We place the people who break what others build.
NextUp Technologies is a retained search practice serving offensive security and national security technology. We place vulnerability researchers, exploit developers, and operators at venture-backed cybersecurity companies, defense primes, and mission-focused federal programs.
We search within a narrow band of the market — and know it deeply.
Our remit is the technical end of offensive security: the individuals pulling apart appliances, writing memory-corruption chains, and building capability. We place at every level, from senior individual contributor to founding engineer and practice lead.
We work a small book of clients with real programs, real budget, and real discretion.
Engagements are retained and confidential. Named clients and specific mandates are shared only with candidates under active introduction.
Venture-Backed Offensive Security
Tier-1 VC-backed startups building exploit capability, autonomous red teaming, and offensive platforms — pre-seed through growth.
Defense Primes & Integrators
Established primes standing up capability teams, often in partnership with federal customers and allied services.
Mission-Focused Federal Programs
Programs operating with the Department of Defense, the Intelligence Community, and cleared partner organizations.
Research Labs & Boutiques
Independent research shops and specialist consultancies building durable technical benches for the long term.
Direct contact. Curated introductions. No pipeline spam.
We don't run a staffing desk. We maintain a narrow network of operators and researchers, we read the work, and we only reach out when there is a specific, well-matched mandate on the table.
- PRINCIPLE 01 Targeted by design. When we reach out, there is a reason. We have read the research, we know the mandate, and we believe the fit is genuine — or we don't make the call.
- PRINCIPLE 02 Confidential by default. Candidate identities, conversations, and current positions are never shared with clients — or anyone else — without explicit consent.
- PRINCIPLE 03 Retained, not contingent. Our clients engage us to run a real process — not to forward résumés. Compensation bands and program context are validated before an introduction is made.
- PRINCIPLE 04 Long-horizon. We value staying in touch over closing a placement. If now isn't the right time, we leave the door open and come back when the fit is right.
If the work sounds interesting, so does the conversation.
All inbound is treated as confidential. PGP available on request.
Retained engagements only. We take on a limited number of searches each quarter.