Head of IT

At Cogna, we're working hard to solve the productivity crisis. Lagging productivity is the biggest barrier to economic growth and a major obstacle to addressing our most important issues, such as climate change, healthcare, and social equality. But it’s not a single problem that can be tackled with a silver-bullet solution; it’s the accumulation of millions of highly specific, context-driven challenges across every facet of every organisation that have to be addressed on their own terms. Cogna is on a mission to solve this very complex problem. We’re creating an AI-powered platform to understand these inefficiencies within customers’ operating models, to define the requirements, and develop the software itself in a fully automated way. The result is high-quality, precision software at scale.

Since our launch in May 2023, we’ve already seen significant traction and customer revenue that outpaces most companies at our stage. We’re backed by top VCs, including Notion Capital and Hoxton Ventures, and we’re growing our world-class team - ex Google, Microsoft, Palantir - to take us to the next level on our mission. This is more than a job; it’s an opportunity to be part of something genuinely transformative. Are you up for the challenge?

Overview

Cogna is looking for a Head of IT to join our team. The ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of IT security and compliance, as well as experience managing and automating IT systems.

What you’ll do

• Manage and maintain Cogna's IT infrastructure and InfoSec practices.
• Ensure Cogna's compliance with GDPR, ISO27001:2022, Cyber Essentials, and SOC2 Type II standards, and prepare evidence for audits, coordinate with auditors, and identify any risks.
• Work with engineering and platform teams to ensure secure coding practices and resolve vulnerabilities.
• Respond to security audits, security assessment requests, and security incidents.
• Manage periodic penetration tests, BCP/DR simulation scenarios, and security training.
• Provide guidance and advice to Business Operational functions on compliance standards and practices.
• Manage on- and offboarding requests, access requests, and streamline these processes through SSO/SCIM, groups, etc.
• Assess and identify security controls for sensitive data.
• Maintain awareness of current and emerging threats that might impact Cogna.
• Manage and maintain our MDM solution and ensure hardware is compliant.
• SaaS vendor management, ensuring compliance and regular reviews.

What we’re looking for

• 5+ years of enterprise IT / information security or similar relevant experience; B2B, SaaS, and/or startup environments preferred.
• Strong understanding of IT security and compliance, including GDPR, ISO27001, Cyber Essentials, and SOC2 Type II, both from the technical as well as corporate side.
• Strong understanding of (third-party) risk management principles, incident management and security operations.
• Strong MacOS admin experience; ideally with JAMF.
• Some experience with modern cloud environments; Azure preferred.
• Proficient in Python/Shell scripting.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, both with enterprise customers and internally.

Special note about career breaks: We accept candidates with career breaks and CV gaps. Life happens, we get it. Please apply anyway!

What we offer

• Competitive salary and share option plan.
• 25 days annual leave, plus public holidays.
• Excellent pension scheme, matched to 7.5%.
• Private healthcare, including family cover and pre-existing conditions.
• Flexible hybrid working with 2 days per fortnight in our Farringdon office, but different schedules can be negotiated.
• Regular social events and offsites.
• Access to a gym and fitness classes in our office building.