Founding Head of Data and AI

Founding Head of Data & AI

Principal Data & AI Platform Engineer (Founding)

About Titan

Titan Protection blends highly trained officers with modern technology to protect commercial properties. We are building a vendor-agnostic data and AI platform to power consistent employee and customer experiences, swap back-end vendors without friction, and unlock AI agents that drive faster, cheaper, higher-quality security outcomes.

Your Mission

Own and architect Titan's unified data platform and AI strategy from the ground up. You'll create the technical foundation that enables us to seamlessly switch vendors, unlock data-driven insights across our operations, and deploy AI agents that fundamentally transform how security services are delivered. This is a rare opportunity to build a category-defining platform that creates lasting competitive advantage.

The Impact You'll Create

Build Our Competitive Moat

• Design and implement a vendor-agnostic data platform that gives us the flexibility to switch any operational vendor (VMS, ACS, billing, etc.) without disrupting our customer experience or internal operations
• Create a unified API abstraction layer that becomes the single source of truth for all data interactions, enabling consistent experiences regardless of underlying systems
• Establish data governance and quality standards that transform raw operational data into strategic business assets

Accelerate Business Velocity Through AI

• Deploy production AI agents that reduce incident report generation time by 60% and QBR preparation time by 50% within your first 90 days
• Build intelligent automation that identifies security patterns, predicts incidents, and recommends optimal officer deployment strategies
• Create a RAG-powered knowledge system that makes our SOPs, policies, and historical incident data instantly accessible and actionable

Enable Data-Driven Decision Making

• Stand up real-time dashboards and analytics that give leadership instant visibility into operations, customer health, and business performance
• Empower non-technical teams with self-service data tools that reduce their dependency on engineering while maintaining data integrity
• Build predictive models that forecast customer churn, identify upsell opportunities, and optimize resource allocation

Scale Engineering Excellence

• Establish infrastructure and development practices that support 99.9% uptime while keeping costs under control
• Create documentation and systems that enable future team members to contribute effectively from day one
• Build with security, compliance, and scalability as first principles, preparing us for enterprise customers and regulatory requirements

Your 30/60/90 ( 180) Day Roadmap

Day 30: Foundation & Quick Wins

• Complete assessment of current data landscape and vendor integration points
• Deploy foundational cloud infrastructure with proper security and access controls
• Ship first integration syncing critical business data into unified platform
• Deliver internal dashboard showing real-time operational metrics

Day 60: Platform MVP & First AI Agent

• Launch v1 API layer with authentication, rate limiting, and audit logging
• Deploy RAG system over policies/SOPs with measurable accuracy metrics
• Ship Agent #1: Automated incident summarizer reducing report time by 40%
• Enable customer portal MVP displaying their security data via our API

Day 90: Vendor Independence Proven

• Successfully demonstrate vendor swap with zero customer-facing changes
• Deploy Agent #2: QBR pack builder saving 4 hours per customer quarterly
• Achieve <300ms P95 latency on critical API endpoints
• Complete backup/DR implementation with documented recovery procedures

Day 180: Scale & Sophistication

• Integrate with VMS and ACS platforms, proving multi-vendor abstraction
• Launch Agent #3: Compliance copilot for regulatory requirements
• Achieve 99.9% platform uptime with comprehensive monitoring
• Enable predictive analytics driving measurable business outcomes

What Success Looks Like

You're the right person if you've:

• Built and scaled data platforms that handle millions of daily events while maintaining sub-second query performance
• Delivered production AI/ML systems that created measurable business value (not just POCs)
• Designed vendor-agnostic architectures that provided true flexibility without sacrificing performance
• Led technical initiatives end-to-end, from architecture through implementation to production operations
• Transformed raw data into business value through analytics, automation, and intelligent applications
• Balanced technical excellence with pragmatism, shipping solutions that work today while building for tomorrow

Technical Expertise We Value

While you'll choose the right tools for each challenge, you should have deep expertise in:

• Modern data platform architecture including real-time streaming, batch processing, and hybrid approaches
• API design principles including REST/GraphQL, authentication patterns, versioning strategies, and developer experience
• Production AI/ML systems including LLMs, RAG architectures, vector databases, and evaluation frameworks
• Cloud infrastructure with particular emphasis on security, cost optimization, and Infrastructure-as-Code
• Data governance including quality monitoring, lineage tracking, privacy compliance, and access control

Nice to Have

• Experience with physical security systems (VMS, access control, IoT devices)
• Background in regulated industries with complex compliance requirements
• Track record of building platforms that enabled successful vendor migrations
• Experience scaling startups through rapid growth phases
• Contributions to open-source projects or technical thought leadership

Success Metrics (Year 1)

• Complete vendor swap with zero customer impact by Day 90
• Reduce incident/QBR production time by 60% through AI automation
• Maintain <1% failed data syncs and <300ms P95 API latency
• Keep infrastructure costs under $3k/month until scale demands growth
• Enable 3 new business capabilities through data platform per quarter

Compensation & Benefits

Competitive package for exceptional talent:

• Base salary: $165,000–$190,000 (higher for truly exceptional candidates)
• Performance bonus: 10–15% based on achieving success metrics
• Equity participation in a high-growth startup
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage
• Latest hardware and software tools of your choice
• $5,000 annual learning budget for conferences, courses, and certifications
• Flexible PTO and work-from-home days

Work Environment

• Location: Kansas City, MO (hybrid - 3 days in office)
• Reports to: Vice President of Operations
• Team: You'll be employee #1 in what will become our data organization
• Culture: Fast-paced startup environment where your work directly impacts company success

Why This Role Matters

This isn't just another data engineering position. You'll be the founding architect of a platform that fundamentally transforms how security services are delivered. Your work will directly enable Titan to compete against incumbents 100x our size by giving us technological superpowers they can't match. If you're excited about building something from scratch that will scale to protect thousands of properties and fundamentally change an industry, we want to talk to you.

How to Apply

Send your resume/LinkedIn and 1–2 examples that demonstrate your impact (case studies, architecture diagrams, or measurable business outcomes you've driven) to: [Katharinew@tpcsecurity.com]

Subject line: Founding Head of Data & AI — Titan

In your note, tell us about the most complex data platform challenge you've solved and the business impact it created.

Equal Opportunity

Titan Protection is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate candidates based on their ability to create business value, regardless of background.

Note: We're looking for someone who can own outcomes, not just implement solutions. If you're energized by ambiguity, excited about building from zero, and motivated by measurable business impact, this role offers the autonomy and resources to build something extraordinary.