Director, security

Runpod is the AI Developer Cloud. More than one million developers, from indie researchers to teams running frontier models in production, use Runpod to experiment, train, fine-tune, deploy, and scale AI on one platform. The platform has processed more than 20 billion inference requests. We closed a $100M Series A in June 2026. We're at an inflection point for AI infrastructure, and we're building the platform the next generation of developers will depend on.

We're a small, remote-first team. We take ownership seriously, move fast, and ship work that more than a million developers rely on every day. We're looking for people who care deeply, build with urgency, and want to matter at scale.

Learn more in our CEO's funding announcement: https://www.runpod.io/blog/one-million-developers.

We’re looking for a Director of Security to lead and scale Runpod’s security organization. This role owns the end-to-end security posture of our cloud platform, infrastructure, and corporate environments. You will build the operating rhythm, culture, and technical direction that help Runpod scale securely, protecting customer AI workloads and ensuring trust as demand surges.

You will partner tightly with Engineering, Product, GTM, and Infrastructure leadership. Your focus is ensuring our customers experience Runpod as a secure, compliant, and resilient environment for training and running mission-critical AI inference workloads.

Responsibilities

• Own Security Strategy & Execution: Lead the security organization across multiple domains, including Cloud Security, Application Security, SecOps, and GRC (Governance, Risk, and Compliance). Ensure predictable, high-quality execution of security initiatives.
• Implement Frameworks & Compliance: Partner with GTM and Legal to shape strategy and achieve/maintain critical compliance certifications (e.g., SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA). Translate regulatory requirements into clear technical scopes and measurable outcomes.
• Build a High-Output Org: Hire, mentor, and grow security managers and senior ICs. Create a culture of ownership, speed, and craft in a remote-first environment.
• Drive Secure Product Development: Embed security into the engineering lifecycle. Run secure software development processes (SSDLC), threat modeling, architecture reviews, and automated vulnerability scanning without bottlenecking release velocity.
• Threat Detection & Incident Response: Drive measurable improvements in platform resilience. Establish robust monitoring, logging, and alerting systems, and lead the incident response program to minimize MTTD (Mean Time to Detect) and MTTR (Mean Time to Respond).
• Customer Trust & Vendor Risk: Ensure our security posture translates directly to business value. Act as an executive sponsor for critical customer security conversations and manage third-party vendor risk assessments.
• Security Automation & Tooling: Balance speed and security by heavily investing in automation. Shift security left by integrating testing and policy enforcement seamlessly into CI/CD pipelines and deployment workflows.
• Architectural Stewardship Without Becoming a Bottleneck: Provide security oversight for infrastructure systems (GPU clusters, network perimeters, IAM, backend services), ensuring robust zero-trust principles and scalability.
• Partner with Infrastructure Leadership: Coordinate dependencies cleanly with Infra/SRE teams to ensure secure infrastructure provisioning, network isolation, and high-availability operations.

Requirements

• Security Leadership Experience: 7+ years leading security teams including managers and/or multiple squads, with a proven record of securing high-scale cloud platforms or infrastructure products.
• Program Development Strength: Demonstrated ability to take complex security goals from concept through execution, balancing risk, scope, timelines, and business agility.
• Cloud Security Expertise: 8+ years building and securing SaaS, platforms, or IaaS products. Deep technical understanding of modern cloud-native architectures, Kubernetes, Linux OS security, networking, and virtualization.
• Remote-First Operating Excellence: Experience building culture, accountability, and momentum across distributed teams.
• Process & Metrics Mindset: Strong use of operational security metrics (MTTD, MTTR, patch SLAs, defect escape rates), and experience improving overall organizational security hygiene.
• Communication & Collaboration: Clear written and verbal communication, strong stakeholder management, and the ability to translate complex security risks into actionable business decisions.
• Background Check: Successful completion of a background check.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience securing cloud infrastructure, developer platforms, distributed compute, or bare-metal environments used by technical customers.
• Expertise with AI/ML specific security challenges, including model protection, tenant isolation in GPU clusters, and secure data pipelines.
• Track record of scaling security teams and compliance programs (SOC 2, ISO 27001) in high-growth, fast-paced startup environments.
• Active contributions to the open-source security community or industry-recognized security research.

What You’ll Receive:

• The competitive base pay for this position ranges from ($125,000 - $220,000). This salary range may be inclusive of several career levels at Runpod and will be narrowed during the interview process based on a number of factors, including the candidate’s experience, qualifications, and location.
• Meaningful equity in a fast-growing company- everyone on the team receives stock options — your impact drives our growth, and you share in the upside.
• Generous medical, dental & vision plans.
• Flexible PTO- take the time you need to recharge.
• Most roles are remote work first with an inclusive, collaborative teams utilizing slack as the main form of internal communication.
• Join a passionate team on the cutting edge of AI infrastructure — where culture, learning, and ownership are at the heart of how we scale.
• $1,200 Home Office & Equipment Stipend- We set you up for success from day one with gear and support to create your ideal workspace.

Runpod is committed to maintaining a workplace free from discrimination and upholding the principles of equality and respect for all individuals. We believe that diversity in all its forms enhances our team. As an equal opportunity employer, Runpod is committed to creating an inclusive workforce at every level. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, marital status, protected veteran status, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We welcome every qualified candidate eligible to work in the United States; however, we are currently unable to sponsor employment visas.