Working at Google as a Cloud Software Engineer

Summary

Kelly Harrington, a software engineer at Google, discusses her role in the Safe Browsing team, which uses virtual machines to scan the internet for dangerous content. She emphasizes the importance of security and privacy, not only for Google but for all users to build trust. Harrington highlights the challenges and constant evolution in the field, the support and resources Google provides for tackling technical issues, and the opportunities for career growth. She also notes the team's expertise and the dynamic nature of security work, ensuring no two days are the same.

Takeaways

• 👩‍💻 Kelly Harrington is a software engineer at Google, focusing on security and privacy.
• 🔍 She works with the Safe Browsing team, which uses virtual machines to scan the internet for dangerous content.
• 🌐 The scale of their work is immense, aiming to secure users across the entire internet.
• 🤔 Kelly emphasizes the complexity of securing users with varying levels of technical expertise and device capabilities.
• 🆕 The field of security is ever-evolving, with new challenges constantly emerging.
• 🔒 Security and privacy are top priorities at Google, which is essential for building user trust.
• 💼 The Safe Browsing team is part of Google's Cloud organization, providing protections for Cloud customers.
• 🛠️ Google's extensive resources and teams help engineers overcome technical challenges more efficiently.
• 🧠 Working with the Safe Browsing team offers the opportunity to learn from brilliant and knowledgeable colleagues.
• 🌟 Security and privacy are growing fields with ample opportunities for career growth and learning.
• 📈 Google offers a supportive environment for career advancement, even for those new to the industry.
• 🏢 The variety of projects at Google ensures that security work is diverse and never dull.

Q & A

What is Kelly Harrington's role at Google?

Kelly Harrington is a software engineer within Google's Security and Privacy team, specifically working on a team called Safe Browsing.

What does the Safe Browsing team do at Google?

The Safe Browsing team runs a large fleet of virtual machines to scan the internet and determine if a given site is hosting dangerous content or not.

How does Kelly describe the scale of technical work required to scan the entire internet?

Kelly describes it as 'Google-scale technical work,' emphasizing the vast impact it has on securing users.

What challenges does Kelly face in her role, considering the diversity of users?

Kelly considers the challenge of securing users with different levels of technical expertise, from various cultures, and using devices with limited memory.

Why is continuous improvement necessary in the field of security and privacy according to Kelly?

Kelly mentions that there's always something new happening, and someone might be trying to undo the security measures, which necessitates continuous improvement.

How does Google prioritize security and privacy?

Security and privacy are a huge priority at Google, as they want users to trust them, and the company's leaders consider it hugely important.

How does the Safe Browsing team support Google Cloud customers?

Safe Browsing provides APIs that Cloud customers can use to protect their users from visiting dangerous links, as part of the technical infrastructure that Google is built on.

What advantages does Google offer to engineers like Kelly in terms of resources and support?

Google provides a wealth of resources and support, making it easier to build complex things as many technical challenges have already been addressed by other teams.

What is Kelly's opinion about the expertise of her colleagues on the Safe Browsing team?

Kelly considers her colleagues brilliant and appreciates working with them due to their deep knowledge of the domain.

How does Kelly view the opportunities for career growth in the field of security and privacy at Google?

Kelly sees many opportunities for career growth in security and privacy at Google, both for newcomers and established professionals, with room for growth and leadership opportunities.

Why does Kelly believe Google is a great place to do security work?

Kelly thinks Google is a great place for security work due to the variety of projects and the constant new challenges that come with them, ensuring she never gets bored.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 Google's Safe Browsing: Securing the Internet

Kelly Harrington, a software engineer at Google, introduces herself and her role within the Safe Browsing team, which is part of Google's Security and Privacy division. The team operates a large fleet of virtual machines to scan the internet for dangerous content. Kelly emphasizes the scale of Google's technical work and the impact of securing users across different cultures and technical backgrounds. She discusses the constant challenges and new developments in the field, highlighting the importance of security and privacy as a top priority at Google. The Safe Browsing team's work is foundational to Google's technical infrastructure, particularly for Cloud customers who can utilize APIs to protect users from harmful links. Kelly also touches on the support and resources available at Google for engineers, the expertise of her colleagues, and the opportunities for career growth in the field of security.

Keywords

💡Safe Browsing

Safe Browsing is a Google service designed to protect users from malicious websites. It operates by scanning the internet to identify sites that host dangerous content. In the script, Kelly Harrington mentions working on the Safe Browsing team, which uses a large fleet of virtual machines to perform these scans. This service is crucial for maintaining user trust and ensuring a secure online experience.

💡Virtual Machines

Virtual machines are software implementations of physical machines that run on a computer system. They allow multiple operating systems to run on a single physical machine, providing flexibility and efficiency. In the context of the video, the Safe Browsing team uses a large fleet of virtual machines to scan the internet, highlighting the scale of Google's technical infrastructure and the need for robust computing resources to handle such a vast task.

💡Security and Privacy

Security and privacy are critical aspects of protecting user data and ensuring that personal information is kept safe from unauthorized access or misuse. The video emphasizes that these are top priorities at Google, as they are essential for building user trust. Kelly Harrington discusses the importance of securing users across different technical expertise levels and cultural backgrounds, reflecting the broad impact of Google's security efforts.

💡Technical Infrastructure

Technical infrastructure refers to the foundational systems and technologies that support an organization's operations. In the script, Google's technical infrastructure is described as the building blocks upon which the company is built, particularly in the context of the Cloud organization. Safe Browsing is part of this infrastructure, providing protections for Cloud customers, which illustrates the interconnected nature of Google's services and the importance of a secure foundation.

💡APIs

APIs, or Application Programming Interfaces, are sets of routines, protocols, and tools for building software applications. They allow different software systems to communicate with each other. In the video, it's mentioned that Cloud customers can use Safe Browsing APIs to protect their users from dangerous links. This demonstrates how Google's security tools are integrated into its broader product offerings, enabling developers to enhance the safety of their applications.

💡Career Growth

Career growth refers to the process of advancing one's professional career through learning, experience, and taking on new responsibilities. Kelly Harrington speaks about the opportunities for career growth at Google, both for newcomers and established professionals. She shares her personal journey from being a recent graduate to becoming a team lead, indicating the supportive environment and potential for advancement within the company.

💡Leadership

Leadership involves guiding, directing, and influencing others towards achieving goals. In the context of the video, leadership is mentioned as an opportunity for growth at Google, where there are teams and positions available for those who aspire to take on more responsibility. Kelly's progression to a team lead role exemplifies the company's commitment to developing leaders from within.

💡Hardware and Software

Hardware refers to the physical components of a computer system, while software comprises the programs and processes that run on the hardware. The video script mentions that Google has projects involving both hardware and software, each presenting unique security challenges. This highlights the diverse nature of Google's projects and the comprehensive approach required to address security across different technologies.

💡Cloud

Cloud computing refers to the delivery of computing services, including servers, storage, databases, networking, software, and analytics, over the internet. In the script, the Cloud organization is mentioned as part of Google's technical infrastructure, emphasizing the growing importance of cloud services and the security measures needed to protect them. Safe Browsing APIs are an example of how Google's security tools extend to cloud-based applications.

💡Undergrad

Undergrad, short for undergraduate, refers to a student who is pursuing a bachelor's degree at a university. Kelly Harrington mentions coming to Google straight out of undergrad, which underscores the company's willingness to hire and develop talent from various educational backgrounds. It also reflects the opportunities available for recent graduates to make an impact in the field of security and privacy.

💡Google-scale

Google-scale refers to the massive scale at which Google operates, handling vast amounts of data and serving billions of users worldwide. The script mentions 'Google-scale technical work' when discussing the task of scanning the entire internet, indicating the enormity of the challenge and the advanced technologies required to meet such demands.

Highlights

Kelly Harrington is a software engineer at Google's Security and Privacy team.

She works on the Safe Browsing team, which scans the internet for dangerous content.

The team operates a large fleet of virtual machines for internet scanning.

The scale of their work is Google-scale, impacting a vast number of users.

Security and privacy are a huge priority at Google.

The Safe Browsing team's work is part of Google's technical infrastructure.

Cloud customers can use Safe Browsing APIs to protect users from dangerous links.

Google provides resources and support to help engineers tackle technical challenges.

Working with the Safe Browsing team offers the opportunity to learn from brilliant colleagues.

Security and Privacy is an area with opportunities for growth, even without prior knowledge.

Google offers career growth opportunities for both new and established professionals.

Kelly has progressed from a recent graduate to a team lead at Google.

Google is a great place for security work due to the variety of projects and challenges.

The company's diverse projects ensure that security work is never boring.

Google's security team is at the forefront of new and interesting developments.

Transcripts

My name is Kelly Harrington.

I'm a software engineer within Google's Security and Privacy.

I work on a team called Safe Browsing,

and we run on a large fleet of virtual machines

that we use to scan the internet and determine if a given site

is hosting dangerous content or not.

You know, when you think about what it takes to scan the entire internet,

that is really Google-scale technical work.

Being able to impact that many users, it's a really powerful thing.

You know, it's one thing to think about how would I secure myself

or then how do I secure my family members or my friends

at different levels of technical expertise,

but then you think about, you know, there could be people from different cultures

or maybe they're using a device that has very little memory,

and how do you make the best use of that memory to secure them?

No matter what you do, there's always something new happening,

some new challenge that you have to face.

And nothing you do is ever going to be good enough

because there's always someone who might be trying to undo what you're doing.

and so it's a big challenge, but it's also part of the fun of the role.

Security and Privacy is a huge priority at Google,

and I think it should be a huge priority everywhere

because you want users to trust you.

Our leaders think that's hugely important.

We're part of technical infrastructure which is basically the building blocks

that Google is built on, and so that's part of the Cloud organization

because of the protections that we provide Cloud customers.

So for example, Safe Browsing,

Cloud customers can use the APIs to protect their users

from visiting dangerous links

because there's a lot of opportunities in Cloud for things to go wrong,

and that's where security people come in because we make things go right.

One of the wonderful things about being an engineer at Google

is that there's already an answer to a lot of questions,

so a lot of technical challenges of, you know,

what software should I use for this,

or what language or what library should I use,

are kind of answered for you by all of the resources and the other teams at Google,

where that's really their mission.

So it makes it a lot easier to build complex things

on top of it because a lot of that work's already done for you.

Other Googlers that work on Safe Browsing, I mean, they're brilliant.

It's just so great to work with these people,

just because they all have such a deep knowledge of the domain,

and not everyone comes in with that.

That's something that's really built up over time.

One thing that's important to know about Security and Privacy

is that even if you don't have a background knowledge,

it's really an area where there's a lot of opportunities to pick up that knowledge.

And it's really an area that's so up and coming

that everyone has to read these things to stay on top

of what's going on in the world.

You really have room to kind of grow into it if you want to.

I think there are a lot of opportunities at Google for career growth,

both for people who might be completely new to the industry

or coming out of undergrad, and then also for established people

to come in because, you know, there's always teams

and opportunities for leadership at Google.

I came to Google straight out of undergrad, and now I'm a TL,

and I'm able to have a real voice in the decisions that my team makes,

and so it's a big difference, but it's felt really natural.

And I've had a lot of support to kind of come into my own as an engineer.

I think Google is a great place to do security work

because there's just so many different things that need securing.

We're a company that has hardware, we have software,

we have every sort of different project you can imagine,

and every single project comes with its own security challenges.

It's just some place where I can never imagine myself getting bored.

There's always something new and interesting going on,

and you get to be right up there close as it happens.