About the Role
We are seeking an engineer-architect to build a new product from scratch, creating a runtime protection layer for Node.js applications. This position offers the highest level of ownership (Senior / Staff / Architect level) and requires making key architectural decisions while taking full responsibility for the outcome. As the hosting market rapidly adopts Node.js, your mission will be to automate protection that is transparent to client code and effective in real time.
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Responsibilities
- Define the technical approach for building runtime protection inside the Node.js process.
- Design detection logic to identify and block attacks during application execution.
- Build and launch the first version of the product in real production environments.
- Ensure protection works without requiring changes to client code and without breaking legitimate applications.
- Continuously improve the product based on telemetry, production feedback, and real-world incidents.
- Achieve target values across four key metrics:
- Runtime overhead
- False positives
- False negatives
- Customer escalation volume
Requirements
Must-have:
- Experience in Security Engineering or Security Research, with a deep understanding of attack vectors and defense methods.
- Proven ability to independently build and ship a product/solution from scratch, showcasing end-to-end ownership from idea to production.
- Demonstrated capability to take ambiguous problems, define solutions, and deliver working results with minimal supervision.
- Experience designing architecture and making key technical decisions (Staff/Architect level is a strong plus).
- Proficiency in English (Intermediate or higher, written and spoken).
Nice-to-have:
- Security experience related specifically to Node.js, including vulnerability analysis, securing, and researching Node.js applications.
- Experience with Linux in production and development environments.
- Knowledge of Runtime Protection, WAF, instrumentation, malware analysis, and Incident Response.
- Familiarity with managed hosting / VPS domains.
- Experience with AI coding agents (e.g., Copilot, Cursor, etc.).
Important: You must be comfortable using AI-assisted development tools and capable of building an MVP with their help, especially if you don’t code daily.
Who You Are (Mindset)
- Builder: You enjoy creating something new and seeing it run in production.
- High Ownership: You do not wait for tasks to be assigned; you define the approach and own the results.
- Practitioner: You write code (yourself or with AI) rather than just reviewing and coordinating.
- Detection Engineering Understanding: You grasp how detection rules behave at scale across thousands of servers and recognize the true cost of false positives.
We Do NOT Consider Candidates Who:
- Have only theoretical or research experience without shipping real products.
- Have general Node.js development experience but lack a security component.
- Reside in countries with complex B2B tax reporting requirements (USA, UK, Canada, Germany, France, and others).
- Have frequent job changes (every 1–2 years) without valid reasons.
Contract and Work Details
- Format: 100% remote work anywhere in the world.
- Legal Setup: B2B only (contract with your sole proprietorship or company).
- Budget: Up to $12,000 gross/month (before taxes, under a B2B agreement).
- Role: A key position in building a new product line from the ground up, within a stable, established international product company with over 15 years in the market.
