Chief Information Security Officer

webAI•Austin, TX

16h•Hybrid

About The Position

webAI is the first end-to-end private AI platform. Enterprises and Governments use webAI to bring AI to their data, powering specialized intelligence trained on their own knowledge and compounding in value with every use. Our approach is guided by a simple philosophy: AI should be specialized, sovereign, efficient, and sustainable. It should solve real problems, not just burn more compute. Our technology enables the development of powerful AI using limited amounts of data, challenging the underlying assumption that big data is the key to unlocking the full power of AI. We are offering a superior career opportunity to join a dynamic and fast-growing team that fosters an exciting and growth-oriented work culture; an opportunity where you can truly put your name on meaningful change for an entire civilization. We are searching for our first Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). This executive will define, build and own cybersecurity across our company and product landscape. We are not looking for a traditional CISO focused on oversight or compliance. Instead, you will operate at the intersection of deep technical design, executive leadership and product strategy, with full ownership of security outcomes. If the ability and enablement to shape an emerging category at the intersection of AI, privacy and distributed computing invigorates you, this foundational opportunity is your calling.

Requirements

15+ years of experience working within cybersecurity
10+ years of experience as a CISO or senior security leader in a high-growth, deeply technical environment
Track record of building and scaling security programs from early or mid-stage environments
Background in product and platform security, beyond enterprise IT security
Experience with cloud infrastructure, distributed systems, and modern architectures
Strong understanding of distributed systems, edge computing, application / infrastructure security and adversarial thinking
Familiarity with AI/ML security (e.g., model integrity, data poisoning, adversarial attacks)
Deep technical literacy and ability to coach others on delivery best practices
Strong communication skills—able to navigate technical and non-technical discussions
Highly adaptable and comfortable working with evolving processes and priorities
Ability to work with imperfect systems and incrementally improve them over time rather than striving for immediate perfection

Nice To Haves

Any of (ISC2) CISSP, (ISC2) ISSMP, GIAC GSTRT, SANS CISO
Good to also have (ISC2) CSSLP or other certification in software security

Responsibilities

Establish the security model for decentralized, on-device AI systems as well as enterprise technology
Define trust boundaries, identity frameworks, and data protection strategies
Lead threat modeling for edge, distributed, and AI-driven environments
Promote a culture to ensure security is embedded into system design, not layered on
Integrate security into the software and ML lifecycle (SDLC + MLOps)
Define safeguards and validation measures for model integrity, adversarial attacks, data poisoning, and emergent AI/ML threats
Partner with engineering to build secure-by-default product capabilities
Make security a core product feature, not just an internal function
Own security across cloud, hybrid, and edge/on-device environments
Establish controls to protect confidentiality, integrity, availability, and privacy for data, identity, access, networking, and distributed systems
Secure deployments, firmware, and update mechanisms across all deployment models (device-level, on-premises, cloud, hybrid)
Develop, operate, and maintain a cybersecurity risk assessment and vulnerability management program
Mitigate supply chain and third-party risks and vulnerabilities
Define, operate, and report on a modern cybersecurity risk management program aligned to AI, privacy, and data sovereignty
Coordinate and integrate cybersecurity risk with broader enterprise risk management activities
Lead compliance and certifications where necessary (without over-indexing on them)
Translate complex risk into clear business and technical decisions
Build for the detection, containment, eradication, and recovery from cybersecurity threats and related incidents across centralized and edge environments
Lead crisis response and executive communication during incidents
Ensure systems are designed for resilience and recovery, not just prevention
Act as a strategic advisor on security, risk, and product decisions
Provide clear, actionable reporting to other members of c-suite
Influence company direction and investment priorities
Work with executive leadership to clearly define and support organizational security & privacy goals
Promote a culture of cybersecurity awareness and mindedness among the company’s c-suite, management, personnel, contractors, vendors, suppliers, and partners
Represent the company’s security posture to customers, partners, and regulators
Help define how trust, privacy, and sovereignty are communicated and delivered
Build credibility in the market as a security-first AI organization