Hi, I'm Kayla Skates - Information Security Engineer at Google
I am deeply driven by the belief that digital privacy is a fundamental human right. I thrive in high-stakes environments where I can build secure, resilient software while mentoring others to do the same.
At a glance
Curated signals on strengths, focus areas, and how they can help.
Consulted on application security and led technical projects for diverse clients.
Currently specializes in secure software development and automated testing at Google.
Provides expert guidance on shifting security left and embedding privacy in engineering cycles.
🚀 Career trajectory
Consultative Foundations
Started in security consulting at NCC Group, gaining deep exposure to diverse threat landscapes.
✦ Consulting
✦ Penetration Testing
Entrepreneurial Evolution
Launched One Up Security to provide bespoke application security and strategic risk leadership.
✦ Founder
✦ Strategy
Scale and Impact
Driving information security at global scale within engineering-heavy environments like Google.
✦ Engineering Leadership
✦ Security Engineering
💪🏻 Superpowers
Security-First Architectural Design
Engineering resilient systems by embedding security into every layer.
✦ Embeds automated threat modeling directly into development pipelines.
✦ Reduces software vulnerabilities through proactive secure coding standards.
✦ Champions security as a foundational element of system architecture.
Strategic Technical Consulting
Navigating complex security challenges with a founder's perspective.
✦ Translates high-level business risks into actionable engineering tasks.
✦ Advises organizations on scaling security posture during rapid growth.
✦ Simplifies complex penetration testing findings for diverse engineering teams.
Ethical Engineering Advocacy
Promoting privacy-centric development as a core human necessity.
✦ Advances open-source security tools for broader community accessibility.
✦ Mentors developers on reverse engineering and secure logic patterns.
✦ Integrates privacy-by-design principles into mainstream product development.
I'm excited about
✦ Exploring cross-industry collaborations on emerging privacy technologies.
✦ Connecting with engineering leaders building secure-by-default platforms.
✦ Gaining fresh perspectives on scaling security automation in modern stacks.
I can help with
✦ Reviewing threat models for early-stage engineering teams.
✦ Advising on integrating automated security testing into CI/CD pipelines.
✦ Mentoring junior engineers on secure coding and reverse engineering.
I would love your help on
✦ Connecting with privacy-focused founders building ethical AI systems.
✦ Finding new frameworks for measuring the ROI of security initiatives.
✦ Learning from leaders scaling security culture within remote organizations.