Lead DevOps Engineer

• Own the whole infrastructure for a confidential AI platform, from a blank sheet, as the first infrastructure hire
• Our client, Nexus: a Paris deep-tech startup making sensitive data usable without exposing it. Backed by NVIDIA Inception, Scaleway and Station F
• Paris, mostly on-site
• €85,000 to €100,000 plus BSPCE (share options)

Most DevOps jobs hand you someone else's platform to keep alive. This one is a blank sheet. Nexus is building a confidential AI platform that lets companies use their most sensitive data without ever exposing it, and they need one engineer to own the infrastructure it all runs on. You are the first infrastructure hire, so you set the standards and build the foundation the rest of the team stands on.

This is not standard cloud work. You will run AI on hardware-isolated GPUs, keep data encrypted until the moment it is used, and work in locked-down, air-gapped environments most engineers never see. If applied cryptography and hardware isolation are the parts of the job you already read about in your own time, this one was made for you.

What you'll be doing

• Own the platform's infrastructure end to end, running AI workloads on NVIDIA H100 GPUs
• Carve out the secure data-migration layer and stand it up as a product in its own right
• Keep data encrypted until it reaches a verified, isolated environment, and only then let it be read
• Run it all as clean, high-performance GitOps with Kubernetes, Terraform and ArgoCD
• Build for air-gapped, restricted networks where standard cloud assumptions fall away

What you'll bring

• You have run production Kubernetes yourself, with Terraform and a GitOps tool such as ArgoCD
• You know applied cryptography and supply-chain security from the inside: mTLS, PKI, image signing
• You are at home well below the managed-cloud layer, on bare metal and in restricted networks
• You are senior enough to own all of this with no playbook, and you would rather build than maintain
• Confidential computing and trusted execution environments (SEV-SNP, TDX) are a bonus, not a must. You can learn the specifics here

The role is on-site in Paris, with some flexibility around life. You will need the right to work in France. The team works in English, with French language a requirement to speak with clients.

This is a team that debates its decisions. Expect to be asked why, and expect to ask it back. If being challenged on your thinking energises you rather than wears you down, you will fit in well.

Why you'll want it

• A greenfield build, yours to shape from scratch, not someone else's stack to babysit
• Meaningful equity as one of the very first hires
• Work you can put your name to, publish, and talk about at conferences
• The room to grow into leading your own team
• A budget for training, and flexible working once you are settled
• One of the few places you get to work where AI, cryptography and hardware meet

About our client, Nexus

Nexus is a Paris deep-tech company solving one of the hardest problems in AI: how to use sensitive data without exposing it. Using federated learning, Nexus generates high-fidelity, GDPR-safe synthetic data, so organisations in finance, healthcare and other regulated fields can build AI without putting real data at risk. Its first product, MIRAGE, applies the same thinking to cybersecurity.

Backed by NVIDIA Inception, Scaleway, Station F, France Deeptech, Telecom Paris and Bpifrance, Nexus is at the start of its journey and building its founding technical team now.

Diversity and Inclusion

At Chikara HR, we are committed to a diverse and inclusive recruitment process where every candidate is considered fairly. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and will judge each candidate on their merits and what they can contribute.

We value people regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability or any other aspect of their identity. We are looking for talented, driven individuals, and if you believe you are a fit, we want to hear from you.

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