Vice President of Engineering

Nightfall AI; United States; Hybrid; USD 250,000 - 380,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive pay and equity

401k plan

Professional development support

Flexible time off

Parental leave

Health, vision, dental benefits

Home office stipend

Job summary

Nightfall AI is hiring a VP of Engineering to own the engineering organization end-to-end, spanning the Bay Area and Bangalore. You will lead architecture, delivery, and the operating rhythm of a distributed team, collaborating with the CEO and product leadership.

We seek a builder who can stay hands-on on hard technical problems while scaling the org in a lean, fast-moving Series B environment, with a focus on security, data infrastructure, and AI/ML features.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in software engineering with 5+ years in leadership
• Experience building a B2B SaaS product at an early stage
• Growing and leading distributed teams across regions
• Strong technical skills in software development, architecture, and design
• Background in security engineering (data protection, auth, auditing)

Responsibilities

• Own the engineering organization end to end
• Design and deliver high-quality software solutions
• Lead a distributed org across Bay Area and Bangalore
• Define and implement engineering processes and standards
• Collaborate with CEO and product leadership on tech strategy
• Manage resources to deliver on time and budget
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship while staying hands-on
• Foster a strong engineering culture across US and India
• Advise on secure SDLC practices and least privilege principles
• Ensure data security and encryption measures are in place

Skills

Leadership

Architecture design

Security engineering

Cross-functional collaboration

Hands-on engineering

Mentoring

B2B SaaS

Data-intensive systems

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science

Master's degree preferred

Job description

• We’re hiring a VP of Engineering to own our engineering organization end to end — architecture, delivery, and the day-to‑day operating rhythm of a team split across the Bay Area and Bangalore
• Lead the engineering team in designing and delivering high‑quality software solutions that meet business requirements
• Lead and scale a distributed engineering org spanning Palo Alto and Bangalore, building the systems and trust that make a cross‑continent team operate as one
• Develop and implement engineering processes and standards to ensure consistency and quality across projects
• Collaborate with the CEO and other senior leaders to define and execute the company’s technology strategy
• Manage and allocate resources to ensure projects are delivered on time and within budget
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to the engineering team, staying hands‑on enough to review architecture decisions and unblock hard problems
• Build and maintain a strong engineering culture that fosters innovation and continuous improvement across both the US and India
• Stay current with emerging trends and technologies in software engineering and recommend new tools and methodologies to improve our development process
• Work closely with the Product team to define product roadmaps and ensure engineering resources are aligned with product priorities
• Champion secure software development lifecycle (SDLC) practices by ensuring the integration of security at every stage, from design to deployment
• Advocate for and ensure adherence to secure coding standards and design principles such as least privilege, defense in depth, and zero trust
• Ensure sensitive data is handled securely, leveraging encryption, tokenization, and data masking as appropriate
• Lead the engineering response during security incidents, ensuring timely containment, resolution, and communication to stakeholders
• Drive root cause analysis and implement lessons learned from incidents to prevent recurrence

Benefits

• Competitive pay, equity, and 401k plan
• Regular, thoughtful compensation reviews
• Support for professional development
• Flexible time off
• Company wide holidays
• Flexible commuter options
• Generous parental leave policy
• Comprehensive health, vision, dental benefits
• Reimbursement for home office, fitness, and mental wellness expenses

This is a hands‑on leadership role for someone who has grown up through engineering, not just managed it: we’re looking for a builder who can still get into the weeds on hard technical problems while running the orgStartup experience strongly preferred; comfortable operating in a lean, fast-moving Series B environmentStrong technical skills in software development, architecture, and designAt least 8 years of experience in software engineering, with at least 5 years in a leadership roleExcellent communication and interpersonal skillsExperience joining a B2B SaaS company at an early stage (e.g., a founding engineer or one of the first engineering hires) and growing with it through significant scale — ideally 5+ years at one company, moving from IC through senior leadershipBackground in security, infrastructure, or data-intensive systems; direct security engineering experience (data protection, authentication, auditing, threat detection) is a strong plusAbility to work collaboratively with cross‑functional teams and senior leadersA track record of growing from a hands‑on technical role into engineering leadership — we’re looking for someone who built the org, not just inherited oneBased in Bay Area, with a hybrid work rhythmStrong strategic thinking and problem‑solving skillsProven track record of delivering high‑quality software solutions on time and within budgetExperience managing and mentoring large engineering teams, including demonstrated experience building or closely partnering with an engineering team based in India — someone who knows how to make a Bay Area / Bangalore org function as one team, not twoBachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field; Master’s degree or Ph.D. preferredExperience at a cybersecurity or data security SaaS companyTrack record shipping AI/ML‑powered features in productionExperience with data infrastructure or large‑scale data processing systems