VP, Security & Platform Services

DigitalOcean

• $279K — $349K *
Information Technology
11 - 15 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 15+ years in product management or engineering with senior leadership experience
  • Proven track record in building and leading multi-disciplinary teams
  • Deep understanding of cloud security, identity management, and billing systems
  • Strong executive presence with the ability to influence at all organizational levels
  • Experience managing P&L or equivalent business outcomes
  • Familiarity with compliance and regulatory standards in cybersecurity
  • Excellent communication skills for diverse audiences

Responsibilities

  • Own the vision and strategy for the security product and engineering portfolio
  • Build and mentor a multi-disciplinary organization of product and engineering leaders
  • Drive product lifecycle from strategy to operation, including build versus buy decisions
  • Translate company strategy into a prioritized roadmap for security and platform services
  • Collaborate with cross-functional peers to integrate security into DigitalOcean’s infrastructure
  • Define and monitor KPIs for product performance and security metrics
  • Establish best practices for engineering excellence and operational readiness
  • Oversee the response to security and reliability incidents affecting customers

Benefits

  • Hybrid working model for improved work-life balance
  • Opportunities for career growth and development
  • Collaborative and dynamic work environment
  • Engagement with executive leadership and board representation
  • Access to cutting-edge technology in cloud computing and cybersecurity
Full Job Description
We are seeking a VP, Security and Platform Services to run one of DigitalOcean's most strategically important businesses within the company: the products and services that keep our customers secure and that power the platform capabilities every DigitalOcean product depends on. This is a general-manager-style role. You will own the combined Security Product Management and Security Engineering organizations, and extend that ownership across Customer Identity, Billing, Secrets Management, Security Observability, and other Core Platform Account Services. You will set the vision, own the roadmap, and run the P&L-style business outcomes for this portfolio, while building and leading the product and engineering leaders and teams who deliver it.

This role sits at the intersection of security, platform infrastructure, and core business systems. You will be accountable for the full lifecycle of these domains, from strategy and investment decisions through execution and operational excellence, and you will represent this business to the executive team and board as a trusted, cross-functional leader. You should be equally comfortable setting multi-year strategy, negotiating trade-offs with peer executives, and going deep with engineering and product leaders on execution.

If you're a self-starter with an analytical mindset, excellent executive communication skills, and a track record of building and scaling high-performing product and engineering organizations, we'd love to hear from you. Join us in shaping the future of cloud computing, cybersecurity, and platform services at DigitalOcean.
What You'll Be Doing:
  • Own the vision, strategy, and business outcomes for Security Products, Security Engineering, Customer Identity, Billing, Secrets Management, Security Observability, and other Core Platform Account Services, acting as the general manager of this combined portfolio.
  • Build, lead, and grow a multi-disciplinary organization of product management and engineering directors, managers, and individual contributors; mentor leaders in growing their teams, their scope, and their careers.
  • Set and drive the build, buy, or partner strategy for security and platform capabilities, and own the end-to-end product lifecycle for each domain, from strategy and roadmap through execution, launch, and ongoing operation.
  • Translate company-level strategy into a coherent, prioritized roadmap across security and platform services, making explicit trade-offs between competing investments and communicating those trade-offs clearly to executive stakeholders.
  • Partner closely with peer leaders across Engineering, Product, Design, Sales, Finance, Legal, and Support to align investment, resourcing, and go-to-market plans, and to ensure security and platform capabilities are embedded natively into DigitalOcean's infrastructure and applications.
  • Define and own the KPIs and business metrics that matter for this portfolio (security product, platform reliability, billing accuracy and revenue integrity, identity and access assurance, customer trust), and drive continuous improvement against them.
  • Establish engineering and product excellence practices across the org: meaningful success metrics, proactive technical debt management, high-quality operational readiness, and a culture of continuous improvement, automation, and knowledge sharing.
  • Ensure every product and service in scope meets the highest standards for security, privacy, compliance, and regulatory requirements, given the sensitivity of identity, billing, and secrets data.
  • Act as the senior escalation point and executive sponsor for security incidents, billing integrity issues, and platform reliability events that affect customers or the business.
  • Represent this business unit to the executive team, board, and key customers and partners; communicate strategy, progress, and risk in a way that builds confidence and drives alignment.
  • Coordinate with support, training, sales, and marketing teams to ensure customers and internal stakeholders have the materials, documentation, and enablement they need.
What We'll Expect from You:
  • Proven experience as a general manager or senior business leader owning both product management and engineering functions for a significant product area, platform, or business unit.
  • A track record of building, scaling, and leading multi-team, multi-discipline organizations through directors and managers, in a fast-paced, high-growth technology environment.
  • Deep experience setting product and technical strategy, and translating that strategy into roadmaps that balance security, platform reliability, customer needs, and business outcomes.
  • Strong executive presence and the ability to influence peers and senior leadership, negotiate priorities across competing stakeholders, and communicate complex technical and business trade-offs clearly.
  • Experience owning P&L-style outcomes or equivalent business metrics for a product or platform area, including cost, revenue impact, and operational risk.
  • A strong point of view on cloud security, identity and access management, billing/monetization systems, or core platform services, along with the judgment to know when to build, buy, or partner.
  • Experience developing cross-disciplinary collaboration between engineering, product, operations, support, sales, and legal/compliance teams.
  • A demonstrated ability to make effective trade-offs across engineering and product requirements, balancing short-term delivery with long-term platform health.
  • Experience with end-to-end quality, security, and compliance best practices and their implementation at scale.
  • A strong bench-building mindset: experience staffing, interviewing, developing, and retaining high-performing product and engineering leaders and teams.
  • Excellent skills in conveying complex ideas in written, verbal, and presentational formats to audiences ranging from engineers to the board.
Preferred Qualifications:
  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field; advanced degree (including MBA) preferred.
  • 15+ years of experience in product management, engineering, or other technical leadership roles, with significant time spent in senior/executive leadership positions owning both product and engineering functions.
  • Direct experience in security, identity, billing/monetization, or core platform services, ideally spanning more than one of these domains.
  • Deep understanding of cloud-based systems, cybersecurity principles, and the regulatory and compliance landscape relevant to identity, billing, and security data.
  • Experience operating in public-company or high-governance environments, including board-level and executive reporting.
  • Familiarity with cloud hosting and virtualization technologies.
  • Past success shaping highly scalable, secure products and platforms with an eye toward ease of use and customer trust.
Compensation Range:
  • $279,200.00 - $349,000.00

*This is a hybrid role



#LI-Hybrid

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