Co-Founder Opportunity – VP R&D

AI-Native Cybersecurity Platform (Pre-Seed Stage)

We’re building a next-generation, AI-native SASE platform designed for the AI era — where autonomous agents (good and bad) require secure, adaptive, and real-time access control. Existing platforms weren’t built for this shift. Ours is being built from first principles.

We are currently in pre-seed / validation stage, with a working prototype already running in production at an early design partner, and active discussions with CISOs and investors.

We’re looking for a VP R&D to join as a Co-Founder, working closely with our CTO to drive hands-on development today and grow into leading the entire R&D organization over time.

As VP R&D (Co-Founder), you will:

• Join forces with the CTO to define and execute the technical and architectural vision
• Take a hands-on role in building the core platform in the early stages
• Design and implement a cloud-native, multi-tenant architecture for an AI-native SASE platform
• Build AI-driven security capabilities, autonomous workflows, and adaptive policy engines
• Apply modern AI/ML techniques to security, risk assessment, and system automation
• Own execution velocity, quality, and scalability from day one
• Gradually build, lead, and scale the R&D organization post-funding

This role starts deep in architecture and code, and evolves into full ownership of R&D as the company scales.

It is ideal for someone who wants to build at the intersection of AI, security, and large-scale systems, enjoys defining systems that don’t yet exist, and motivated by ownership and impact, not short-term compensation

Qualifications

• BSc in Computer Science (or equivalent)
• Senior technical leadership experience (VP R&D, Director of Engineering, Principal Architect, or similar)
• Strong background in cybersecurity, networking, cloud infrastructure, or distributed systems
• Hands-on programming experience in one or more of the following languages: C / C++, Go, Python (experience across multiple is a strong advantage)
• Practical experience applying AI / ML systems in production environments
• Proven experience in cloud backend development - designing and building scalable, distributed backend services with modern cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or similar).
• Experience with APIs, microservices, data pipelines, and cloud-native patterns
• Experience building high-performance, scalable, production-grade systems
• (e.g., autonomous systems, decision engines, data pipelines, or AI-assisted workflows)
• Comfortable making architectural decisions under uncertainty
• Founder mindset: ownership, speed, and long-term vision

Stage & Compensation (Important)

• We are pre-seed
• No salary at this stage
• Compensation is meaningful equity as a Co-Founder
• Long-term intent to build and scale the company together

Location & Work Model

• Candidate must be based in Israel
• Currently working fully remote (work from home)
• Following fundraising, the company will establish offices in Tel Aviv
• The role is expected to transition to onsite / hybrid, with strong in-person collaboration

Confidentiality

This search is confidential.

Further details about the company, product, and founders will be shared in private conversations.

Interested or curious?

Please reach out privately with a short note about your background and what excites you about building in the AI-native security space.