Own detection-as-code across endpoint, cloud, container, and SaaS at Instacart

Interview for a Senior Detection Engineer role on Instacart's Security team, building and tuning detection logic across a cloud-native environment and translating attacker TTPs into durable, versioned detections. Expect deep questions on macOS internals, zero-trust identity attacks, and detection-as-code pipelines.

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What this interview tests

Detection-as-code (version control, testing, CI/CD for detections)
Attacker TTPs in zero-trust environments (identity, token theft)
macOS internals and endpoint telemetry
Cloud security across AWS/Azure/GCP
SOAR automation and triage workflows
Forensic investigation methodology

Common question themes

Walk through a detection you built from telemetry source to production deployment

How would you detect token theft or identity compromise in a zero-trust environment

Describe a forensic investigation across multiple log sources

How do you reduce alert noise while maintaining coverage

Design a SOAR playbook for a specific incident type

How do you balance telemetry cost against detection quality

How candidates describe it

Real Senior Detection Engineer interview stories — retold from candidates' public write-ups, with sources.

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