Senior Director, Engineering, Precision Defense

Horizon3.ai

. Lead and scale the Precision Defense engineering organization .

Posted 10/22/2026full-timeRemote • United StatesSenior💰 $270,000 - $365,000 per yearWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

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Demonstrates expertise in leading SaaS and cloud service engineering organizations, with a strong focus on technical strategy, team development, and cross-functional collaboration. Capable of translating ambiguous objectives into actionable plans while ensuring alignment with customer and company priorities.

Highest-signal resume keywords

SaaS Engineering LeadershipCloud Service DeliveryTechnical Strategy DevelopmentCross-Functional CollaborationTeam Building and Development

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

Cloud Software EngineeringDistributed SystemsPlatform EngineeringAI-Enabled ProductsSecurity EngineeringOffensive SecurityVulnerability ResponseDetection and RemediationArchitecture and DesignTechnical Judgment

Soft Skills

Excellent CommunicationSound JudgmentOwnership and Accountability

Certifications & Qualifications

Bachelor's Degree in Computer ScienceMaster's Degree in Engineering

Industry Keywords

CybersecurityPenetration TestingSecurity OperationsDefensive Security ProductsStrategic Technical Partnerships

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

CloudCyber SecurityDistributed Systems

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Lead and scale the Precision Defense engineering organization
Define technical strategy, operating model, and sequenced roadmap
Build leadership structures and develop engineering managers, technical leads, and senior individual contributors
Establish goals and operating mechanisms to make progress, quality, staffing needs, and risks visible
Partner with technical leads on architecture and design
Prioritize work across emerging-threat response, offensive engineering, deception, security-control validation, and agent-driven remediation
Translate ambiguous goals into focused plans with explicit scope and measurable outcomes
Manage cross-team dependencies and protect teams from competing priorities
Ensure engineering investment supports a coherent customer experience
Partner with Product, NodeZero engineering, and customer-facing teams to align technical plans with customer and company priorities
Turn NodeZero's offensive capabilities into proactive, actionable defense across tripwires and deception, security controls validation, and blue team agents

Requirements

What you’ll need

Significant experience leading SaaS or cloud service engineering organizations delivering complex software products
Experience scaling teams through managers and technical leaders
Track record setting engineering strategy and delivering across multiple teams or product areas in a fast-moving environment
Strong technical judgment in cloud software, distributed systems, platform engineering, or similarly complex production environments
Ability to engage credibly in architecture and design discussions
Experience with AI- or agent-enabled products in production is valuable
Sound judgment about AI/agent limitations, verification, and safe operation
Ability to turn ambiguous objectives into sequenced execution, manage scope and dependencies, and communicate risks and tradeoffs clearly
Experience partnering with Product and cross-functional stakeholders
Experience hiring, coaching, and developing high-performing teams across disciplines
Excellent written and verbal communication
Sound judgment and a high degree of ownership and accountability
Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
Familiarity with security engineering, offensive security, vulnerability response, detection, or security-control validation is nice to have
Experience leading engineering in cybersecurity, penetration testing, security operations, or defensive security products is nice to have
Experience building agent platforms or product workflows connecting detection, decision-making, and verified remediation is nice to have
Experience building strategic technical partnerships or working with MSSPs is nice to have
Legally authorized to work in the United States
Must answer whether employment visa sponsorship will be required

Benefits

Comp & perks

Equity package in the form of stock options for all full-time roles
Health, vision, and dental insurance for you and your family
Flexible vacation policy
Generous parental leave
Career development opportunities
Inclusive and collaborative work culture
Remote and hybrid work models depending on role and location
Up to 15% travel may be required