How to think like a Google Security Engineer

Lessons learned from my first year as a Senior Security Engineer at Google, London

Terminology

• Googler: A Google employee

• Noogler: A new Google employee

• Moma: Google’s internal intranet

• GTI: Google’s onboarding program to initiate nooglers

• Googley: The unique Google culture

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📍 Intro

Security engineering is a cross between implementation, building, and operating.

Google has a culture famous for cultivating industry-leading practices, enriching engineers, and setting standards that ripple across tech.

In this short read, you’ll get insights into how Google cultivates its security engineers, insights I picked up during my last year working as a Senior Security Engineer at Google.

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🧠 Thinking Like a Google Security Engineer

Thinking like a Google Security Engineer starts even before you join Google.

Sounds odd, right?

Well, during the interview process, one of the rounds is titled: “Googleyness and Leadership.”
(There are tonnes of resources on this round, it’s worth researching.)

In this non-technical round, you’re assessed on whether you’re Googley enough to meet the bar.

Aaaand believe it or not, it’s not uncommon for a candidate to crush Google’s infamous technical loop and still fall short here.

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🧪 The GTI Experience

For the first month of a Noogler’s time at Google, they’re enrolled into the GTI program.

During this first month, there are no expectations to start work in your function.
This time is entirely dedicated to learning the Google culture, to both learn and unlearn habits.

These could be technical best practices, soft skills, communication frameworks, or just deeply understanding the Googley way of doing things.

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💡 Key Mindsets I Learned as a Google Security Engineer

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1. ❌ Never Make Assumptions

Ok, so the first, and possibly most important one:
Never make assumptions.

As simple as it sounds, our natural instinct is to fill in the blanks and act on gut.
At Google, this is a fast way to introduce risk.

Ask. Clarify. Confirm.

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2. 🎯 Actions vs Impact

This is my personal favourite.

If I got a pound for every time I heard the term “impact” since joining Google… I’d probably be a millionaire.
(Okay, maybe not a millionaire, but at least a few grand. lol.)

But seriously, the moment I made a clear distinction between action and impact, my whole view of effectiveness changed.

• Actions are tasks: writing code, documenting, reviewing, building tooling.

• Impact is the measurable value of those actions.

💡 Example:
You wrote a Go CLI tool that helps detect insider threats. Great.
Now ask: What’s the impact?
Maybe it’s used globally by 80% of security teams across Google. That’s real value.

So how do you measure impact? Ask:

• Your manager

• Your product manager

• The people using what you built

Track the lifecycle of your work.

• Who’s consuming it?

• What problem did it solve?

• What changed because of it?

These insights don’t just build your self-awareness, they also build your promo case or your CV for whatever’s next.

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3. ❓ Always Clarify

This one builds directly on the first point.
If something’s unclear, clarify.

Don’t assume you understood correctly. Don’t be afraid to double-check.
Ask the extra question. Send the follow-up message.

Clarity now saves confusion later.

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4. 🔍 Stay Curious

Curiosity is one of the most respected traits in a Google Security Engineer.

Why?

Because things move fast here. New threats, new systems, new people.
The only way to keep up is to ask, explore, dig deeper.

Curious people adapt faster, learn better, and build smarter.

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5. 🧠 There’s No Such Thing as a Stupid Question

One of Google’s core values: Thriving in Ambiguity.

You’re expected to not have all the answers.
You’re encouraged to ask questions.
And no, you won’t be judged for “not knowing something.”

The person next to you is probably wondering the same thing. Ask it. You’re doing everyone a favour.

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6. 🌍 Think Scale, Then Think Bigger

Google doesn’t build one-off scripts.
We build platforms, frameworks, libraries, tools that scale across teams and time zones.

So, before you ship something, ask:

“Will this still be useful 2 years from now? Can another team reuse this?”

Whether it’s code or a doc, aim for reusability, clarity, and durability.

That mindset shift alone levels you up, fast.

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7. ⚡ Bias for Action

Even in a highly structured environment, people who move proactively stand out.

Being action-oriented doesn’t mean reckless, it means having enough signal to move forward, then doing it with clarity and purpose.

Don’t wait for perfect.
Aim for progress.

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8. 🔓 Default Open

“Default open” is a core principle.

Unless there’s a security or privacy reason not to, share your work:

• Docs

• Designs

• Bug learnings

• Internal tools

Why? Because that random library you built? It might save someone halfway across the world 3 days of work.

And they’ll thank you in your perf packet 😎

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9. 🎁 Feedback Is a Gift

It’s literally on Moma mugs.

At Google, feedback is everywhere, in code reviews, 1:1s, even doc comments.

The trick is to embrace it.

• See it as signal, not shame.

• Use it to level up fast.

• Normalise giving it and receiving it.

The best engineers aren’t always the smartest, they’re the ones who integrate feedback fast and relentlessly.

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10. 🤝 Build Your Network Early

Google is huge. Like, planet-sized huge.

Some of the most impactful things I did early on?

• Attending tech talks

• Introducing myself during cross-team meetings

• Asking questions in internal forums

• Joining side projects and working groups

Your network becomes your leverage, for knowledge, for scaling, and for impact.

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📬 Final Thoughts

If you’re reading this because you’re a Noogler, welcome.
If you’re prepping for the loop, good luck.
If you’re just curious, I hope this gives you a glimpse into what makes Google’s security engineering culture so special.

It’s not about tools or titles.
It’s about mindset.

Be humble. Be hungry. Stay curious.
And always ask yourself:
“What’s the impact?”

– Saed