Director of Detection Engineering at TENEX.AI in Kansas City, MO

Company Overview: TENEX is an AI-native, automation-first, built-for-scale Managed Detection and Response (MDR) provider. We are a force multiplier for defenders, helping organizations enhance their cybersecurity posture through advanced threat detection, rapid response, and continuous protection. Our team is composed of industry experts with deep experience in cybersecurity, automation and AI-driven solutions. Backed by leading investors, we are rapidly growing and seeking top talent to join our mission of revolutionizing the AI-Native MDR landscape. We're a fast growing startup backed by industry experts and top tier investors led by Crosspoint Capital Partners and also backed by Shield Capital, DTCP (formerly Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners), Deepwork Capital, and the Florida Opportunity Fund. Seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). As an early employee, you'll play a meaningful role in defining and building our culture. Get in on the ground floor. We're a small but well-funded team that just raised a substantial round – joining now comes with limited risk and unlimited upside. Culture is one of the most important things at TENEX.AI http://TENEX.AI—explore our culture deck at culture.tenex.ai http://culture.tenex.ai to witness how we embody it, prioritizing the irreplaceable collaboration and community of in-person work. About the Opportunity: TENEX is scaling detection engineering. We're hiring a Director of Detection Engineering, reporting to the President, to build, lead, and scale the team responsible for the detections that catch real threats in customer environments. You'll set the detection strategy, hire and grow the team that executes it, and own how detection engineering shows up to customers and the executive team. What You'll Do: - Lead and scale the team. Manage direct reports today plus a growing bench of senior detection engineers across multiple locations. - Own the detection roadmap. Drive threat coverage strategy and the full detection lifecycle — build, tune, retire — measured against frameworks like MITRE ATT&CK. - Represent detection engineering externally. Lead detection content in customer QBRs, prospect calls, and internal executive meetings; translate technical depth into business outcomes. - Report on program health. Deliver executive reporting on coverage, false positive rates, MTTR, and threat-informed metrics. - Own the people function. Hire senior detection engineers, run performance and career development, and build the bench that scales with the customer base. - Run a multi-site team. Set on-call coverage, cross-site handoffs, and the working model with SOC Analysts, SOC Engineering, and Threat Intelligence. - Set the quality bar. Define peer review, detection testing standards, and the metrics the team is measured on. What You Bring: - 10+ years in detection engineering, security engineering, or SOC, with 4+ years leading teams. - People leadership track record — hiring senior ICs, scaling teams across multiple locations, performance management, and growing engineers into leaders. - Hands-on detection engineering depth — you've personally written, tuned, and retired detections at scale across SIEM, EDR, and cloud. - Customer-facing and executive-facing communication skills — track record presenting in QBRs, prospect calls, and exec staff meetings. Bonus Points: - Experience in an MDR, MSSP, or SaaS security vendor environment. - Background across multiple SIEM platforms (Splunk, Chronicle, Sentinel). - Experience with detection-as-code, CI/CD for detections, or automated detection testing. - Familiarity with AI/ML-assisted detection workflows. Education & Certifications: - Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, or Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent experience). - Relevant certifications such as CISSP, GCIH, GCDA, AWS / GCP certifications, or Splunk / Chronicle / Sentinel certifications are a plus. Why Join Us? - Opportunity to build and lead the detection engineering function that protects every TENEX customer. - Collaborate with a talented and innovative team focused on continuously improving security operations. - Competitive salary and benefits package. - A culture of growth and development, with opportunities to expand your knowledge in AI, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies.