Chief Engineering Leader, AI-Driven Real-Time Video

Cobalt AI; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 240,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Full medical, vision, and dental coverage

Equity options

Job summary

A leading AI security firm is seeking a VP of Engineering to drive team growth and operational excellence. This hybrid role involves partnering with top executives, leading a growing engineering team, and implementing AI-driven tools to enhance productivity. The ideal candidate will possess over 10 years of software engineering experience, with a proven track record in leadership within high-growth startups. This position offers a competitive salary and benefits, enabling innovation in AI security automation.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in software engineering with 5+ years in senior leadership roles.
• Experience in high-growth startup environments.
• Fluency across cloud infrastructure, backend/frontend, and data/ML pipelines.

Responsibilities

• Partner with CEO to translate business strategy into technical roadmaps.
• Ensure delivery of high-quality software across product teams.
• Establish engineering processes to enhance efficiency.

Skills

Software engineering leadership

Team mentorship

Technical project management

AI-driven development

Problem-solving

Job description

Cobalt AI is revolutionizing physical safety through Cobalt Monitoring Intelligence—a hybrid AI platform that provides real-time, human-verified monitoring of surveillance cameras and alarms across global enterprise locations. Having evolved from a robotics-first company to a leader in large-scale security automation, we are currently at an inflection point. This is a hybrid role based out of our San Francisco headquarters (94107). We are seeking a foundational leader to scale our engineering team and culture during this next phase of growth.

As our VP of Engineering, you aren't just a technical manager; you are a key executive leader who will partner with the C-suite to run the company. You will own the "how": building a high-velocity engineering culture, refining team structures, and ensuring operational excellence across our cloud and edge-deployed systems.

We are looking for a "steady hand"—a leader with a calm, balanced approach who can anticipate scaling challenges and provide a level-headed presence for a team transitioning from startup to scale-up. You are a champion of modern engineering velocity, possessing strong convictions (and hands-on experience) in using AI-driven development tools to multiply team output. You will lead our current high-caliber team of 15+ (& growing) engineers and product professionals.

Responsibilities:

• Executive Leadership: Partner with the CEO and executive team to translate business strategy into technical roadmaps. Act as a level-headed presence for the organization during rapid growth.
• Engineering Execution: Own execution across all product and platform teams, ensuring on-time delivery of high-quality software that powers our real-time video monitoring.
• Team Scaling & Mentorship: Lead and mentor a team of 15-17 (and growing). Directly manage engineering managers and senior individual contributors, fostering a culture of ownership and accountability.
• Process Excellence: Establish and evolve engineering processes—sprint cadences, code review standards, CI/CD pipelines, and incident response—that keep the team sharp and efficient.
• AI Tooling & Velocity: Spearhead the evaluation and rollout of AI-driven developer tools to significantly increase team velocity and output quality.
• Operational Strategy: Oversee the reliability, security, and observability of our hybrid cloud and edge infrastructure, ensuring 24/7 uptime for enterprise security clients.
• Denver Hub Stewardship: Play a central role in building the culture and community of our Denver Engineering Hub, balancing a local-first mindset with a high-performing, remote-friendly culture.

Qualifications:

• Startup Leadership: 10+ years in software engineering, with 5+ years in senior leadership (Director/VP) specifically within high-growth, venture-backed startup environments.
• Calm & Balanced Presence: A proven track record of leading through transitions with a steady, proactive approach to problem-solving and team management.
• Technical Breadth: Fluency across cloud infrastructure, backend/frontend, and data/ML pipelines. You are comfortable in a production incident and an executive boardroom.
• AI Tooling Advocate: A strong, demonstrated point of view on leveraging AI tools (LLMs, code gen) to multiply engineering output.
• Scale-up Experience: Experience shipping and maintaining AI/ML-powered products (specifically Computer Vision or real-time video) in a production environment.
• Security Conscious: Deep understanding of security and compliance standards (SOC 2, GDPR) relevant to enterprise physical security.
• Recruitment Engine: Proven ability to attract, develop, and retain top-tier engineering talent in a competitive market.

Preferred / Nice To Have:

• Experience with real-time video processing, edge computing, or IoT.
• Background in physical security, safety, or facilities management technology.
• Experience managing hybrid teams (remote + local hubs) and establishing new office cultures.
• Experience with enterprise SaaS sales cycles and technical due diligence.

Why Cobalt AI:

• Compensation: $240,000 – $300,000 + Equity.
• Benefits: Full medical, vision, and dental coverage.
• Innovation: Work at the forefront of AI-driven security automation with a proven, revenue-generating platform and an expanding global customer base.
• Location: This is a hybrid role based near our teams in Denver, CO, or San Francision, CA.

Cobalt AI is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.