VP R&D (Confidential)Founding Engineering Executive | Enterprise AI Infrastructure

Location: Rishon LeZion, Israel (Hybrid)

Build the Infrastructure Layer Behind Enterprise AI

We're building something much bigger than another AI application.

Our mission is to redefine how enterprises build, secure, deploy, and operate AI by creating the next generation of AI infrastructure.

Our platform serves as the enterprise control plane for AI, enabling organizations to govern, secure, orchestrate, and operate AI across cloud, on-premises, sovereign cloud, and fully air-gapped environments.

Our customers include organizations operating in some of the world's most demanding environments, including defense, financial services, government, critical infrastructure, and highly regulated industries.

We're now entering the next phase of our journey: building what we believe can become the foundational infrastructure layer for enterprise AI.

To achieve that vision, we're looking for an exceptional VP R&D.

This is a founding executive engineering role reporting directly to the founders.

The Mission

You won't simply lead engineering.

You'll help architect and build an entirely new category of enterprise software.

Over the coming years, our engineering organization will build technologies including:

• Enterprise AI Control Plane
• AI Networks
• AI Platform
• AI Policy Language
• AI Runtime
• AI Package Registry
• Multi-model Fabric
• AI Security
• AI Governance Platform
• Sovereign AI Infrastructure
• Air-Gapped AI Operating Environment

What You'll Own

As VP R&D, you'll own the engineering organization from architecture through production.

Your responsibilities include:

• Build and lead a world-class engineering organization.
• Recruit exceptional engineering leaders and senior engineers.
• Establish engineering culture, processes, and technical excellence.
• Define long-term architecture for a distributed AI infrastructure platform.
• Own product delivery across cloud, hybrid, sovereign, and air-gapped deployments.
• Drive platform scalability, resilience, reliability, and performance.
• Partner closely with Product, Security, Customer Success, and executive leadership.
• Lead engineering strategy, execution, and organizational growth.
• Build a culture of ownership, accountability, innovation, and technical excellence.

Technical Challenges You'll Solve

This role spans multiple deep technology domains, including:

Enterprise AI Infrastructure

• AI orchestration
• Multi-model routing
• Agent execution
• Enterprise AI networking
• Runtime optimization
• AI gateways

AI Security

• AI governance
• Prompt security
• Policy compilation
• Guardrails
• AI supply-chain security
• Runtime verification
• Zero Trust AI
• Secure execution environments

Distributed Systems

• Kubernetes
• High Availability
• Multi-region deployments
• Distributed execution
• Observability
• Event-driven systems
• Enterprise APIs

Enterprise Platform Engineering

• Identity & Access Management
• Enterprise integrations
• Multi-tenancy
• Compliance
• Auditability
• Deployment automation
• Hybrid and sovereign cloud architectures

Technology Stack

Our platform spans technologies including:

• Python
• Go
• TypeScript
• React
• Node.js
• PostgreSQL
• Redis
• Kafka
• Kubernetes
• Docker
• Azure
• AWS
• Linux
• REST & gRPC
• Envoy / API Gateway technologies
• Vector databases
• LLM providers
• MCP ecosystem
• AI inference infrastructure

Technology choices continue to evolve as we scale.

What We're Looking ForRequired

• 10+ years building enterprise software platforms.
• 5+ years leading engineering organizations.
• Experience building distributed cloud-native systems.
• Strong software architecture background.
• Experience operating mission-critical production systems.
• Proven success recruiting and scaling engineering organizations.
• Experience balancing long-term architecture with rapid execution.
• Comfortable working directly with founders in a fast-moving startup.

Strongly Preferred

Experience building products in one or more of:

• Cloud infrastructure
• AI platforms
• LLM infrastructure
• Security platforms
• Identity platforms
• Kubernetes ecosystem
• Developer platforms
• Enterprise SaaS
• On-premise enterprise software
• Air-gapped environments
• Infrastructure software
• Networking
• API platforms

Leadership Qualities

We're looking for someone who:

• Thinks like a founder.
• Makes high-quality decisions with incomplete information.
• Attracts exceptional engineers.
• Builds systems that scale for years.
• Enjoys solving technically difficult problems.
• Balances pragmatism with long-term architecture.
• Raises the engineering bar for everyone around them.
• Leads with humility, ownership, and accountability.

Why This Role Is Different

Few engineering leaders have the opportunity to help define a new infrastructure category.

This role combines elements of:

• Distributed systems
• Cloud infrastructure
• Enterprise software
• AI platforms
• Security engineering
• Developer tooling
• Compiler technologies
• Platform engineering

You'll help build technology that has the potential to become foundational infrastructure for enterprise AI adoption worldwide.

Compensation

This is a true founding executive opportunity.

Package includes:

• Competitive executive salary
• Meaningful equity ownership
• Long-term wealth creation opportunity
• Executive leadership role
• Direct influence on company strategy
• Opportunity to build a world-class engineering organization from the ground up

Location

Hybrid

Rishon LeZion, Israel

Confidential Search

This search is being conducted confidentially on behalf of a rapidly growing enterprise AI company.

All applications and referrals will be handled with complete discretion.

If you're excited about building category-defining infrastructure and leading an exceptional engineering organization, we'd love to hear from you.

• Please send your LinkedIn profile or CV together with a short introduction describing why this opportunity resonates with you.