## About VXM Secure
We're building GuardSuite — the Runtime Governance Layer for Zero Trust. We prevent high-risk actions BEFORE execution through real-time human authorization, not just post-breach detection. Patent-pending technology targeting federal/critical infrastructure (DoD, NSA, fintech, energy).
Stage: Pre-seed, raising $3M-$5M. Strategic advisor: SYN Ventures.
## The Role
You'll be building the core authorization engine that processes 100K+ authorization requests/second with sub-100ms latency at global scale.
## What You'll Own
- Authorization engine (Go microservices, policy evaluation, quorum-based approval workflows)
- Distributed systems architecture (consensus protocols, Byzantine fault tolerance, multi-region replication)
- Policy engine integration (Cedar policy language, rule engines, risk-adaptive decision logic)
- Kubernetes orchestration (service mesh, load balancing, auto-scaling, zero-downtime deployments)
- API layer (gRPC/REST endpoints, rate limiting, authentication/authorization integration)
- Security integration (RBAC, IAM, token validation, audit logging)
## Tech Stack
- Go
- Kubernetes (EKS)
- PostgreSQL
- Redis
- gRPC
- Cedar (AWS policy language)
- Rust (crypto layer - separate engineer handles this)
## Requirements
### Must-haves
- 3+ years production Go (concurrency patterns, goroutines/channels, performance optimization)
- Distributed systems expertise (consensus algorithms, CAP theorem, fault tolerance, eventual consistency)
- Kubernetes production experience (service deployment, scaling, debugging, resource management)
- Policy engine or rule engine experience (Cedar, OPA, Rego, or built custom authorization logic)
- Security-aware engineering (RBAC, IAM integration, secure API design, zero-trust principles)
- US citizen or permanent resident (required for federal customer work, security clearance eligibility)
### Nice-to-haves
- Built authorization/permission systems (ABAC, RBAC, policy engines)
- Experience with quorum systems or multi-party approval workflows
- High-throughput systems (100K+ req/sec, sub-100ms p99 latency)
- Federal contractor background or active security clearance
## Compensation & Why Join
Equity-heavy now, salary at seed:
- 1-2% founding equity (4-year vest, 1-year cliff)
- $0K/year now (equity-focused pre-seed)
- $140-170K salary when we close seed (target Q2 2026)
- Remote-first, quarterly team gatherings
Why this matters:
- Founding role - you'll architect the entire authorization layer
- Hard distributed systems problems (consensus, fault tolerance, global scale)
- Federal market (DoD/NSA customers = $500K-$2M ACV per customer)
- Category creation (Runtime Governance is new, first-mover advantage)
- 1.5% equity in $100M+ exit = $1.5M+
## Career growth
- Hire and lead backend engineering team (5-8 engineers by Year 2)
- Potential VP Engineering or CTO track
- Direct impact on national security infrastructure
## How to Apply
Email:
[email protected]
Subject: Backend Engineer - [Your Name]
Include:
- Resume (PDF)
- Brief answers (2-3 sentences each):
- One distributed systems challenge you've solved (consensus, fault tolerance, scale)
- Your approach to policy engine design (rule evaluation, performance, flexibility)
- Why runtime authorization + federal market excites you
- Optional: GitHub with Go projects, blog posts on distributed systems
We respond within 48 hours.
Equal Opportunity Employer. We encourage applications from veterans, people with security clearances, and underrepresented groups in tech.