Founding Software Engineer

About Vyvern

Vyvern is building the future of autonomous security testing and compliance automation. We're creating AI-powered agents that conduct sophisticated penetration testing, social engineering simulations, and security assessments at a fraction of the traditional cost and time. Our platform enables organizations to continuously validate their security posture through intelligent, adaptive testing that evolves with emerging threats.

The Opportunity

We're seeking a Founding Engineer to join us at the ground floor of building a revolutionary cybersecurity platform. This is a rare opportunity to shape both the technology and culture of a company poised to transform how organizations approach security testing.

As a founding member of our engineering team, you'll have significant ownership over our technical architecture, product direction, and company trajectory. You'll work directly with the founders to build a platform that's already gaining traction with enterprise clients.

What You'll Do

• Architect and build core platform features including our autonomous agent system, workflow orchestration engine, and real-time execution monitoring
• Design scalable systems that can handle thousands of concurrent security assessments across distributed infrastructure
• Develop AI/ML pipelines for intelligent attack path generation, vulnerability discovery, and adaptive testing strategies
• Create secure APIs and integrations with enterprise security tools (SIEM, SOAR, ticketing systems)
• Build real-time visualization systems for live security testing execution and results
• Implement robust security measures for a platform that handles sensitive security data
• Shape engineering culture and establish best practices for a growing team
• Interface directly with customers to understand their security challenges and translate them into product features
• Own significant equity and have a direct impact on company success

Technical Stack

Current:

• Backend: Node.js, Express, PostgreSQL, Redis
• Frontend: Next.js 14, React, Tailwind CSS
• Infrastructure: AWS, Docker, Kubernetes
• AI/ML: OpenAI, Anthropic, custom agents
• Security: OAuth2, JWT, end-to-end encryption
• Testing: Jest, Playwright, custom security frameworks

Future Considerations:

• Rust/Go for performance-critical components
• Graph databases for attack path modeling
• Time-series databases for security metrics
• WebAssembly for client-side security tools
• Distributed computing for large-scale assessments

What We're Looking For

Required:

• Strong systems design skills and experience building distributed systems
• Deep understanding of security principles (authentication, encryption, secure coding)
• Experience with cloud infrastructure (Google Cloud Platform) and containerization
• Proficiency in Node.js
• Ability to work autonomously and make critical technical decisions
• Excellent communication skills for both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• US work authorization and ability to pass security clearance

Preferred:

• Experience in cybersecurity, especially penetration testing or security automation
• Background in AI/ML, particularly in agent-based systems or reinforcement learning
• Familiarity with compliance frameworks (SOC2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, PCI-DSS)
• Experience at early-stage startups or as a technical founder
• Open source contributions or security research publications
• Active security certifications (OSCP, CISSP, etc.)

Why Join Vyvern?

Impact

Build technology that directly improves organizational security posture

Democratize access to enterprise-grade security testing

Work on challenging problems at the intersection of AI and cybersecurity

Growth

Founding engineer role with direct influence on company direction

Opportunity to build and lead an engineering team

Clear path to CTO/VP Engineering role as we scale

Compensation & Benefits

This is a contract position at $65/hour.

Culture

• Direct collaboration with technical founders
• No bureaucracy — your code ships to production quickly
• Focus on impact over hours worked
• Continuous learning environment with security research time
• Transparent communication and decision-making