Technical Co-Founder (AI & Cybersecurity)
Defence Technology Startup | Canada | Equity-Based Founding Role
About Us
We are an early-stage Canadian defence technology venture focused on developing next-generation AI-powered cybersecurity and secure networking solutions for government, defence, and critical infrastructure sectors.
Our mission is to build innovative technologies that strengthen cyber resilience, secure communications, and national security capabilities for Canada and allied nations.
We are seeking a highly motivated Technical Co-Founder to join as a founding partner and lead the development of our technology platform.
Position Summary
As Technical Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO), you will be responsible for defining and executing the company's technical vision, building our AI-driven cyber defence platform, and leading engineering efforts from concept to commercialization.
You will work directly with the Founder to develop products targeting defence, government, and critical infrastructure customers while pursuing Canadian innovation and defence funding opportunities.
This is an equity-based founding role with the opportunity to become a long-term leader in a high-growth defence technology company.
Key Responsibilities
AI & Cybersecurity
- Design and develop AI-powered cyber defence solutions
- Build machine learning models for threat detection and anomaly detection
- Develop autonomous cyber monitoring and response capabilities
- Research emerging cyber threats and defensive technologies
- Create secure software architectures for government and defence environments
Product Development
- Lead architecture and technology strategy
- Build MVPs and production-grade software products
- Establish engineering best practices and DevSecOps pipelines
- Oversee cloud infrastructure and secure deployments
- Manage technical roadmap and product evolution
Defence Innovation
- Support applications to Canadian defence innovation programs
- Participate in defence technology demonstrations and pilot projects
- Collaborate with government, military, and industry stakeholders
- Contribute to technical proposals and R&D initiatives
Required Qualifications
Technical Experience
- 10+ years of software engineering experience
- Strong Python development skills
- Experience with machine learning and artificial intelligence
- Experience building cloud-native applications
- Knowledge of cybersecurity principles and technologies
- Experience with API development and system integration
Cybersecurity Experience
Experience in one or more areas:
- Threat detection and response
- Security Operations Centers (SOC)
- Network security
- Threat intelligence
- Zero Trust architectures
- SIEM technologies
- Cloud security
- Malware analysis
- Digital forensics
AI / Machine Learning Experience
Experience with:
- Machine Learning
- Deep Learning
- LLMs and Generative AI
- AI model deployment
- Data engineering pipelines
- MLOps
Tools such as:
- PyTorch
- TensorFlow
- LangChain
- OpenAI APIs
- Azure AI
- AWS AI Services
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in defence, aerospace, public safety, or government sectors
- Security clearance eligibility
- Canadian citizenship or permanent residency
- Experience with secure communications systems
- Experience with autonomous systems or drones
- MSc or PhD in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, AI, or related field
- Startup experience
Certifications (Optional)
- CISSP
- OSCP
- CCSP
- Security+
- AWS Security Specialty
- Azure Security Engineer
Ideal Candidate
You are:
- Entrepreneurial and excited about building a company from the ground up
- Passionate about AI and cybersecurity
- Interested in national security and defence technology
- Comfortable working in a startup environment
- Able to translate research into practical products
- Interested in becoming a long-term equity partner
Compensation
- Founding equity ownership
- CTO title
- Long-term leadership opportunity
- Future salary upon funding and revenue milestones
Location
Canada (Remote / Hybrid)
Preference for candidates located in:
- Greater Toronto Area
- Ottawa
- Waterloo Region
How to Apply
Please provide:
- Resume/CV
- LinkedIn profile
- GitHub profile (if available)
- Brief summary of AI and cybersecurity projects
- Why you are interested in building a Canadian defence technology company
Pay: $100,000.00-$239,455.38 per year
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Mississauga, ON L4W 0A5
