SaaS / AI Security Research Team lead

Description We are looking for a hands-on Security Research Team Lead to own and scale our Security Research domain. This is a foundational role in a small, highly technical team, focused on deep security research, algorithmic thinking, and leveraging AI to turn complex data into accurate, actionable security insights. This role is not about people management by default - it is about technical leadership, ownership, and building scalable research capabilities that directly impact product and customer security. Responsibilities Own and lead the Security Research domain through hands-on technical work. Research security risks in SaaS and business applications, including permissions, identities, and access models. Design and apply algorithmic approaches to analyze complex data structures and security risk surfaces. Leverage AI-based techniques to work with large-scale data, improve accuracy, and automate research workflows. Detect security flaws, misconfigurations, and systemic risks in SaaS environments. Lead and support complex security investigations and customer-facing incident research. Work closely with Product and Engineering to translate research findings into scalable product capabilities. Technically mentor and support a small and growing research team. Define research priorities and help shape how the team scales over time. Requirements 6+ years of experience in Security Research, Product Security, Application Security, or similar roles. Managerial expereince - leading, mentoring and supporting team members Strong algorithmic thinking and experience working with complex data. Proven experience applying AI techniques to large-scale data analysis (ML background is not required). Deep understanding of security principles in SaaS, cloud, and application security. Experience researching application logic, permission models, and access control systems. Strong ownership mindset and ability to lead a technical domain. Excellent communication skills and ability to collaborate cross-functionally. Comfortable working in a small, fast-moving startup environment. Nice to have Experience building automation or internal tooling to scale research. Familiarity with cloud-native architectures and SaaS security platforms. Experience mentoring other researchers or engineers. Publishing security research or technical blog posts.