Co-Founder(Cyber) — Berlin CyberSecurity Startup (Freshly Funded) - Chief Cyber Architect / Cyber Lead Engineer

Berlin • Cybersecurity & AI Startup • Recently Funded

A newly funded cybersecurity startup in Berlin is looking for a Security Architect / Security Engineer / Cyber Team Leader to join as a co-founder and design the core security, identity, and enforcement foundations of a next-generation security platform.

Following newly secured funding, we are looking for a technical co-founder who will architect and build the core product from day one.

We are looking for a hands on Founding Cyber Architect/ Security Engineer / CIO / CISO for a hybrid role based in Berlin. If you are passionate about Cyber Security and AI tech, thrive in fast-paced environments, and have experience building complex platforms, this is your opportunity to make a lasting impact.

Responsibilities

• Design the identity and access architecture , including token lifecycle, permission models, and cross-SaaS access patterns.

• Build the security foundations: authentication, authorization, token handling, secrets flow, permission boundaries .

• Architect the enforcement engine with policy logic, actions, revocations, and real-time decisioning.

• Create the risk model for human, machine, SaaS, and AI agent identities.

• Lead security design for external integrations, connectors, and app-to-app access flows.

• Build PoC prototypes and work hands-on with engineering teams for identity and enforcement components.

• Develop early security automation , including detection, risk scoring, and remediation flows.

• Support enterprise customers during security reviews, deep dives, and PoCs .

• Collaborate closely with the CEO and CTO as security co-founder on architecture and security direction .

• Ensure strong security posture and hardening across backend services and critical components.

• Write production-grade code (4–6 hours/day early stage).

• Make Europe and world more Cyber resilient!

Requirements and Skills

• 10+ years experience in security architecture, identity security, IAM, or security engineering.

• Deep understanding of OAuth/OIDC, API tokens, scopes, SSO, SCIM, roles, service accounts .

• Knowledge of RBAC/ABAC or fine-grained access models.

• Experience designing permission models, identity graphs, or access control frameworks .

• Solid knowledge of Zero Trust principles , least privilege, and continuous verification.

• Ability to design secure distributed systems and define clear service boundaries.

• Hands-on ability to build PoCs and technically validate implementation decisions.

• Strong understanding of SaaS integrations and app-to-app permission flows.

• Experience with secrets handling, token hygiene, and secure key management.

• Familiarity with risk modeling and identity threat patterns.

• High ownership mentality, startup mindset, and ability to move quickly.

• Proven ability to design and ship complex distributed systems.

• Experience with Security related to AI/LLM systems, agent logic, or willingness to learn fast .

• Hands-on coding mentality; can build MVP and early security architecture yourself.

• Experience integrating with multiple SaaS systems and APIs.

• Strong security mindset and understanding of modern attack surfaces.

• Ability to move fast, take ownership, and operate independently.

• Hands-on experience with infrastructure-as-code (Terraform) and cloud deployments.

• Prior startup experience.

• Low ego, high commitment, and a true founder mentality .

Nice to Have

• Experience with behavioral analytics , detection engineering, or ITDR.

• Knowledge of policy engines (custom policy logic).

• Experience with SaaS app marketplaces and OAuth permission models.

• Exposure to graph-based modeling (identity graph, access graph, risk graph).

• Familiarity with AI agent behavior , LLM security, or agent sandboxing.

• Background in API security testing , secret scanning, or token analysis.

• Experience with incident response or investigation workflows.

• Cloud IAM experience (AWS/GCP/Azure), including roles and service principals.

• Previous startup or founding engineer experience.

• Awareness of compliance frameworks (NIS2, ISO, SOC2)

• Experience with risk scoring , anomaly detection, or behavior-based systems.

• Exposure to agent sandboxing , isolated execution, or container micro-VMs.

• Previous experience in cybersecurity , identity startups.

• Understanding of graph databases , unified identity graphs, or permission maps.

• Previous Technical Product leadership and design experience.

• Prior co-founder experience.

• Experience managing small cyber teams in early-stage environments.

Benefits

• Co-Founder Equity — meaningful ownership in a high-growth cybersecurity company.

• Competitive Compensation — salary aligned with market, flexible early-stage arrangements possible.

• Founding Team Status — shape the company from day one and own critical security technical decisions.

• Fresh Funding Secured — immediate runway to build, hire, and execute fast.

• Full Security Ownership — lead security architecture across identity, AI agents, and enforcement.

• High Autonomy — freedom to design and build without corporate overhead.

• Work with a Technical CEO and CTO — fast iteration, strong alignment, clear direction.

• Cutting-Edge Domain — identity security, SaaS-to-SaaS access, AI agent governance.

• Massive Learning Curve — quickly gain depth in cybersecurity, identity, and AI systems.

• Enterprise Exposure — meet customers with the CEO, lead deep dives, and own PoCs.

• Fast Career Path — evolve into CTO-level leadership as we scale the engineering team.

• Berlin Location — top-tier tech environment with strong cybersecurity and AI ecosystems.

• Direct Impact — your architecture and code become the foundation of the entire platform.