Head of Product Security at M-KOPA

Job description

• Lead our Application Security and Threat Intelligence teams while driving comprehensive security strategies that protect M-KOPA's platform and enable secure product development at scale.

The Impact

• Your leadership will directly protect the platform that serves over 7 million customers who have accessed more than $2 billion in credit. We've already helped transform lives across an entire continent - now we need you to secure the systems and products that make that transformation possible. It's your chance to be part of something that's literally transforming lives across an entire continent

The Opportunity

• Mission-driven security: Protect the platform enabling financial inclusion for millions of Every Day Earners across Africa
• Global recognition: Join a company named by TIME 100 as one of the world's most influential and by the Financial Times as Africa's fastest-growing for 4 consecutive years (2022-2025)
• Scale challenges: Lead security for a platform processing over 1.5 million payments daily across 5 markets
• Environmental impact: We're carbon-negative, having displaced over 2.1 million tonnes of emissions

What You'll Do

• At M-KOPA, you'll lead both Application Security and Threat Intelligence teams while driving comprehensive security strategies that align with business objectives. Our security teams own their solutions end-to-end, from threat modelling and vulnerability research to production monitoring and incident response. Join us in combining cutting-edge security practices with purpose-driven leadership that makes digital and financial inclusion possible across Africa.

Team Leadership:

• Lead Application Security and Threat Intelligence teams
• Build and scale specialised security capabilities
• Mentor talented security professionals

Technical Focus:

• Offensive security including hardware hacking and Android exploitation
• Threat intelligence collection and automation
• Vulnerability research and penetration testing
• Security workflow automation using platforms like n8n

Strategic Responsibilities:

• Threat modelling and risk assessments
• Red team exercise coordination
• Executive partnership and security-to-business translation

Our Security Approach

• Proactive defence: Combining offensive security research with threat intelligence to stay ahead of emerging risks
• Automation-first: Building automated security workflows and threat intelligence systems for scale
• Business enablement: Translating security requirements into business value and growth opportunities
• Technical excellence: Hands-on leadership that maintains deep expertise in vulnerability research and exploitation
• Cross-functional influence: Partnering across product, engineering, and executive teams to embed security throughout the organisation

What You Need

• You'll bring exceptional leadership and technical depth to shape security at the intersection of offensive security, threat intelligence, and product development. This role offers unique growth potential through executive visibility, cross-functional influence, and direct impact on product security at scale.

Required Experience:

• Hands-on experience in product/application security with proven expertise in vulnerability research, penetration testing, and security architecture
• Experience leading and scaling security teams with demonstrated success building high-performing Application Security and Threat Intelligence functions
• Proven track record building threat intelligence programmes including automation platforms like n8n and hands-on experience with Android security and hardware hacking