Head of Research at Orca Security

About the role

Aplyr's Quick Take

This role is about leading the research team at Orca Security, focusing on threat research and innovation in cloud security. You'll define strategies, manage a team, and collaborate with various departments to ensure impactful research and product direction. It's a managerial position with a strong emphasis on leadership and cross-functional work.

Good fit

Ideal candidates will have significant experience in cybersecurity research and team management, likely with a background in threat analysis or security innovation. A collaborative and strategic mindset is essential for success in this role.

Worth noting

The company is a well-funded unicorn in a high-growth phase, which could offer unique opportunities for influence and career advancement. However, the role's specific day-to-day responsibilities are somewhat vague.

Big Ideas. Real People.

At Orca, in the right environment and with the right team, talent has no boundaries. This team spirit, together with our drive to always aim high, has quickly earned us unicorn status and turned us into a global cloud security innovation leader. So if you’re ready to join an amazing team of people who inspire each other every day, now is the time to find your place in our pod.

We’re looking for driven and talented people like you to join our team and our mission to change the future of cloud security. Ready to dive in and swim with our pod?

Highlights

High-growth: Over the past Seven years, we’ve consistently achieved milestones that take other companies a decade or more. During this time, we’ve significantly grown our employee base, expanded our customer reach, and rapidly advanced our product capabilities.
Disruptive innovation: Our founders saw that traditional security didn’t work for the cloud, so they set out to carve a new path. We’re relentless pioneers who invented agentless technology and continue to be the most comprehensive and innovative cloud security company.
Well-capitalized: With a valuation of $1.8 billion, Orca is a cybersecurity unicorn dominating the cloud security space. We’re backed by an impressive team of investors such as Capital G, ICONIQ, GGV, and SVCI, a syndicate of CISOs who invest their own money after conducting their due diligence.
Respectful and transparent culture: Our executives pride themselves on being accessible to everyone and believe in sharing knowledge with the employees. Each employee has a place in shaping the future of our industry.

About the role

As the Head of Research, you will lead Orca Security’s threat-research, security-innovation, and vulnerability-discovery efforts. You will define the strategy for how we uncover threats, identify novel attack vectors, influence product direction, and contribute thought leadership to the cybersecurity community. You will manage and grow a team of world-class researchers, work closely with product, engineering and go-to-market teams, and ensure our research remains cutting-edge, rigorous and impactful. This role emphasizes strong people leadership and cross-functional execution, alongside technical depth and hands-on research judgment.

What you'll do

Develop, own and evolve the research strategy by defining high value focus areas (for example misconfigurations, identity threats, workload vulnerabilities, and emerging attack techniques), and ensure alignment with Orca’s product roadmap and business objectives.
Lead, coach, and mentor a multidisciplinary research team (researchers, threat analysts, and engineers).
Build a healthy, high-performing org, including hiring, onboarding, and performance management.
Partner closely with product and engineering leadership to turn research insights into concrete roadmap items, detection logic, and customer value.
Drive discovery of new vulnerabilities, attack techniques, or adversary behaviors across cloud and modern infrastructure environments (for example containers, serverless, data stores, IAM).
Define metrics for research impact (for example vulnerabilities discovered, time to validate and operationalize new findings, research-driven product improvements, external reach).
Establish and maintain external partnerships (industry peers, academic groups, independent researchers) to expand Orca’s capabilities and pipeline.
Skills & Tags
python go ai data product design

Aplyr's read

Orca Security excels in cloud security, offering cutting-edge solutions for identifying vulnerabilities. Ideal for tech-savvy professionals passionate about cybersecurity innovation.
Synthesized from recent postings & public sources

What's promising

•Orca Security offers a pioneering platform for cloud security, enhancing visibility and protection.
•The company is rapidly expanding, with numerous senior roles in product management and engineering.
•Strong focus on AI and data security, attracting top talent in these fields.

What to watch

•High competition in the cybersecurity market may challenge Orca's growth.
•Rapid expansion can strain resources and affect company culture.
•Limited public information about financial stability and long-term viability.

Why Orca Security

•Orca Security's platform provides comprehensive visibility across entire cloud infrastructures.
•The company emphasizes AI integration in its security solutions.
•Orca Security attracts talent with specialized roles in cutting-edge security research.

Aplyr’s read is generated by AI from public sources. Was it useful?

About Orca Security

Orca Security

orca.security

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Orca Security is a cloud security company that provides comprehensive visibility and protection for cloud environments. Their innovative platform enables organizations to identify and remediate security vulnerabilities across their cloud infrastructure, enhancing overall security posture and compliance.