Founding AI Lead
"About The Role"
About This Role
We're on a mission to make mainstream blockchain adoption safe by solving one of the industry's hardest unsolved problems—real-time exploit detection and response. As Founding AI Lead, you'll have the rare opportunity to define the technical direction of an AI-driven security platform from the ground up, combining cutting-edge machine learning with deep smart contract expertise to outpace attackers in a space where milliseconds and millions of dollars are on the line.
What You'll Be Doing
Design and build AI/ML models capable of detecting anomalous on-chain behavior and smart contract exploits before they drain protocol funds
Architect data pipelines that ingest and analyze massive volumes of blockchain transaction data in real time
Develop novel detection heuristics that fuse research-driven insights with data-driven pattern recognition across DeFi protocols
Collaborate closely with security researchers and engineers to translate exploit research into automated, scalable detection systems
Own the technical roadmap for AI-powered threat response, shaping how the industry defends decentralized applications
Mentor and eventually grow a world-class AI/ML team as the company scales
What We're Looking For
Proven experience building and deploying machine learning systems in production, ideally in security, fraud detection, or adversarial environments
Strong understanding of blockchain architecture, smart contracts, and how DeFi protocols operate
Comfort working with ambiguity and building foundational systems from scratch in a fast-moving startup environment
Excellent communication skills to work cross-functionally with researchers, engineers, and leadership
Track record of technical ownership—someone who can go from whiteboard to shipped product
Genuine passion for web3 security and the broader distributed ledger ecosystem
Bonus Points
Prior experience analyzing on-chain exploits, MEV, or smart contract vulnerabilities
Background in anomaly detection, time-series modeling, or graph neural networks
Contributions to open-source blockchain security tooling or research
Experience working at an early-stage startup as a founding or early technical hire
Why Join Us
Competitive salary paired with meaningful equity in a company poised to redefine crypto security
Ground-floor opportunity to shape both the technology and culture of a founding team
Direct, high-leverage impact protecting billions of dollars across the decentralized ecosystem
Collaborative, mission-driven environment surrounded by top-tier security researchers and engineers
Fast-paced learning environment at the intersection of AI and blockchain innovation
Salary Range
$160,535.12 - $160,535.12
Ready to Apply?
To submit your application for this position, please visit Guardrail.ai's official website and follow their application process.