Head of Security Research

3 weeks ago
Full-time
Lead
Cybersecurity
Dropzone AI

Dropzone AI

Dropzone AI is a Seattle-based cybersecurity startup founded in February 2023 by CEO Edward Wu. The company focuses on Security Operations Center (SOC) automation and develops autonomous AI agents. Its flagship product, the Dropzone AI SOC Analyst, is recognized as the world's first AI SOC analyst, designed to independently manage Tier 1 security alert investigations without human intervention. The platform automates the investigation of security alerts, actively hunts for threats, responds to attacks, and generates detailed reports. It operates continuously, integrating seamlessly with existing security tools to enhance team efficiency and reduce analyst burnout. Dropzone AI serves over 100 enterprise customers, including notable organizations like UiPath and Zapier, and has raised approximately $57.35 million in funding to support its innovative solutions in the cybersecurity sector.

computer & network security
51-200
Founded 2023
$57M raised

Description

  • Build and lead a high-impact team of security engineers and domain experts across detection and response.
  • Act as a player/coach by staying hands-on with detections, CVEs, noisy alerts, and attacker hunting.
  • Set strategic research and engineering direction while maintaining a high technical bar.
  • Establish a culture of high-quality research, rapid iteration, and operator-first thinking.
  • Build measurement and evaluation frameworks to assess agent output quality against expert human analysis.
  • Encode expert human intuitions and techniques into the agentic system.
  • Collaborate with engineering to improve agent effectiveness in real-world deployments.
  • Prototype and test new approaches where AI capacity can change cyber defense.
  • Shape the product roadmap based on real-world operational experience.
  • Help define what an autonomous defense system looks like in practice and represent the company as a thought leader.

Requirements

  • 8+ years of experience in detection and response, security engineering, threat hunting, SOC, or incident response.
  • 3+ years of experience managing security engineers, threat hunters, SOC analysts, or similar teams.
  • Experience building and running SOC functions, detection programs, or security research teams.
  • Proven ability to lead high-performing technical teams while remaining hands-on.
  • Ability to mentor across detections, intelligence, and incident response without being siloed.
  • Strong opinions on world-class threat intelligence, hunting, detection engineering, SOC, and incident response.
  • Ability to collaborate closely with engineering and product teams.
  • Startup mindset with comfort operating in ambiguity and moving quickly.
  • Background in building commercial products or security services (preferred).
  • Familiarity with AI agents like Claude Code and OpenClaw (preferred).
  • Experience publishing security research or contributing to the security community (preferred).
  • Experience working with product marketing and field teams to evangelize new security technology (preferred).
  • Founder or early-stage experience, including the first 10 engineers or standing up a new technology bet (preferred).

Benefits

  • 100% remote work from home.
  • Company-provided equipment.
  • Significant above-market new hire equity grants.
  • Company-paid health insurance.
  • 401(k) plan with employer match.
  • Self-managed PTO.
  • Parental leave.
  • Base salary range of $220,000 to $255,000 USD.

Interested in this position?

Apply directly on the company website

Apply Now

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