Position: Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Company: Skopenow

Location: NYC preferred (on-site). Open to hybrid or remote candidates not local to NYC.

Hours: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM ET (East Coast hours required)

Compensation: $200,000+ total compensation package (dependent on experience and location)

About Skopenow

Skopenow enables organizations to efficiently collect and analyze open-source intelligence to uncover threats and detect fraud. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in New York City, Skopenow is a high-growth, venture-backed technology company.

Skopenow is an OSINT solution with five products: Grid, Pre-Check, Workbench, Link Analysis, and Rabbit. Today, we work with over 1,500 customers (and counting) from around the world, automating their threat detection and investigation workflows. We have partnered with Fortune 500 companies, large government and law enforcement agencies, the largest insurance carriers, media outlets, and more.

We are entering a pivotal stage of growth and are hiring our first Chief Operating Officer. This is a foundational leadership role designed to serve as a strategic partner to the CEO and help scale the company’s operational maturity.

The Opportunity

The COO will act as a true business partner and advisor to the CEO, taking ownership of operational execution, compliance infrastructure, security oversight, and cross-functional coordination. This role has been created to shift critical operational and compliance-related leadership responsibilities away from the CEO, enabling focused strategic growth.

This is not a maintenance role - it is a build-and-scale role.

You will establish structure, formalize process, oversee compliance and legal frameworks, manage operational security, and help position Skopenow for continued growth across enterprise and government sectors.

Key Responsibilities

Executive Leadership & Strategic Partnership

• Serve as a trusted advisor and operational partner to the CEO
• Translate company strategy into operational execution
• Build scalable infrastructure to support enterprise and government growth
• Drive cross-functional alignment across product, engineering, legal, compliance, and go-to-market teams

Compliance, Security & Governance

• Own and oversee compliance programs across government and enterprise requirements
• Manage and enhance data privacy and security frameworks (SOC 2, NIST, and related standards)
• Lead security review teams, audits, and operational risk management processes
• Ensure operational readiness for contract requirements and regulatory obligations
• Build internal controls and documentation to support certifications and audits

Government Contracting & Contract Operations

• Oversee compliance requirements for government contracts
• Ensure operational processes meet contractual obligations
• Support contract negotiations and risk mitigation periodically

Financial & Corporate Infrastructure

• Participate in fundraising strategy and execution
• Support investor communications and diligence processes
• Contribute to financial planning, financing strategy, and tax considerations
• Help build operational rigor suitable for a scaling technology company

Process & Systems Development

• Build scalable processes across departments
• Implement operational KPIs and accountability systems
• Establish documentation and workflows to support sustainable growth

Required Experience

• Proven experience working with international teams
• Deep familiarity with government contracting and compliance environments
• Hands-on experience with data privacy and security frameworks (SOC 2, NIST, etc.)
• Experience leading or supporting security reviews and compliance audits
• Prior involvement in fundraising, financing, and tax considerations at a scaling company
• Demonstrated success building operational processes within high-growth environments
• Experience managing compliance and operational requirements tied to contracts

Ideal Candidate Profile

• Strategic thinker who is also execution-oriented
• Comfortable operating in a founder-led environment
• Experienced in scaling infrastructure without over-bureaucratizing
• Strong communicator with executive presence
• High ownership mentality and bias toward action
• Able to balance regulatory rigor with startup agility

Why This Role Matters

This is a rare opportunity to join Skopenow at an inflection point and help define the operational backbone of the company. As our first COO, you will help build the foundation that enables long-term enterprise and government expansion while serving as a key strategic partner to the CEO.