Director Cybersecurity

Knightscope, Inc.; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

401(k)

Paid time off

Stock options

Job summary

Knightscope, Inc. in Sunnyvale, CA, seeks a Director Cybersecurity to lead strategic direction, governance, and maturity of our cybersecurity program overseeing autonomous robotics, cloud, AI, and enterprise systems. This is a high-impact leadership role reporting to the Chairman and CEO.

This position focuses on building scalable, secure-by-design architectures, incident preparedness, and risk management for government-ready deployments, with close cross-functional collaboration.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of cybersecurity experience, with 5+ years in senior leadership.
• Proven track record building and scaling cybersecurity programs in tech-driven orgs.
• Experience integrating AI/ML in cybersecurity (threat detection, automation, anomaly detection).
• Deep expertise in security frameworks (NIST, FEDRAMP) and risk management.
• Strong cloud security, network architecture, and Zero Trust understanding.
• Experience cross-functional with engineering and product teams.
• Executive communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Must be hands on.
• Must have recent Palantir FedStart experience.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute the company-wide cybersecurity vision, strategy, and multi-year roadmap.
• Align cybersecurity initiatives with business objectives, product development, and go-to-market strategy.
• Lead the evolution toward AI-driven security operations and intelligent automation.
• Establish and maintain enterprise security governance frameworks (NIST, FEDRAMP, etc.).
• Oversee risk management programs, including enterprise risk assessments and mitigation strategies.
• Ensure compliance with government and public sector security requirements (e.g., FedRAMP, CJIS, or similar).
• Own third-party/vendor risk management strategy.
• Define security standards for autonomous robotics, embedded systems, and IoT devices.
• Partner with engineering to embed secure-by-design principles into robotics and AI platforms.
• Oversee security architecture for cloud-connected devices and field deployments.
• Ensure robust incident response, business continuity, and disaster recovery programs.
• Provide executive oversight during major security incidents.
• Establish metrics and reporting for risk posture, incident trends, and response effectiveness.
• Build and lead a high-performing cybersecurity team (more analysts over time).
• Act as the primary security advisor to executive leadership and board-level stakeholders.
• Partner with Legal, IT, Engineering, and Operations to drive security across the organization.
• Represent Knightscope in customer, partner, and government security discussions.

Skills

Cybersecurity leadership

NIST FEDRAMP

AI/ML security

Cloud security

Zero Trust

Executive communication

Hands-on

Palantir FedStart

Job description

AboutKnightscope

Knightscope (NASDAQ: KSCP) is a security technology company building the nation's first Autonomous Security Force — autonomous machines, AI-driven software, and elite security professionals operating as one integrated managed service. The Company is on a mission to make the United States of America the safest country in the world. One Team. One Force.

AboutKnightscope

Knightscope (NASDAQ: KSCP) is a security technology company building the nation's first Autonomous Security Force — autonomous machines, AI-driven software, and elite security professionals operating as one integrated managed service. The Company is on a mission to make the United States of America the safest country in the world. One Team. One Force.

Location

Onsite / Sunnyvale, CA HQ (this is not a remote role)

About The Role

Knightscope is seeking a Director Cybersecurity to lead the strategic direction, governance, and long-term maturity of our cybersecurity program. This role is responsible for ensuring the security of our autonomous robotics platforms, cloud infrastructure, AI systems, and enterprise environments while aligning with the expectations of enterprise and government customers. This is a direct report to the Chairman and CEO.

This is a high-impact leadership role focused on building a scalable, forward-looking cybersecurity program that protects not just IT systems, but connected physical assets operating in real-world environments.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Program Development

• Define and execute the company-wide cybersecurity vision, strategy, and multi-year roadmap.
• Align cybersecurity initiatives with business objectives, product development, and go-to-market strategy.
• Lead the evolution toward AI-driven security operations and intelligent automation.

Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC)

• Establish and maintain enterprise security governance frameworks (NIST, FEDRAMP, etc.).
• Oversee risk management programs, including enterprise risk assessments and mitigation strategies.
• Ensure compliance with government and public sector security requirements (e.g., FedRAMP, CJIS, or similar).
• Own third-party/vendor risk management strategy.

Product & Robotics Security

• Define security standards for autonomous robotics, embedded systems, and IoT devices.
• Partner with engineering to embed secure-by-design principles into robotics and AI platforms.
• Oversee security architecture for cloud-connected devices and field deployments.

Incident Preparedness & Oversight

• Ensure robust incident response, business continuity, and disaster recovery programs.
• Provide executive oversight during major security incidents.
• Establish metrics and reporting for risk posture, incident trends, and response effectiveness.

Leadership & Cross-Functional Influence

• Build and lead a high-performing cybersecurity team (more analysts over time).
• Act as the primary security advisor to executive leadership and board-level stakeholders.
• Partner with Legal, IT, Engineering, and Operations to drive security across the organization.
• Represent Knightscope in customer, partner, and government security discussions.

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of cybersecurity experience, with 5+ years in senior leadership roles.
• Proven track record building and scaling cybersecurity programs in technology-driven organizations.
• Experience integrating or overseeing AI/ML applications in cybersecurity (threat detection, automation, anomaly detection).
• Deep expertise in security frameworks (NIST, FEDRAMP) and risk management practices.
• Strong understanding of cloud security, network architecture, and Zero Trust models.
• Experience working cross-functionally with engineering and product teams.
• Exceptional executive communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Must be hands on
• MUST HAVE recent Palantir FedStart experience

Preferred (Pluses)

• Experience in robotics, autonomous systems, or IoT security.
• Background working with government agencies, public safety, or defense environments.
• Familiarity with compliance frameworks relevant to government deployments (FedRAMP, CJIS, DoD standards).
• Experience securing AI-driven platforms and edge computing environments.

Compensation & Benefits

• Base Salary: $200,000 – $260,000 DOE
• Equity: Stock options
• Benefits: Medical, dental, vision, 401(k), paid time off
• Location Requirement: Full-time, on-site at Sunnyvale HQ