Founding Technical Program Manager - AI Security

Founding Technical Program Manager - AI Security

Company: AI Security Startup

Location: Bay Area, Hybrid 3 days a weekSalary: Upto $250,000 base + potential equityThe companyMost enterprises have no idea what AI agents are running inside their walls.They don't know what data those agents are touching, what they're doing with it, or whether any of it is sanctioned.

The attack surface has expanded faster than any security team can track, and the tools built to handle it were designed for a different era.The founders have been here before. When cloud computing arrived, enterprises had the exact same problem: new infrastructure, no visibility, no tooling, no standards.This team built the products that changed that, and those products became the foundation for some of the largest exits in cybersecurity history... they're here to do it again.They're building the security infrastructure that Fortune 500 enterprises and frontier AI labs actually need for the AI era.This is the first Program Manager hire.No function to inherit, no process to manage... you're establishing the operating rhythm for their next phase of scaling.The Role: Founding Technical Program ManagerStakeholders span the full business: security researchers, GTM, customers, and the founding team.This isn't a role where you sit with engineering and move tickets. The job is to hold the whole picture together across functions that don't always speak the same language.You won't be updating Jira and sitting in standups. You'll be in the room where the research team is debating what gets built, and on the call where the field is telling you what's breaking out there.Run the operating rhythm across 25 engineers, 8 security researchers, 20-person field org.Own a biweekly release cycle across three live enterprise products.Make sure sales and SEs are briefed and ready on day one of every release.Pull customer intelligence into the roadmap.Run QBRs.Surface blockers before they become execution problems.What they're looking forAI-native startup experience. Not just in use, but you've already operated in an early, fast paced, AI-native startup (security not needed).An experienced hire. ~4-12 years running cross-functional programs. Programs that span engineering, product, and commercial teams with real accountability on your side.Cross functional fluency - this isn't a role sitting with engineers day to day, this is about connecting the dots across teams & leadership.Technical grounding - you don't need to be an engineer etc, but need to have had experienced to be able to hit the ground running as a TPMThis probably isn't for you if...You need a defined scope to operate effectivelyYou're looking for a coordination roleYou want a large team and established structure around youYou're not genuinely excited by the intersection of AI and securityYou don't have AI-native startup experienceApply, or reach out to me: liv@tridentsearch.io