering 10+ critical vulnerabilities and working with developers to remediate them in line with NIST and OWASP; designed security automation tools to speed up remediation.
  5. Nov 2020 – Present

    Software Security Engineer · Independent Projects & Ventures

    • Architected and secured enterprise software for 30+ clients across IT, finance, and manufacturing, integrating penetration testing, secure coding, and threat intelligence to prevent an estimated $500K+ in potential breach costs.
    • Co-founded and led development of The Breakout Hunt, India's first native breakout-scanner app with real-time stock alerts, applying secure coding, a security-first SDLC, and robust CI/CD pipelines. Available on the App Store and Google Play.
  6. Dec 2021 – Mar 2023

    Cyber Security Analyst @ Mahen Technologies

    • Led gray-box assessments of 15+ applications and 10+ networks and directed security investigations for multinational companies and government agencies, leading a 4-person team.
    • Delivered 100+ hours of training on secure coding, threat modeling, incident response and zero trust.
  7. Dec 2020 – May 2021

    Software Developer Intern @ Cart Geek

    • Optimized and hardened backend services, cutting processing time by 20%; named Intern of the Year.

Education

New York University

M.S. Cybersecurity · GPA 3.8/4.0 · 2023 – 2025

OSIRIS Cyber Security Lab; Graduate Assistant, CSE Department; Teaching Assistant, Application Security.

NMIMS

B.Tech. Computer Engineering · GPA 3.58/4.0 · 2017 – 2023

Student Ambassador Award.

Recognition

  • Winner, CSAW LLM CTF Attack Challenge
  • Co-inventor on a filed patent; “Biggest Payoff” award across Amazon BST and the Amazon Patentee Award
  • Bugcrowd security researcher; responsibly disclosed vulnerabilities and received bounties and appreciations
  • Intern of the Year, Cart Geek

Tools

Python, Go, JavaScript, SQL, Bash, C++, Java · AWS, GCP, Docker, GitHub Actions · Splunk, Burp Suite, Semgrep

Earlier work: software I built for clients

04 — Contact

If you're building AI that helps people, I'd love to talk.

connect@samkitshah.in LinkedIn GitHub