VP of Engineering

Summary:

Cobalt AI uses automation to elevate physical safety and security in the workplace. Our platform, Cobalt Monitoring Intelligence, is a hybrid AI system, cloud-hosted with edge-deployed hardware, that provides human-verified, real-time monitoring of surveillance cameras, alarms, and robots across enterprise locations.

We’re hiring a VP of Engineering to own the how: team structure, delivery, engineering culture, and operational excellence. You’ll drive execution and growth across backend, frontend, infrastructure, AI/ML and robotics teams. You’re equally comfortable in a production incident as you are presenting the roadmap to the executive team. You have strong convictions about using AI tooling to multiply engineering output, and you have hands-on experience running proofs of concepts and piloting tools with your teams.

Responsibilities:

• Own engineering execution across all product and platform teams, ensuring on-time delivery of high-quality software
• Translate the technical vision into executable plans with clear milestones, deadlines, and delivery expectations, reporting progress and risks back to leadership
• Establish and evolve engineering processes — sprint cadences, code review standards, CI/CD pipelines, incident response — that keep the team sharp and efficient
• Drive a culture of ownership, accountability, and pragmatic quality

• Organize the team around workflows that maximize leverage from AI development tools (code generation, automated review, AI-driven testing)
• Evaluate, adopt, and set standards for emerging AI tooling across the engineering org
• Recruit, hire, and retain strong engineers across all levels and disciplines
• Build and mentor engineering managers and tech leads
• Own performance management, career development, and compensation planning
• Collaborate with Product, Design, Customer Success, and Sales Engineering to align priorities with business goals
• Represent engineering in customer conversations, especially enterprise pilots and technical due diligence
• Champion reliability, security, and observability across our hybrid cloud and edge infrastructure
• Drive AI/ML investment — computer vision, LLM-powered workflows — that differentiates Cobalt’s platform
  

Qualifications:

• 10+ years in software engineering, 5+ in senior leadership (Director/VP)
• Track record leading engineering teams at high-growth startups
• Experience building and scaling engineering organizations at high-growth startups
• Technical fluency across cloud infrastructure, backend/frontend, and data/ML pipelines
• Experience shipping AI/ML-powered products in production
• Strong point of view on using AI tooling to increase team velocity
• Understanding of security and compliance (SOC 2, GDPR)
• Ability to attract, develop, and retain top engineering talent
  

Why Work for Us?: 

Competitive salary, equity, and full benefits (medical, vision, dental). Flexible work arrangements. A proven platform, an expanding customer base, and the opportunity to shape the engineering org at an inflection point.

Salary Range: $240k - $300k (actual compensation will be determined based on experience, location, and other factors permitted by law)

Cobalt AI is an equal employment opportunity employer and values diversity.  Qualified candidates are considered for employment without regard to race, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, military or veteran status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.