Lead Software Engineer

ABOUT ADAPTIVE NVIDIA and OpenAI’s only AI cybersecurity investment. Adaptive is a cybersecurity startup on a mission to stop AI-powered cyberattacks. In December 2025, the company announced an $81M Series B led by NVIDIA and Bain Capital Ventures, with participation from Capital One Ventures, Citi Ventures, and continued support from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), the OpenAI Startup Fund, and Abstract Ventures. The round marked NVIDIA’s first AI cybersecurity investment. Adaptive was founded by Brian Long and Andrew Jones, repeat entrepreneurs who have built and scaled category-defining companies. Brian and Andrew previously co-founded Attentive, which grew to more than $500M in annual revenue and a $10B+ valuation, and TapCommerce, which was acquired by Twitter. Together, they bring deep experience building high-growth, product-led businesses at massive scale as Adaptive builds the security layer for the AI era. Trusted by leading banks, technology companies, and healthcare organizations, Adaptive protects teams from emerging threats like deepfakes, smishing, and AI-powered voice scams. With rapid enterprise adoption and a $200B+ market ahead, the company is just getting started. ROLE We are seeking a Lead Software Engineer with a passion for developing high-quality software in a high-growth startup environment where every engineer has outsized impact on the product and company. You will own our most complex, cross-cutting technical challenges. You'll set technical direction, mentor engineers, and own key parts of our platform. This is a role for someone who leads through influence, gets their hands dirty, and makes everyone around them better. RESPONSIBILITIES - Set technical direction and rally others around shared goals. - Own multiple projects end-to-end, of any size or scope. - Mentor and sponsor engineers to accelerate their growth. - Break logjams — when the team is stuck, you frame trade-offs and guide decisions. - Work as a true partner to product and design — roles blur here, and you'll make strategic tradeoffs that shape the product. - Get your hands dirty — you know when to directly intervene instead of delegating. - Build a culture of ownership, urgency, and technical pride. - Stay on the cutting edge and introduce technologies that transform our platform. QUALIFICATIONS - 10+ years of experience building customer-facing software, with demonstrated technical leadership. - Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field. - Strong development experience with modern, strongly-typed programming languages such as Java, C#, TypeScript, or Go. - Deep expertise in SQL databases, schema design, and performance optimization at scale. - Extensive experience with frameworks such as Spring Boot and React/Redux. - Mastery of the full stack — tooling, infrastructure, code, frameworks, architecture. - Experience deploying and operating software in distributed environments (AWS, GCP, Azure). - Proven ability to simplify complex problems and make them approachable to entire teams. - Track record of mentoring engineers with observable, clear improvements in those you've worked with. - Experience balancing individual contributions with efforts that have a multiplier effect on peers. WHAT WE OFFER - An opportunity to work on a challenging product that will impact millions of people - A culture that promotes continuous learning and growth, with access to resources and mentorship to advance your skills and career. - A supportive, inclusive environment where every team member's contribution is valued. COMPENSATION & BENEFITS: - Competitive cash compensation and meaningful stock. - Several medical plans to choose from, most covered at 100% by Adaptive. - 401k through Vestwell. - Unlimited PTO, including winter break from Dec 24 - Jan 1. - A fantastic office atmosphere including coffee, espresso, lounge, snacks, whiteboards, and tons of conference space. - Rotating choice of 4 free lu