Director of Communications

Cogent Security•,

About The Position

Cogent is hiring its founding communications leader to shape the company’s external reputation and presence across press, podcasts, conference stages, newsletters, creators, and security and AI communities. The role turns Cogent’s research, Fortune 500 customers, and engineering expertise into sustained coverage, stronger executive recognition, and a reputation that supports sales and recruiting. It is a hands-on position in a fast-moving AI security news cycle, responsible for setting communications angles, managing the PR agency, preparing executives, and responding quickly to breaking stories. The Director will own earned media strategy and announcement planning; translate technical work for security practitioners and business and AI media; develop creator, influencer, podcast, and newsletter partnerships; and build executive visibility and a broader spokesperson bench. The role also plans communications for company milestones and product launches, prepares for potential crises, builds AI-enabled communications workflows and a verified source of truth, and measures coverage, share of voice, and executive audience growth.

Requirements

8–10+ years of communications or PR experience in B2B technology; cybersecurity experience is strongly preferred.
Experience in-house or in a combination of in-house and agency roles.
Led communications for funding rounds, acquisitions, and major partnerships at a growth-stage startup.
A track record of driving coverage for launches, funding, and research in security trades and business press.
Experience building a communications program at a small company, personally writing materials, managing an agency, and delivering results without a large team or budget.
Strong news judgment and the ability to identify and develop credible stories from substantive material without overreaching.
Experience serving as a trusted executive adviser, preparing CEOs for difficult interviews, and advising them against unsuitable opportunities.
Strong writing skills across pitches, briefing documents, talking points, and announcements.
Practical fluency with AI in communications work, including the ability to explain its use in monitoring, research, and drafting, where it failed, and what was changed.

Nice To Haves

Crisis or incident communications experience, ideally in cybersecurity.
Experience turning original research into earned media coverage.
Experience building creator, podcast, or influencer programs, or growing an executive’s audience on X or LinkedIn.
Familiarity with vulnerability management, exposure management, or AppSec/CloudSec adjacencies.

Responsibilities

Own Cogent’s earned media strategy, including story angles, the story calendar, and coverage plans for launches, research, and company milestones.
Manage the PR agency by setting priorities, sharpening pitches, and maintaining standards for communications issued under Cogent’s name.
Translate Cogent’s work for security practitioners as well as business and AI press.
Monitor press, X, LinkedIn, and security communities and provide rapid response to breaking breach, disclosure, and AI-security stories.
Build Cogent’s presence in relevant newsletters, podcasts, creator communities, and other trusted channels.
Run creator and influencer partnerships to bring Cogent’s research and point of view to audiences beyond its owned channels.
Shape Cogent’s reputation in the AI research community and partner with recruiting on the talent narrative.
Build the CEO’s external presence through podcasts, conference appearances, and press interviews.
Develop a spokesperson bench beyond the CEO, including the CTO and Cogent Research, and provide media training.
Book and prepare executive appearances by securing opportunities, writing briefing documents, and tailoring messages to each audience.
Own communications strategy for funding, marquee customers, partnerships, research releases, and awards, sequencing announcements over time.
Partner with Product Marketing on launches, owning the coverage plan while Product Marketing owns product story and positioning.
Develop communications playbooks for difficult situations, including vulnerabilities in Cogent’s product, customer breaches, and competitor attacks.
Build AI-enabled workflows for media monitoring, briefing documents, first drafts, and coverage analysis.
Maintain a source of truth for approved claims, proof points, spokesperson briefs, and coverage history.
Measure communications results, including share of voice, coverage in outlets buyers read, and executive audience growth.