Director, Engineering - Proactive Offense

Get to Know Us

Horizon3.ai is a fast-growing, remote cybersecurity company dedicated to the mission of enabling organizations to proactively find, fix and verify exploitable attack vectors before criminals exploit them. Our flagship product, the NodeZeroTM platform, delivers production-safe autonomous pentests and other key assessment operations that scale across the largest internal, external, cloud, and hybrid cloud environments. NodeZero has been adopted by organizations of all sizes, from small educational institutions to government agencies and Global 100 enterprises. It is used by IT Ops/SecOps teams, consulting pentesters, and MSSPs and MSPs.

We are a fusion of former U.S. Special Operations cyber operators, startup engineers & operators, and formerly frustrated cybersecurity practitioners. We're committed to helping solve our common security problems: ineffective security tools and false positives, resulting in alert fatigue, blind spots, "checkbox” security culture, cybersecurity skills shortage, and the long lead time and expense of hiring outside consultants. Collectively, we are a team of learn-it-alls, committed to a culture of respect, collaboration, ownership, and results.

As a remote first company, we require minimum 25Mbps consumer grade broadband connection.

What You'll Do

As Director of Software Engineering – Offensive Security, you’ll lead the strategy, design, and development of NodeZero’s offensive capabilities, driving innovation in autonomous attack content, exploit development, and platform scalability. You’ll manage multiple engineering teams, balancing deep technical expertise with product and organizational leadership.

This role sits above our offensive engineering leaders and pods (Attack Engineering) and will play a key role in scaling the offensive product organization as we continue to expand NodeZero’s reach and sophistication.

Key Responsibilities

• Leadership & Strategy:
  Lead and scale Horizon3.ai’s Offensive Engineering organization, overseeing teams responsible for exploit development, offensive content, and attack automation within the NodeZero platform. Set clear technical and product direction for how NodeZero identifies, exploits, and validates vulnerabilities across large, complex environments.

• Product Ownership:
  Partner closely with Product, Precision Defense, and Platform teams to define and deliver offensive capabilities that directly influence the roadmap and enhance customer outcomes. Drive execution from proof-of-concept through production-transforming cutting-edge attack research into scalable, productized features.

• Technical Depth:
  Stay hands-on enough to guide architectural decisions and evaluate complex exploit and automation approaches. Mentor technical leads in building resilient, modular systems that power NodeZero’s offensive testing engine.

• Team Building:
  Build, mentor, and scale diverse teams of software engineers, exploit developers, and offensive researchers.
  Foster a culture of collaboration, creativity, and engineering excellence that bridges traditional offensive and product software development.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration:
  Collaborate across engineering, product, and GTM teams to align offensive innovation with business priorities, and ensure delivery of measurable, impactful capabilities for customers.
  

This is a highly visible leadership role central to Horizon3.ai’s mission of delivering continuous, autonomous security testing at scale.

What You’ll Bring

• Proven experience leading and scaling engineering teams in offensive or cybersecurity product development, ideally within a fast-paced startup or growth-stage environment.

• Strong technical background in software development and system architecture, with hands-on experience in offensive security domains such as exploit development, vulnerability research, attack automation, or red teaming.

• Demonstrated success taking offensive capabilities or SaaS products from concept to market, including driving POCs, MVPs, and production launches.

• Deep understanding of distributed systems, automation pipelines, and large-scale SaaS platforms, with the ability to guide architectural and design decisions.

• A product-oriented mindset, skilled at balancing technical excellence, customer impact, and speed to market.

• Exceptional leadership and collaboration skills—experienced in managing managers, aligning cross-functional teams, and partnering effectively with Product and GTM stakeholders.

• Excellent analytical, communication, and storytelling abilities—capable of translating complex offensive engineering concepts into clear, actionable direction.

• High degree of initiative and ownership; creative, detail-oriented, and results-driven.

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
  

Required Tech Stack Experience

• Deep expertise in offensive security techniques, frameworks, and tooling (e.g. Metasploit, Cobalt Strike, Sliver, or custom exploit frameworks).

• Proficiency in at least one modern object-oriented programming language such as Python, Go, C++, or C#, with experience building and maintaining large-scale software systems.

• Strong understanding of vulnerability research, exploit development, and post-exploitation automation, with the ability to translate offensive tradecraft into scalable product capabilities.

• Solid grasp of platform design, system architecture, and automation pipelines, including CI/CD, containerization, and infrastructure-as-code principles.

• Experience with cloud infrastructure and services (AWS, Azure, GCP), as well as modern DevOps and observability practices.

• Deep familiarity with network protocols, multiple operating systems (Windows, Linux, macOS, Kali, Ubuntu), and common enterprise technologies.

• Hands-on experience building or leading engineering for B2B SaaS or security platforms, ideally within a cyber or offensive security company.

• Working knowledge of databases (PostgreSQL, Neo4j, or similar) and data flow design.

• Awareness of cybersecurity industry standards and trends, with an ability to bridge technical and product perspectives.

Bonus Qualifications:

• Offensive security certifications such as OSCP, OSEP, OSED, or GPEN.

• Experience mentoring teams on offensive tradecraft or developing proprietary offensive tooling.

Travel Required

We are a fully remote company, and this job may require up to 5% of travel to be successful.

Compensation and Values

At Horizon3, we believe that our people are our greatest asset, and our compensation philosophy reflects this core value. We are committed to fostering an environment where all employees feel valued, respected, and rewarded for their contributions. Our compensation structure is designed to be fair, competitive, and transparent, ensuring that every team member is recognized and compensated equitably across roles, levels, and locations.

In accordance with various State’s transparency regulations, we provide the following salary range information for this position:

• Base salary range: $245,000 - $285,000 annually. The exact salary will be determined based on the selected candidate’s location, qualifications, experience, and relevant skills.

• Additional compensation: All full-time roles are eligible for an equity package in the form of stock options.

Perks of Horizon3.ai

• Inclusive Team: We value diversity and promote an inclusive culture where everyone can thrive.

• Growth Opportunities: Be part of a dynamic and growing team with numerous career development opportunities.

• Innovative Culture: Work in a collaborative environment that encourages creativity and out-of-the-box thinking.

• Remote Work: We are a 100% remote company. Enjoy the flexibility to work in the way that supports you and brings out your best.

• Competitive Compensation: We offer competitive salary, equity and benefits. Our benefits include health, vision & dental insurance for you and your family, a flexible vacation policy, and generous parental leave.

You Belong Here

Horizon3 is not just an equal opportunity employer - we are a community that values diversity, equity, and inclusion as fundamental principles of our culture and success. We are dedicated to fostering a workplace where everyone feels welcome and respected, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, or any other legally protected status by law.

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion means we strive to attract, develop, and retain a workforce that reflects the varied communities we serve. We believe that diverse perspectives drive innovation and strengthen our ability to create cutting-edge cybersecurity solutions. At Horizon3, every team member is valued and supported in an environment that encourages personal and professional growth.

We welcome candidates from all backgrounds and experiences, and we encourage all qualified individuals to apply. Come be a part of Horizon3, where your unique contributions are recognized, and your potential is limitless.

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Application Note

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