What are the responsibilities and job description for the Security & Privacy Operations Specialist - USDS position at TikTok?
Responsibilities
We are seeking a data-driven Security & Privacy Operations Specialist to act as the strategic right-hand to the Security leadership team. You will own the day-to-day financial health, headcount planning, and operational rhythm of the organization.
Unlike a traditional finance role, this position requires Operational FP&A experience embedded within a technical organization. You will bridge the gap between Engineering and Finance, translating complex security infrastructure needs into clear financial narratives.
On-site presence across teams allows the company to operate with greater speed, alignment, and agility — especially in areas like real-time decision-making, team development, and integrated execution. As such, the company is shifting from a hybrid work model to a fully in-person schedule up to 5 days a week.
Responsibilities
1. Security & Privacy Cost Management
- Budget Management: Own the end-to-end Opex and Capex budget for the Security & Privacy org. Lead the annual planning cycle, quarterly re-forecasts, and monthly variance analysis.
- Operational Control: Scrutinize software/vendor renewals and infrastructure costs. Challenge assumptions to ensure every dollar spent drives risk reduction.
- Forecasting: Build predictive models for cloud computing costs and security tooling in partnership with engineering leads.
2. Headcount & Resource Management
- Workforce Planning: Manage the "Seat ID" level roster. Track hiring velocity against budget, identify vacancy savings, and manage contractor/FTE ratios.
- Capacity Modeling: Collaborate with engineering managers to model headcount needs based on product roadmap velocity and security ticket volumes.
3. Strategic Operations & Process Improvement
- Engineering Partnership: Serve as the liaison between the Security org and the central Finance/HR teams. Translate "engineering friction" into financial solutions.
- Vendor Strategy: Partner with Procurement to negotiate contracts for security tools, ensuring ROI is clearly defined and tracked.
Qualifications
Minimum Qualifications
- Experience: 5 years of relevant experience in Business Operations, FP&A, or Strategy & Ops.
- Operational FP&A: Proven track record of managing P&L, forecasting, and headcount for a complex business unit.
- Engineering Support: Previous experience supporting an Engineering, Product, or Security organization. You must be comfortable working with technical stakeholders.
- Tooling: Advanced Excel/Google Sheets modeling skills; experience with enterprise ERP (e.g., Oracle, SAP, Netsuite) and planning tools (e.g., Anaplan).
Preferred Qualifications
- Consulting: Experience at a consulting firm in a strategy or operations practice is highly preferred.
- Education: MBA or relevant certification (CPA/CFA) is a plus.
About USDS
TikTok is the leading destination for short-form mobile video. Our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. U.S. Data Security (“USDS”) is a subsidiary of TikTok in the U.S. This new, security-first division was created to bring heightened focus and governance to our data protection policies and content assurance protocols to keep U.S. users safe. Our focus is on providing oversight and protection of the TikTok platform and U.S. user data, so millions of Americans can continue turning to TikTok to learn something new, earn a living, express themselves creatively, or be entertained. The teams within USDS that deliver on this commitment daily span across Trust & Safety, Security & Privacy, Engineering, User & Product Ops, Corporate Functions and more.
Why Join Us
Inspiring creativity is at the core of TikTok's mission. Our innovative product is built to help people authentically express themselves, discover and connect – and our global, diverse teams make that possible. Together, we create value for our communities, inspire creativity and bring joy - a mission we work towards every day.
We strive to do great things with great people. We lead with curiosity, humility, and a desire to make impact in a rapidly growing tech company. Every challenge is an opportunity to learn and innovate as one team. We're resilient and embrace challenges as they come. By constantly iterating and fostering an "Always Day 1" mindset, we achieve meaningful breakthroughs for ourselves, our company, and our users. When we create and grow together, the possibilities are limitless. Join us.
Diversity & Inclusion
TikTok is committed to creating an inclusive space where employees are valued for their skills, experiences, and unique perspectives. Our platform connects people from across the globe and so does our workplace. At TikTok, our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. To achieve that goal, we are committed to celebrating our diverse voices and to creating an environment that reflects the many communities we reach. We are passionate about this and hope you are too.
USDS Reasonable Accommodation
USDS is committed to providing reasonable accommodations in our recruitment processes for candidates with disabilities, pregnancy, sincerely held religious beliefs or other reasons protected by applicable laws. If you need assistance or a reasonable accommodation, please reach out to us at https://tinyurl.com/USDS-RA
Job Information
【For Pay Transparency】Compensation Description (Annually)
The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $118800 - $196000 annually.
Compensation may vary outside of this range depending on a number of factors, including a candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies and experience, and location. Base pay is one part of the Total Package that is provided to compensate and recognize employees for their work, and this role may be eligible for additional discretionary bonuses/incentives, and restricted stock units.
Benefits may vary depending on the nature of employment and the country work location. Employees have day one access to medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401(k) savings plan with company match, paid parental leave, short-term and long-term disability coverage, life insurance, wellbeing benefits, among others. Employees also receive 10 paid holidays per year, 10 paid sick days per year and 17 days of Paid Personal Time (prorated upon hire with increasing accruals by tenure).
The Company reserves the right to modify or change these benefits programs at any time, with or without notice.
For Los Angeles County (unincorporated) Candidates:
Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with all federal, state, and local laws including the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act. Our company believes that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship on the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of the conditional offer of employment:
1. Interacting and occasionally having unsupervised contact with internal/external clients and/or colleagues;
2. Appropriately handling and managing confidential information including proprietary and trade secret information and access to information technology systems; and
3. Exercising sound judgment.
We are seeking a data-driven Security & Privacy Operations Specialist to act as the strategic right-hand to the Security leadership team. You will own the day-to-day financial health, headcount planning, and operational rhythm of the organization.
Unlike a traditional finance role, this position requires Operational FP&A experience embedded within a technical organization. You will bridge the gap between Engineering and Finance, translating complex security infrastructure needs into clear financial narratives.
On-site presence across teams allows the company to operate with greater speed, alignment, and agility — especially in areas like real-time decision-making, team development, and integrated execution. As such, the company is shifting from a hybrid work model to a fully in-person schedule up to 5 days a week.
Responsibilities
1. Security & Privacy Cost Management
- Budget Management: Own the end-to-end Opex and Capex budget for the Security & Privacy org. Lead the annual planning cycle, quarterly re-forecasts, and monthly variance analysis.
- Operational Control: Scrutinize software/vendor renewals and infrastructure costs. Challenge assumptions to ensure every dollar spent drives risk reduction.
- Forecasting: Build predictive models for cloud computing costs and security tooling in partnership with engineering leads.
2. Headcount & Resource Management
- Workforce Planning: Manage the "Seat ID" level roster. Track hiring velocity against budget, identify vacancy savings, and manage contractor/FTE ratios.
- Capacity Modeling: Collaborate with engineering managers to model headcount needs based on product roadmap velocity and security ticket volumes.
3. Strategic Operations & Process Improvement
- Engineering Partnership: Serve as the liaison between the Security org and the central Finance/HR teams. Translate "engineering friction" into financial solutions.
- Vendor Strategy: Partner with Procurement to negotiate contracts for security tools, ensuring ROI is clearly defined and tracked.
Qualifications
Minimum Qualifications
- Experience: 5 years of relevant experience in Business Operations, FP&A, or Strategy & Ops.
- Operational FP&A: Proven track record of managing P&L, forecasting, and headcount for a complex business unit.
- Engineering Support: Previous experience supporting an Engineering, Product, or Security organization. You must be comfortable working with technical stakeholders.
- Tooling: Advanced Excel/Google Sheets modeling skills; experience with enterprise ERP (e.g., Oracle, SAP, Netsuite) and planning tools (e.g., Anaplan).
Preferred Qualifications
- Consulting: Experience at a consulting firm in a strategy or operations practice is highly preferred.
- Education: MBA or relevant certification (CPA/CFA) is a plus.
About USDS
TikTok is the leading destination for short-form mobile video. Our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. U.S. Data Security (“USDS”) is a subsidiary of TikTok in the U.S. This new, security-first division was created to bring heightened focus and governance to our data protection policies and content assurance protocols to keep U.S. users safe. Our focus is on providing oversight and protection of the TikTok platform and U.S. user data, so millions of Americans can continue turning to TikTok to learn something new, earn a living, express themselves creatively, or be entertained. The teams within USDS that deliver on this commitment daily span across Trust & Safety, Security & Privacy, Engineering, User & Product Ops, Corporate Functions and more.
Why Join Us
Inspiring creativity is at the core of TikTok's mission. Our innovative product is built to help people authentically express themselves, discover and connect – and our global, diverse teams make that possible. Together, we create value for our communities, inspire creativity and bring joy - a mission we work towards every day.
We strive to do great things with great people. We lead with curiosity, humility, and a desire to make impact in a rapidly growing tech company. Every challenge is an opportunity to learn and innovate as one team. We're resilient and embrace challenges as they come. By constantly iterating and fostering an "Always Day 1" mindset, we achieve meaningful breakthroughs for ourselves, our company, and our users. When we create and grow together, the possibilities are limitless. Join us.
Diversity & Inclusion
TikTok is committed to creating an inclusive space where employees are valued for their skills, experiences, and unique perspectives. Our platform connects people from across the globe and so does our workplace. At TikTok, our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. To achieve that goal, we are committed to celebrating our diverse voices and to creating an environment that reflects the many communities we reach. We are passionate about this and hope you are too.
USDS Reasonable Accommodation
USDS is committed to providing reasonable accommodations in our recruitment processes for candidates with disabilities, pregnancy, sincerely held religious beliefs or other reasons protected by applicable laws. If you need assistance or a reasonable accommodation, please reach out to us at https://tinyurl.com/USDS-RA
Job Information
【For Pay Transparency】Compensation Description (Annually)
The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $118800 - $196000 annually.
Compensation may vary outside of this range depending on a number of factors, including a candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies and experience, and location. Base pay is one part of the Total Package that is provided to compensate and recognize employees for their work, and this role may be eligible for additional discretionary bonuses/incentives, and restricted stock units.
Benefits may vary depending on the nature of employment and the country work location. Employees have day one access to medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401(k) savings plan with company match, paid parental leave, short-term and long-term disability coverage, life insurance, wellbeing benefits, among others. Employees also receive 10 paid holidays per year, 10 paid sick days per year and 17 days of Paid Personal Time (prorated upon hire with increasing accruals by tenure).
The Company reserves the right to modify or change these benefits programs at any time, with or without notice.
For Los Angeles County (unincorporated) Candidates:
Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with all federal, state, and local laws including the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act. Our company believes that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship on the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of the conditional offer of employment:
1. Interacting and occasionally having unsupervised contact with internal/external clients and/or colleagues;
2. Appropriately handling and managing confidential information including proprietary and trade secret information and access to information technology systems; and
3. Exercising sound judgment.
Salary : $118,800 - $196,000