Engineering Manager, Rapid Response

Horizon3.ai; United States; Hybrid; USD 235,000 - 265,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Inclusive Team

Growth Opportunities

Innovative Culture

Hybrid & Remote Work

Competitive Compensation

Job summary

Horizon3.ai in the United States seeks a senior leader to head its Vulnerability Research Team. You will mentor engineers across levels, set strategy for vulnerability research, and drive exploitation methodologies for the NodeZero platform.

This role balances hands-on technical depth with strategic leadership, overseeing hiring and talent development while staying ahead of emerging threats in a remote work environment with possible Chicago office presence.

Qualifications

• 2-3+ years of direct people management experience.
• 3+ years of software development experience.
• 5+ years leading offensive security, vulnerability research, or red teams.
• Experience hiring and interviewing engineers.
• Proven ability to balance hands-on depth with strategic leadership.
• Strong technical writing and communication skills for technical/non-technical audiences.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and grow a team of Attack Engineers focusing on vulnerability research, reverse engineering, and exploit development.
• Set technical direction, priorities, and quality standards for vulnerability research and module development.
• Drive end-to-end exploit methodologies and rapid PoC development for NodeZero.
• Maintain awareness of emerging threats and ensure exploits are weaponized and integrated.
• Manage hiring, career development, and organizational scaling of the team.

Skills

People management

Software development

Offensive security

Vulnerability research

Red teams

Hiring interviews

Technical communication

Tools

Python

IDA

Ghidra

PostgreSQL

Neo4j

Docker

Kubernetes

Git

Job description

Get to Know Us Horizon3.ai is a fast-growing, remote cybersecurity company dedicated to the mission of enabling organizations to proactively find and fix and verify exploitable attack vectors before criminals exploit them. Our flagship product, the NodeZeroTM platform, delivers production-safe autonomous pentests and other key assessment operations that scale across the largest internal, external, cloud, and hybrid cloud environments. NodeZero has been adopted by organizations of all sizes, from small educational institutions to government agencies and Global 100 enterprises. It is used by ITOps/SecOps teams, consulting pentesters, and MSSPs and MSPs.

Get to Know Us Horizon3.ai is a fast-growing, remote cybersecurity company dedicated to the mission of enabling organizations to proactively find and fix and verify exploitable attack vectors before criminals exploit them. Our flagship product, the NodeZeroTM platform, delivers production-safe autonomous pentests and other key assessment operations that scale across the largest internal, external, cloud, and hybrid cloud environments. NodeZero has been adopted by organizations of all sizes, from small educational institutions to government agencies and Global 100 enterprises. It is used by ITOps/SecOps teams, consulting pentesters, and MSSPs and MSPs. We are a fusion of former U.S. Special Operations cyber operators, startup engineers, and formerly frustrated cybersecurity practitioners. We're committed to helping solve our common security problems: ineffective security tools, false positives resulting in alert fatigue, blind spots, "checkbox" security culture, cybersecurity skills shortage, and the long lead time and expense of hiring outside consultants. Collectively, we are a team of learn it alls, committed to a culture of respect, collaboration, ownership, and results.

What You’ll Do Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, mentor, and grow a team of Attack Engineers specializing in vulnerability research, reverse engineering, and exploit development.
• Manage a diverse team across multiple seniority levels (from junior engineers to Principal Attack Engineers), ensuring appropriate career development, mentorship, and growth paths for each.
• Set technical direction, priorities, and quality standards for vulnerability research and attack module development.
• Foster a culture of continuous learning, raising the bar for offensive rigor, delivery quality, and secure software development practices.
• Drive hiring and organizational scaling as the Vulnerability Research team expands.

Vulnerability Research Strategy & Execution (Hack, Fix, Verify, Repeat)

• Own the delivery strategy across vulnerability research, patch-diffing, and rapid N-Day weaponization.
• Guide the development of end-to‑end exploit methodologies:
  • Oversee the reverse engineering of application binaries and patches (Java, C#, .NET, native binaries).
  • Ensure the rapid and safe development of proof‑of‑concept (PoC) exploits for integration into the core product.
  • Oversee the acquisition and configuration of test systems for exploit development and attack scenario validation.
• Ensure NodeZero capabilities remain cutting‑edge by maintaining a comprehensive global view of emerging vulnerabilities and the latest threat landscape.
• Create tight feedback loops to ensure reverse‑engineered exploits are swiftly weaponized and integrated into NodeZero.
• Manage operational cadences and ensure the team is prepared to rapidly respond to high‑priority emerging vulnerabilities.

What You’ll Bring Leadership

• 2-3+ years of direct people management experience
• 3+ years of software development experience
• 5+ years leading offensive security, vulnerability research, or red teams.
• Experience hiring and interviewing engineers
• Proven ability to balance hands‑on technical depth with strategic leadership.
• Strong technical writing and communication skills, capable of conveying complex exploits to both technical and non‑technical audiences.

Vulnerability Research & Attack Surface Expertise

• Deep expertise in vulnerability research, reverse engineering, and exploit development.
• In‑depth knowledge of common exploitation techniques (e.g., SQL injection, path traversal, buffer overflows).
• Strong understanding of network protocols, virtualization technologies, and their role in exploitation vectors.
• Experience with reverse engineering technologies like IDA or Ghidra.

Technical / Engineering Fluency

• Strong background in production software engineering, ideally in Python.
• Familiarity with secure software development practices, Git version control and effective team workflows.
• Ability to evaluate technical designs and ensure high-quality, production‑safe software.
• Experience working with database systems like Postgres or Neo4j.

Desired Skills

• Experience with vulnerability disclosure processes (e.g., "published CVEs") or bug bounty programs.
• Familiarity with additional programming languages such as C, C++, Rust, or Assembly.
• Knowledge of containerization technologies like Docker and Kubernetes.
• Experience working with cloud environments (AWS, etc.) and large‑scale software projects.
• Relevant security certifications (e.g., OSCP or equivalent) are a plus.

Travel Required We are a fully remote company, and this job may require up to 10% travel. Perks of Horizon3.ai

• Inclusive Team: We value diversity and promote an inclusive culture where everyone can thrive.
• Growth Opportunities: Be part of a dynamic and growing team with numerous career development opportunities.
• Innovative Culture: Work in a collaborative environment that encourages creativity and out‑of‑the‑box thinking.
• Hybrid & Remote Work: We embrace a mix of remote and hybrid work models depending on role and location, including our Chicago office, where some roles require regular in‑office presence.
• Competitive Compensation: We offer competitive salary, equity and benefits. Our benefits include health, vision & dental insurance for you and your family, a flexible vacation policy, and generous parental leave.

Compensation And Values At Horizon3, we believe that our people are our greatest asset, and our compensation philosophy reflects this core value. We are committed to fostering an environment where all employees feel valued, respected, and rewarded for their contributions. Our compensation structure is designed to be fair, competitive, and transparent, ensuring that every team member is recognized and compensated equitably across roles, levels, and locations.

• Base salary range [or Total On‑Target Compensation]: $235,000 - $265,000 annually. The exact salary will be determined based on the selected candidate’s location, qualifications, experience, and relevant skills.
• Additional compensation: All full‑time roles are eligible for an equity package in the form of stock options.

You Belong Here Horizon3 is not just an equal opportunity employer - we are a community that values diversity, equity, and inclusion as fundamental principles of our culture and success. We are dedicated to fostering a workplace where everyone feels welcome and respected, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, or any other legally protected status by law.
Our commitment to diversity and inclusion means we strive to attract, develop, and retain a workforce that reflects the varied communities we serve. We believe that diverse perspectives drive innovation and strengthen our ability to create cutting‑edge cybersecurity solutions. At Horizon3, every team member is valued and supported in an environment that encourages personal and professional growth.
We welcome candidates from all backgrounds and experiences, and