Head of Security

Job description

Profound is the marketing platform for the age of AI search. The way brands reach people is being rewritten — AI models like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Mode are now the answer layer between companies and their customers. We built the platform marketers use to understand, measure, and win in that world: the analytics, intelligence, and agent automation that turn AI search from a threat into a competitive advantage. We went from 0 to a $1B valuation in 18 months. Revenue grew 100x last year. Our customers include 15% of the Fortune 500 like Walmart, Wayfair and U.S. Bank, and innovators like Ramp, MongoDB, and Figma. We are backed by Sequoia, Kleiner Perkins, LSVP, and Khosla Ventures — and we are moving fast enough that the people joining now are building the playbook everyone who comes after them will run. About the Role As our Head of Security you will build and lead the company's security program as it scales into a trusted enterprise platform. This is a foundational, high-impact role: you'll own security strategy end-to-end while staying hands-on, working alongside an existing Security Engineer to mature Profound's program from "does the right things" to "provably does the right things at enterprise scale." You'll also own IT for the company, making this a role that spans technical security leadership and the practical, day-to-day systems that keep the company running securely. This is a player-coach role. You should be comfortable setting strategy and talking to enterprise customers' security teams one day, and rolling up your sleeves on a threat model, an incident, or an endpoint policy the next. What You'll Do Security Strategy & Leadership - Own and evolve Profound's overall security strategy, roadmap, and risk posture as the company scales - Own the build-out and growth of the entire security function and team. - Serve as the executive-level owner of security in customer conversations, RFPs, and security reviews with enterprise and Fortune 100 prospects and customers - Partner closely with Engineering, Product, and Leadership to embed security into the SDLC and product roadmap Governance, Risk & Compliance - Own and mature Profound's compliance posture (SOC 2 Type II and beyond — e.g. ISO 27001, GDPR, and other frameworks as enterprise customers require) - Drive audits, policy development, vendor risk management, and control operations - Manage relationships with auditors, pen testers, and security vendors Technical Security - Provide technical direction and oversight for application security, cloud security (AWS/GCP), and infrastructure hardening - Own incident response: build the program, run tabletop exercises, and lead the response when needed - Guide and review the Security Engineer's work on detection, vulnerability management, and secure architecture - Evaluate and implement security tooling (SIEM, EDR, vulnerability scanning, etc.) IT - Own IT operations for the company: identity and access management (SSO/MDM), endpoint security, employee onboarding/offboarding, SaaS security posture, and internal tooling - Set and enforce IT policies that scale with headcount growth without creating unnecessary friction What We're Looking For - 8+ years in security, with progressively increasing scope, including experience owning a security program (not just executing within one) - Prior experience as a first or early security hire at a high-growth startup, ideally SaaS/B2B, strongly preferred - Hands-on technical depth — this is not a purely strategic/managerial role. Comfortable engaging directly on application security, cloud security, and incident response - Direct experience owning SOC 2 (Type II) and driving compliance programs; experience with additional frameworks (ISO 27001, GDPR, etc.) a plus - Experience leading and developing a small team - Comfortable being the face of security to enterprise customers, including technical security reviews and questionnaires - Experience owning or partnering closely with IT function preferred - Excellent communicator who can translate technical risk into business terms for executives and customers alike Why This Role - Build a security program from the ground up at a company at the center of the shift to AI-driven search - High visibility — this role sits close to leadership and directly influences enterprise sales and customer trust - A strong Security Engineer already on the team, with a clear mandate to grow the function further - Fast-growing, well-funded company (Series C, $1B valuation) with strong momentum Location This is an on-site role based in our Union Square, NYC office, designed for builders who thrive on speed, iteration, and meaningful impact. For this role, the expected base salary range is $300,000 to $375,000. Profound’s total compensation package is designed to be competitive and includes base salary, equity, and a full range of benefits and perks. Final compensation will depend on factors such as your skills, experience, qualifications, and location, and will be determined during the interview process. Our recruiting team will share more details about the full compensation package and benefits as you move through hiring. Note: All official communication from Profound will come from a @tryprofound.com http://tryprofound.com email address. If you're contacted by anyone using a different domain, please disregard and report it as spam. #LI-PRO Note: All official communication from Profound will come from a @tryprofound.com email address. If you're contacted by anyone using a different domain, please disregard and report it as spam.