VP of Engineering

Role Summary

We are looking for a VP or SVP of Engineering to oversee all technical functions at Cantina, including backend, frontend, DevOps, security engineering, platform infrastructure, and AI engineering. Working closely with the CEO, President, and Head of Product, the Engineering leader will define and execute the technology vision that supports Cantina’s growth and product strategy.

This role is responsible for building and scaling high-performing global engineering teams, ensuring operational excellence, and delivering secure, reliable, and innovative platforms. The VP of Engineering will lead technical execution across client-facing products and internal systems, partner with the Head of Product on roadmap execution, engage with enterprise customers on technical strategy, and foster a culture of innovation and accountability.

As a key member of the leadership team, the VP of Engineering will manage technology investments, architecture decisions, and technical KPIs to ensure Cantina remains at the forefront of cybersecurity and AI.

Key Responsibilities

Technology Leadership & Execution

• Define and lead Cantina’s technology strategy aligned to the company’s vision and product direction set by the Head of Product.

• Partner closely with the Head of Product to translate product strategy into an executable technical roadmap and delivery plan.

• Oversee systems architecture, platform scalability, and reliability across all product lines.

• Champion security-first engineering, resilience, and compliance, befitting a cybersecurity-focused organization.

Engineering Execution & Excellence

• Establish engineering best practices including system design, secure coding, CI/CD, testing automation, monitoring, incident response, and post-mortem rigor.

• Ensure high-quality execution, on-time delivery, and continued product performance at scale.

• Build, mentor, and scale world-class engineering teams: hiring, coaching, performance management, and fostering autonomy and ownership.

• Establish engineering KPIs and dashboards across system reliability, velocity and quality

• Champion AI-first engineering practices through agent-assisted coding, automated QA workflows, and intelligent dev tooling to dramatically increase development speed, quality, and efficiency.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Product, Internal Security, Sales, and Customer Success to ensure Cantina builds solutions that meet and exceed enterprise client needs.

• Work closely with the Head of Product on resource planning, technical scoping, and prioritization.

• Support enterprise accounts with technical deep-dives, architecture reviews, and executive-level engagement when required.

External Representation

• Represent Cantina’s technology vision externally – customers, partners, industry events, and occasionally investors.

• Stay ahead of emerging cybersecurity, blockchain, and AI trends; guide strategic technical investments.

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of senior engineering leadership, ideally including experience in cybersecurity, Web3, or other highly regulated / mission-critical domains.

• Proven success building and scaling high-performing engineering teams and technical platforms in startup or high-growth environments.

• Strong architectural background and ability to guide technical decisions around infrastructure, security, data, scalability, and AI systems.

• Experience shipping complex products in partnership with product leadership – driving technical execution, not owning product strategy.

• Familiarity with cybersecurity operations (audits, MDR, bug bounty, incident response, threat modeling, triage, vulnerability management).

• Experience working with enterprise clients and navigating SLAs, compliance, procurement, and security expectations.

• Proven ability to lead distributed, remote engineering organizations.

• Entrepreneurial mindset, bias to action, comfortable with ambiguity and rapid iteration.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and performance-based compensation opportunities

• Opportunity to work in an early-stage startup with a talented and passionate team.

• Exposure to high-profile clients in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry

• Comprehensive health, dental and vision benefits.

• 401k matching program