Founding Platform & Security Engineer (AWS / DevOps / SOC 2) New York City – 4 Days Onsite | $180,000–$250,000 Base + Equity
We’re looking for a Founding Platform & Security Engineer to join a fast-growing, VC-backed AI company building mission-critical data infrastructure for regulated financial services organizations.
As the first dedicated hire in this function, you’ll work directly with the CTO and own AWS infrastructure, DevOps and security. You’ll modernize the cloud environment, automate security and compliance programs, and build the tooling needed to support a growing engineering organization. This is a hands-on position with the opportunity to build and lead a platform team as the company scales.
The role:
Own the platform function across AWS infrastructure, DevOps and security
Modernize and migrate existing cloud infrastructure across compute, storage and networking
Establish platform procedures, security policies, controls and tooling from the ground up
Own and automate SOC 2 compliance, audit readiness, AI policies and incident response
Build and improve CI/CD pipelines, deployment workflows and developer tooling
Strengthen application security across authentication, authorization, data protection and vulnerability management
Improve monitoring, alerting, observability and production reliability
Advise the CTO and engineering leadership on infrastructure and security strategy
Requirements:
~6+ years of experience across Platform, Infrastructure, DevOps or Security Engineering
~ Experience building infrastructure and security from scratch, ideally within a regulated B2B SaaS company
~ Experience working in a fast-moving startup or scale-up environment, with the autonomy to build and operate infrastructure without large-company support structures
~ A background in FinTech, InsurTech, HealthTech or another security-conscious industry
~ Hands-on ownership of SOC 2 compliance in a production environment
~ Deep practical experience with AWS, Terraform, Docker and Kubernetes
~ Strong CI/CD, monitoring and observability experience
~ Application security expertise across authentication, data protection and vulnerability management
~ A high-ownership mindset and the ability to operate independently in an early-stage environment
~ Experience in Python or Node.js applications, or AI products would be a bonus.
Compensation:
~$180,000–$250,000 base salary
~ Equity
~ Comprehensive healthcare and benefits
~401(k) and flexible PTO
~ Hybrid working – New York City, 4 days per week in-office
This is an opportunity to become the first platform and security hire at a high-growth AI company, with genuine ownership and a clear path toward leading the function as the organization scales.
If you’re a senior infrastructure or security engineer who wants to build something from the ground up, please send your resume to Jennifer Palmer at IT Recruitment Solutions.
