Low-Level Security Team Lead (Linux, C/C++)

About the Company

Our client is an early-stage cybersecurity startup building foundational endpoint security technology for Windows, Linux, and macOS.Their work lives deep in the operating system: processes, memory, kernel boundaries, and attacker tradeoffs. We focus on real threats, real exploits, and defensive systems that must hold up against skilled adversaries — not academic exercises.

About the Role

We're looking for a Senior Low-Level Security Engineer – Team Lead (Linux) to lead development of our Linux endpoint security capabilities.

This is a hands-on leadership role combining deep technical ownership with team leadership. You will lead a team of engineers, define the technical direction for Linux, and personally contribute to core low-level components.

You will work at the intersection of systems programming, kernel-level engineering, vulnerability research, and security, while shaping architecture and influencing product strategy.

What You'll Do

• Lead the design and development of Linux-based endpoint security components
• Define architecture and technical direction for Linux platform support
• Drive engineering standards, secure coding practices, and performance optimization
• Own critical decisions around system design, scalability, and reliability
• Develop low-level components in modern C++ (C++17/20) and C when needed
• Work directly with Linux OS internals: processes, threads, memory, filesystems, IPC, networking
• Interact with kernel-level mechanisms and system interfaces
• Build security-sensitive code with strong focus on performance and stability
• Analyze real-world attack techniques, exploits, and vulnerabilities in Linux environments
• Design and implement exploit mitigations and hardening mechanisms
• Lead reverse engineering and low-level system analysis efforts
• Translate attacker techniques into prevention and detection strategies
• Lead, mentor, and grow a team of low-level Linux engineers
• Conduct deep code reviews and provide technical guidance
• Support hiring and scaling of the team
• Work closely with detection, research, and product teams
• Align engineering execution with product and security strategy

Requirements

• 7+ years of experience in low-level systems or security engineering
• Proven experience leading or mentoring engineers
• Strong expertise in C/C++ (systems-level, performance-critical environments)
• Deep understanding of Linux OS internals
• Strong background in multithreading, synchronization, and concurrency
• Experience with reverse engineering and low-level debugging
• Assembly-level understanding (x86, ARM, or similar)
• Strong understanding of vulnerabilities and exploit mitigations (ASLR, DEP, stack protections, sandboxing, etc.)
• Experience analyzing binaries and runtime behavior to identify security issues
  
  Linux-Specific Expertise (Must Have)
• Strong familiarity with Linux kernel architecture and user/kernel boundaries
• Experience with system interfaces such as: eBPF / BPF, ptrace, /proc and /sys, netfilter / iptables / nftables
• Understanding of Linux security modules (LSM) and mechanisms such as: SELinux / AppArmor, seccomp, namespaces & cgroups
• Experience working with system calls, signals, and low-level process control
• Debugging using tools like gdb, strace, perf
  
  Leadership & Communication
• Ability to lead technical direction while staying hands-on
• Strong decision-making and prioritization skills
• Ability to balance security, performance, and delivery timelines
• Clear communication and cross-team collaboration

Nice to Have

• Kernel development experience (drivers, modules, or kernel contributions)
• Vulnerability research, fuzzing, or exploit development
• Malware analysis / DFIR experience
• Experience with container security (Docker, Kubernetes runtime security)
• Experience with hypervisors or virtualization security
• Offensive security / penetration testing background
• Experience building EDR/XDR or endpoint agents
• Startup or early-stage company experience