Emergent Chaos

My friend Robert Stratton has taken the CTO role at Revive Systems. He's both a serial startup guy (Wheel Group and UUNet) and has been on the investor side In-Q-Tel. We've spent some time talking about the technology, too, and it sounds very intriguing. The remainder of this post is his job description for their VP Software Engineering.

We're working on a self-healing system for improving server reliability and security. It more directly addresses some of the most prevalent security problems than do traditional ways that revolve around doing everything with network traffic. We're also collaborating on some related research that advances our mission of making network software more robust.

REVIVE SYSTEMS: VP, SOFTWARE ENGINEERING

DEVELOPER/MANAGERS: DO YOU WANT TO BE A PART OF SOMETHING NEW AND DIFFERENT?

Do you want to lead the development of real technology that will defend networked systems against previously-unknown (0-day) threats? Does the idea of "self-healing software" sound intriguing? Have the uptimes of production applications you've written been measured in years rather than days? If so, you're the type of person we'd like to meet.

Revive Systems is seeking an exceptional and experienced VP of Software Engineering to be responsible for leading the development of our next-generation self-healing software platform. The ideal candidate may have built high-availability network-facing applications, such as in an e-commerce, large ISP, financial, or hosting provider environment. The VP of Software Engineering should be a hands-on type who enjoys writing code if necessary to ensure that the job is done right the first time. We're building a small but exceptional team to deliver the next big enhancement to system reliability and security.

Current Linux and UNIX systems programming experience is preferred. Current experience with multiple languages, particularly C and Java, is required.

Expertise with advanced finite state-machine grammar or compiler development is highly desirable. Experience with networked TCP/IP production applications is critical. Security expertise is a major plus.

The ideal candidate will have led the development of complex commercial network application products or significant open source applications, particularly those deployed in high-availability environments.

ABOUT REVIVE SYSTEMS

Revive Systems is creating an advanced self-healing software technology that significantly enhances the security and reliability of network applications. Revive's founders, Loren Burnett - President and CEO and Robert Stratton - CTO, come from tier-1 ISPs, large managed security providers, and successful security product companies. Our founders understand the challenges of enterprises with high uptime requirements, constant security concerns, and global networks. Our patent pending technology was invented in the computer science labs of Columbia University. Revive Systems is funded by Novak Biddle Venture Partners.

VP, SOFTWARE ENGINEERING POSITION DESCRIPTION:

The VP, Software Engineering will be responsible for:

• Collaborating with the CTO on architecture of the next-generation product
• Work with the CEO & CTO to identify, hire, and retain exceptional developer candidates.
• Creation of in-house development environment, including revision control, bug tracking, software engineering toolset, and in-house test bed lab.
• Management of the design, building, and testing of the platform
• Management of finite state machine and grammar development.
• Leading development team through the software release cycle, including management of customer alpha and beta test cycles. This includes supervising and assisting developers in delivering an optimal product on time, with a target of zero defects.
• Management of delivery timelines and tracking of bug fixes.
• Maintenance of a supportive environment for the development team. (Doing important things may be challenging, but it can be fun as well.)
• Managing the testing of system performance against newly-discovered security vulnerabilities.
• Reviewing customer input with CTO for incorporation into development plan.
• Assessing early customer applications for testing opportunities and identifying necessary customization work for pilot deployments.

Required Technology Skills:

• Experience building (and managing the development of) commercial high-reliability TCP/IP applications in the UNIX and Linux environments as commercial products or for large enterprise production operations.
• Working C/Java knowledge essential.
• Linux and UNIX systems programming experience is highly desirable.
• High-availability Linux & UNIX network application programming experience is essential. MS-Windows network server development experience a plus.
• Working knowledge of the internals of most major open-source Linux & UNIX network applications such as Apache, Tomcat, BIND, Postgres/PostgreSQL, MySQL, Sendmail, etc. is highly desirable.
• Experience with a variety of finite state machine grammar transforms, lexical analyzers, and parsers is very highly desirable. Working knowledge of the TXL language is preferred.
• Experience developing/extending virtual machines or virtualization environments is desirable.
• Experience with managing commercial software test cycles from alpha test through general availability, including management of customer beta test campaigns, is required. We will consider candidates who have performed equivalent work within very large enterprises.
• Advanced network security knowledge is a major plus.
• Commercial enterprise software product management experience is helpful.

Revive Systems is based in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Developers: If you think this sounds like you, please send us a résumé, in plain ASCII or PDF form, to people@revivesystems.com