Global Security Manager

Cognition; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Cognition is seeking a Global Security Manager to build and run a worldwide security program protecting our people, facilities and travel. You will set strategy, manage day-to-day operations with a small team and trusted vendors, and act as the decision-maker during incidents.

The role reports to the Chief Security Officer and collaborates with Threat Intel, IT, Legal and Federal teams. Ideal candidates bring 8+ years of leadership in corporate security, experience with crisis management and a

Qualifications

• 8+ years in corporate or global security, including physical security, executive protection and travel risk management.
• Acting as the senior decision-maker during real incidents, staying calm under pressure and communicating clearly to executives and staff.
• Building or scaling security programs across multiple countries with third-party vendors and budgets.
• Familiarity with NISPOM (32 CFR Part 117) and ITAR; experience with cleared programs.
• Strong written communication and the judgment to operate in a confidential, high-trust environment.
• Ability to move quickly in a dynamic environment and replace manual processes with tooling and automation.
• US Citizenship required; TS/SCI clearance is a plus; willingness to travel and be available outside business hours.

Responsibilities

• Monitor geopolitical, environmental, physical and cyber threats globally and assess risks for offices, events and leadership travel.
• Develop and enforce security policies, procedures and emergency plans across markets.
• Lead crisis management, incident response, and post-incident reviews with cross-functional teams.
• Own physical security operations, access control, surveillance and visitor management across offices.
• Oversee security personnel, GSOC and external vendors; manage contracts, budgets and performance.
• Manage global travel risk programs and executive protection for leadership.
• Coordinate counterintelligence activities and brief executives on risks and mitigations.
• Interface with facility security and FedRAMP/ITAR programs to ensure compliant protections.
• Build partnerships with law enforcement and security teams in other labs and companies.
• Leverage Devin and other AI agents to scale monitoring, triage alerts and reporting.

Skills

Program leadership

Crisis judgment

Global operations

Industrial security

Discretion & writing

Builder mindset

US citizenship

Job description

We are an applied AI lab building end-to-end software agents.

We're the makers of Devin, the first AI software engineer.

Our team is extremely talent-dense. Among our founding team, we have world-class competitive programmers, former founders, and leaders from companies at the cutting edge of AI including Scale AI, Palantir, Cursor, Waymo, Tesla, Lunchclub, Modal, Google DeepMind, and Nuro.

Building Devin is just the first step - our hardest challenges still lie ahead. If you're excited to solve some of the world's biggest problems and build AI that can reason on real-world tasks, apply to join us.

Role Mission

Cognition is growing fast, with teams in San Francisco, New York, London, Berlin, Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney and other cities, and customers that include some of the largest and most security-conscious institutions in the world, including the U.S. government. As a frontier AI company, our people, our offices and the systems we build are attractive targets for nation-state actors, criminals and activists.

The Global Security Manager builds and runs the program that protects Cognition's people, facilities, travel and events worldwide, and the physical and personnel security that supports our Federal division. This is a hands-on, high-trust role: you will set strategy and policy, run day-to-day security operations through a small team and trusted vendors, and be the decision-maker when something goes wrong. You will report to the Chief Security Officer and work closely with Threat Intel & Investigations, Corporate Security, IT, Workplace, People, Legal and the Federal team.

What You’ll Accomplish

• Risk & Threat Assessment: Monitor geopolitical, environmental, physical and cyber threats globally. Run threat and vulnerability assessments for offices, offsites, events and executive travel destinations, and partner with Threat Intel & Investigations on threats directed at our employees and leadership.

• Policy & Strategy Development: Create and enforce security policies, standard operating procedures, emergency response plans and compliance standards worldwide, with a physical security strategy that scales as we open new offices and markets.

• Crisis Management & Incident Response: Lead responses to safety threats, travel emergencies and critical incidents, from workplace violence to natural disasters. Own incident command, the mass notification system, and business continuity planning with Legal, People, Workplace and IT, and run post-incident reviews that turn every event into lasting improvements.

• Physical Security Operations & Technology: Own access control, video surveillance, intrusion detection and visitor management across our offices. Set security standards for new office build-outs, and integrate physical access with our identity systems alongside Corporate Security and IT.

• Team & Vendor Oversight: Manage security personnel, the security operations center (GSOC), and external guard, executive protection and technology vendors. Set performance metrics, manage contracts and budget, and hold partners to a high bar.

• Travel & Executive Protection: Oversee global travel risk programs, tracking tools, pre-trip briefings and high-risk journey management. Run the executive protection program for our CEO and leadership team, including advance work, residential security assessments and event security.

• Counterintelligence: Build Cognition's counterintelligence program to identify and counter efforts by foreign intelligence services and competitors to gain access to our people, technology and customers, including targeted recruitment, social engineering and elicitation. Provide regular counterintelligence briefings to executives and staff, especially before foreign travel, and partner with Threat Intelligence, the Facility Security Officer and government counterparts on suspected incidents.

• Federal Division Security: Interface with our Facility Security Officer, who owns cleared facilities and personnel security, to provide appropriate protections in support of our FedRAMP, ITAR and IL5+ operations, including physical access controls, visitor and foreign-national controls, and insider risk programs.

• External Partnerships: Build relationships with local and federal law enforcement, OSAC and peer security teams at other AI labs and technology companies to stay ahead of emerging risks and coordinate during incidents.

• Automate with Devin: Use Devin and other AI agents to scale the program: threat and travel monitoring, alert triage, reporting and the operational work that usually requires a large headcount.

Exceptional Candidates Have Demonstrated

• Program leadership: 8+ years in corporate or global security, including physical security, executive protection, GSOC operations and travel risk management, ideally at a fast-growing technology company. A background in law enforcement, the military or government is a plus.

• Crisis judgment: Experience acting as the senior decision-maker during real incidents, staying calm under pressure, and communicating clearly to executives and employees.

• Global, distributed operations: A track record of building or scaling security programs across multiple countries, including selecting and managing third-party vendors and owning a budget.

• Industrial security: Familiarity with NISPOM (32 CFR Part 117) and ITAR, and experience working alongside Facility Security Officers to support cleared programs.

• Discretion and writing: Strong written communication and the judgment to operate in a confidential, high-trust environment.

• Builder mindset: Comfort working in a dynamic environment, moving quickly, and replacing manual processes with tooling and automation.

• Background: Prior law enforcement, military, or intelligence experience is required.

• Eligibility: US Citizen required, must be clearable to TS/SCI. Previous or current clearance is a plus. Ability to travel and to be available outside business hours during incidents. Certifications such as CPP or PSP are a plus.

Our Commitment

Equal Opportunity. Cognition is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of any protected characteristic under applicable law. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities throughout the hiring process - please let us know if you need any. Cognition also considers applicants with criminal histories consistent with the SF Fair Chance Ordinance and similar local laws.

Data Privacy and Arbitration: By submitting your application, you agree to our Global Applicant and Job Candidate Privacy Notice. For US applicants, by submitting your application, you agree to the Applicant Arbitration Agreement.