Founding Engineering Team Lead (Cybersecurity & AI)

Opportunity Overview

Berlin • Cybersecurity & AI Startup • Recently Funded

A newly funded cybersecurity startup in Berlin is seeking a Founding Engineering Team Lead to join as a core member of the founding team. This role is crucial for designing the foundational security, identity, and enforcement components of a next-generation AI-powered risk management platform. Founded by experienced cybersecurity leaders, this early-stage venture offers a unique chance to build a complex platform from the ground up in a fast-paced startup environment.

About the Platform:

We are developing a cutting-edge cyber risk platform that empowers enterprises to understand, measure, and reduce identity risk at scale. Our goal is to transform complex security data into clear, actionable insights for CISOs and CTOs. You will work on core platform components from inception, leveraging cloud-native systems, AI-driven analysis, and automated enforcement through AI agents.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and grow a small, high-performing engineering team while remaining hands-on.
• Design, build, and review production backend and platform code alongside the team.
• Own the delivery of the engineering roadmap, balancing speed, quality, and security.
• Provide technical leadership, setting architecture direction and enforcing engineering standards.
• Contribute directly to critical features, integrations, and platform foundations.
• Establish lightweight engineering processes that enable fast execution without bureaucracy.
• Mentor engineers through code reviews, pairing, and technical guidance.
• Spend approximately 70% of your time coding in GoLang, designing architecture, and configuring systems.
• Remove blockers and facilitate delivery across backend, frontend, data, and DevOps.
• Collaborate closely with the CEO, CPTO, and product leadership on technical and execution decisions.
• Support hiring, onboarding, and technical evaluation of engineers.
• Foster a culture of ownership, pragmatism, and low ego.
• Build the entire security platform setup from scratch.
• Partner with backend and AI engineers to design secure service boundaries and deployment models.
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex production incidents across infrastructure, networking, and application layers.
• Build Proofs of Concept (PoCs) and validate infrastructure and security design decisions.
• Support compliance readiness by enabling controls, logging, and evidence collection.
• Continuously improve platform cost efficiency, reliability, and operational maturity.
• This role reports directly to the CEO & CPTO.

Requirements:

Must-Have Skills:

• 10+ years of professional software engineering experience.
• 3+ years of experience leading engineering teams while remaining hands-on.
• 3+ years of GoLang experience.
• 3+ years of experience with AWS in production environments.
• Strong code quality bar and experience with architectural reviews.
• Ability to context-switch between technical topics and people leadership.
• Strong execution mindset and comfort operating under ambiguity.
• Hands-on coding mentality; ability to build things from scratch, including security architecture.
• Hands-on experience with Docker, Kubernetes (EKS), and containerized workloads.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines (e.g., GitHub Actions).
• Experience with monitoring, logging, and observability tools (e.g., Grafana, OpenTelemetry, Prometheus).
• Experience with Coding CoPilots (e.g., Claude Code, GitHub Copilot).
• Knowledge of supporting production SaaS platforms.
• High ownership mentality, startup mindset, and ability to move quickly.
• Experience in startup or scale-up environments.
• Low ego, high commitment, and a true tech startup mentality.
• Excellent English communication skills.

Nice-to-Have Requirements:

• Previous experience as a founding or early-stage Engineering Manager.
• Experience in cybersecurity, identity, or enterprise SaaS platforms.
• Exposure to DevOps, SRE, or data engineering.
• Experience scaling teams and systems simultaneously.
• Experience with security architecture, identity security, or security engineering.
• Familiarity with compliance frameworks (NIS2, DORA, ISO 27001, SOC 2).
• Understanding of OAuth/OIDC, API tokens, IdP, scopes, SSO, SCIM, RBAC/ABAC, service accounts.
• Familiarity with cloud identity and security controls (e.g., IAM, CloudTrail, Azure AD).
• Hands-on experience with SIEM platforms (e.g., Splunk, Microsoft Sentinel).
• Experience designing permission models, identity graphs, or access control frameworks.
• Knowledge of tokenization, Zero Trust principles, least privilege, and continuous verification.
• Experience with security related to AI/LLM systems or agent logic.
• Familiarity with AI agent behavior, LLM security, or agent sandboxing.
• Previous experience in cybersecurity or identity startups.
• Fan of rock or metal music.
• Excellent German communication skills.

Benefits:

• Founding Team Member Equity: ESOPs in a well-funded cybersecurity company.
• Competitive Compensation: Salary aligned with the market; flexible early-stage arrangements possible.
• Founding Team Member Status: Shape the company from day one and own critical technical decisions.
• Fresh Funding Secured: Immediate runway for building, hiring, and executing quickly.
• Security Contribution: Contribute to security tech architecture across identity, AI agents, and enforcement.
• High Autonomy: Freedom to design and build without corporate overhead.
• Work with Technical Leadership: Fast iteration, strong alignment, and clear direction with the CEO and CPTO.
• Cutting-Edge Domain: Work in identity security, SaaS-to-SaaS access, and AI agent governance.
• Massive Learning Curve: Quickly gain depth in cybersecurity, identity, and AI systems.
• Fast Career Path: Opportunity to evolve into higher leadership as the team scales.
• Berlin Location: Access to a top-tier tech environment with strong cybersecurity and AI ecosystems.
• Direct Impact: Your architecture and code will form the foundation of the entire platform.
• Best Equipment and Tools: High-quality equipment and modern tools provided.
• Team Offsites: Regular events to build connections, alignment, and momentum.