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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Web Security Assistant

💰 $ - $

🎯 Role Definition

The Web Security Assistant supports the application and cloud security teams by identifying, validating, and mitigating web application vulnerabilities across SaaS and on-premise environments. This role focuses on hands-on vulnerability triage (OWASP Top 10, SAST/DAST findings), assisting with penetration testing activities, automating security scans in CI/CD pipelines, and collaborating with development and DevOps teams to drive secure-by-design practices. The ideal candidate has practical experience with web security tooling (Burp Suite, ZAP, Snyk), solid knowledge of web protocols (HTTP, TLS, OAuth/JWT), and a strong operational mindset for incident response, vulnerability management, and security automation.

Keywords: web security, application security, vulnerability management, OWASP Top 10, SAST, DAST, penetration testing, DevSecOps, CI/CD security, cloud security, WAF, incident response, security automation.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Junior Security Analyst with exposure to web application vulnerabilities and SOC monitoring.
  • Junior DevOps or Site Reliability Engineer who has assisted with CI/CD security and infrastructure-as-code reviews.
  • Junior Software Engineer who has participated in secure coding initiatives and remediation of application vulnerabilities.

Advancement To:

  • Web Security Engineer / Application Security Engineer
  • DevSecOps Engineer or Cloud Security Engineer
  • Senior Security Analyst or Vulnerability Management Lead
  • Penetration Tester (Red Team) or Security Consultant

Lateral Moves:

  • SOC Analyst (with focus on web application telemetry)
  • Cloud Security Analyst (if focused on cloud-native web application security)
  • Compliance or Risk Analyst supporting application security controls

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Perform daily vulnerability triage for web application findings from automated SAST, DAST, SCA, and interactive application security testing (IAST) tools; validate results, prioritize by risk, and provide reproducible steps for developers to remediate.
  • Execute manual web application validation and proof-of-concept exploit development for critical and high severity vulnerabilities (including XSS, SQL injection, CSRF, authentication and authorization flaws) to confirm impact and scope.
  • Run authenticated and unauthenticated DAST scans of web applications using tools such as Burp Suite, OWASP ZAP, or other commercial scanners; tune scan configurations to reduce false positives and identify business-logic issues.
  • Assist in operating and maintaining SAST pipelines (e.g., SonarQube, Veracode, Checkmarx) and integrate static analysis into CI/CD to catch vulnerabilities during pull requests and builds.
  • Triage and manage vulnerability tickets in a vulnerability management platform or ticketing system (JIRA, ServiceNow), including assigning ownership, tracking SLAs, and updating status until closure.
  • Collaborate with development teams to translate security findings into clear remediation guidance, code examples, secure design patterns, and acceptance criteria to accelerate fixes.
  • Support web application penetration testing engagements by preparing test scopes, running reconnaissance, conducting authenticated testing, and documenting technical findings and remediation steps.
  • Analyze third-party library and dependency scan reports (SCA) to identify known CVEs, recommend upgrades or mitigation strategies, and work with engineering teams to implement fixes.
  • Monitor application and WAF logs (CloudFront, AWS WAF, ModSecurity, Azure Front Door) and common telemetry sources to detect anomalous web traffic, suspicious payloads, and potential exploitation attempts.
  • Assist incident response for web application security incidents by collecting forensic artifacts, reproducing attack vectors, producing root cause analysis, and recommending containment and remediation actions.
  • Implement and review secure configuration checks for web servers, application servers, and API gateways (e.g., TLS configurations, cookie flags, CSP, CORS policies), documenting deviations and guiding hardening efforts.
  • Help design and maintain threat models and attack surface inventories for web-facing applications; update models after releases or architectural changes to ensure coverage of new endpoints and functionalities.
  • Create and maintain playbooks, runbooks, and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for web security operations, including vulnerability triage, scanning cadence, and incident escalation flows.
  • Assist with web application firewall (WAF) rule tuning and positive security model creation; deploy, test, and validate custom WAF rules and mitigations to reduce noise while preserving legitimate traffic.
  • Automate routine security tasks and reporting using scripting (Python, Bash) and orchestration tools to accelerate remediation workflows and reduce manual effort.
  • Participate in code reviews with a security lens, providing concrete remediation suggestions for insecure patterns, improper authentication, input validation gaps, and risky use of third-party libraries.
  • Support continuous monitoring of application security posture by creating dashboards and KPIs (time-to-remediate, open critical vulnerabilities, scan coverage) using SIEM or observability tools (Splunk, ELK).
  • Coordinate vulnerability disclosure and bug bounty triage by verifying researcher reports, reproducing issues, assessing impact, and communicating with internal stakeholders and external researchers.
  • Maintain up-to-date knowledge of CVEs, OWASP Top 10 updates, and emerging web security threats; proactively propose mitigations and preventive controls to the security roadmap.
  • Assist in configuring and validating authentication and authorization mechanisms (OAuth, OpenID Connect, JWT validation), session management, and secure storage of secrets and keys in web applications.
  • Conduct ad-hoc manual testing for new features, releases, and integrations to provide security sign-off before production deployment and to reduce regression of prior fixes.
  • Support cross-functional security initiatives such as secure-by-design training for engineers, secure coding workshops, and onboarding security checklists for new application teams.

Secondary Functions

  • Prepare concise executive and technical reports summarizing vulnerability trends, remediation progress, and residual risk for product owners and security leadership.
  • Assist auditors and compliance teams with evidence collection and explanations related to web application controls, penetration tests, and vulnerability management practices.
  • Maintain and update security documentation, runbooks, and knowledge base articles to ensure consistent, repeatable remediation and validation steps for the engineering community.
  • Help evaluate and pilot new web security tools and services (DAST, SCA, WAF, RASP) and provide recommendations based on integration, accuracy, and operational overhead.
  • Contribute to the organization's security awareness initiatives by developing bite-sized web security guidance, developer checklists, and postmortem learnings from incidents or penetration tests.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies with product and engineering teams to include security stories, ensure testing coverage, and provide risk-based acceptance criteria.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Practical experience with DAST tools (Burp Suite Professional, OWASP ZAP) and manual web vulnerability validation techniques to reproduce and document issues.
  • Hands-on use of SAST platforms (SonarQube, Veracode, Checkmarx) and the ability to interpret static analysis results and tune rules to reduce noise.
  • Familiarity with Software Composition Analysis (SCA) tools (Snyk, Dependabot, Black Duck) to detect and triage vulnerable dependencies and transitive CVEs.
  • Working knowledge of web protocols and standards: HTTP/HTTPS, TLS, cookies, CORS, Content Security Policy (CSP), OAuth2/OpenID Connect, JWT handling and common pitfalls.
  • Ability to write and maintain automation scripts in Python, Bash, or similar to automate scanning, triage, and reporting workflows.
  • Experience integrating security testing into CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins) and gating releases based on security policies.
  • Understanding of cloud and container security concepts relevant to web applications (AWS/Azure/GCP native services, Docker, Kubernetes) and secure deployment patterns.
  • Familiarity with WAFs and mitigation technologies (ModSecurity, AWS WAF, Cloudflare), including rule creation, tuning, and validation.
  • Ability to read and write exploit proof-of-concepts safely in testing environments and knowledge of safe handling for POC artifacts.
  • Basic knowledge of incident response and forensic data collection for web application attacks, including logs, request/response captures, and memory artifacts.
  • Experience using ticketing and vulnerability management systems (JIRA, ServiceNow, Kenna, Rapid7) to track findings and SLA-driven remediation.
  • Knowledge of security frameworks and standards (OWASP Top 10, CWE/CVE, NIST, CIS benchmarks) to prioritize and classify risk.
  • Familiarity with authentication, authorization, session management, and common secure coding defenses to advise development teams.
  • Exposure to log analysis and monitoring tools (Splunk, ELK/ElasticStack) to detect anomalous application behavior and exploitation attempts.
  • Optional/desired: certifications or training such as OSCP, CEH, CISSP, GIAC, or equivalent practical experience in web application security.

Soft Skills

  • Strong written and verbal communication skills to explain technical risks to engineers and translate findings into actionable remediation steps for non-security audiences.
  • Collaborative approach with product, engineering, and DevOps teams to drive remediation without creating bottlenecks in the delivery process.
  • Analytical mindset and attention to detail for reproducing vulnerabilities, creating step-by-step repros, and validating fixes.
  • Prioritization and time-management skills for handling multiple concurrent vulnerability backlogs and incident escalations.
  • Customer-service orientation and diplomacy when interacting with engineering teams, external researchers, and stakeholders to maintain trust and effectiveness.
  • Comfort working in agile, fast-paced environments and adapting security processes to fit team workflows and release cadences.
  • Continuous learning mindset to keep up with evolving web threat landscape and new testing methodologies.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Security, Information Systems, Cybersecurity, or equivalent practical experience.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Cybersecurity, Computer Science, or related technical discipline; relevant industry certifications (OSCP, CEH, GIAC, CISSP, CompTIA Security+) are a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Computer Science
  • Cybersecurity / Information Security
  • Software Engineering
  • Information Systems
  • Network Engineering / Computer Engineering

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 1–3 years of hands-on experience in web application security, vulnerability management, or security operations supporting web applications.

Preferred:

  • 2–4 years of direct experience validating and triaging web vulnerabilities, working with SAST/DAST/SCA tooling, integrating security into CI/CD, and supporting incident response or penetration testing activities. Demonstrated experience collaborating with engineering teams to remediate vulnerabilities and implement secure coding patterns is highly desirable.
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