Founders' Associate - Strategic Projects Intern
We're a product-first team on a mission to help grow the cybersecurity culture
We want to instill cybersecurity good practices to employees in a way that's actually effective, and entertaining enough so that employees don't feel like they're working. Think Duolingo but for cybersecurity.
We created a platform to easily rollout a cybersecurity awareness program: the platform sends chat-based 4-minutes long courses to teams. Following the courses, the other side of the platform simulates phishing attacks, to prepare employees to face hackers, but in a safe environment.
Created in 2020, Riot has raised $45m with leading investors (Y Combinator, Left Lane, Base10, Funders Club and First Capital) and is now protecting more than 2,000,000 employees in over 2,000 companies (including Intercom, Deel, and Deezer) all over the world.
Cybersecurity is everywhere. It's impacting everyone, everyday, and it's becoming the number one risk to any organization, whether it's a small business or a big firm. Yet, the cybersecurity culture in most companies is a disaster. Hackers are leveraging this by targeting the weakest link: the employees. We're on a mission to fix that.
About the role
We're hiring a Strategic Projects Intern (Founders Associate) to report to our Chief of Staff and work directly with our CEO, and more broadly with our Executive Committee, on the company's strategic projects.
This is not a support internship. This role offers a unique opportunity to get a great overview of key strategic topics across multiple facets of the business, working at the intersection of revenue and operations.
You will move fast between building business cases, aligning stakeholders across teams, and delivering results on topics that directly shape Riot's trajectory.
This position is open for end-of-study interns based in Paris. 6-month internship, starting September 2026.
What you will do
- Identify expansion opportunities and create go-to-market plans for new growth streams (market, segements).
- Conduct market analyses, financial models, and business opportunity assessments that feed directly into leadership decisions.
- Example of projects:
- Launch Riot's Partner Program: build the ecosystem (referrers, resellers, strategic alliances) to open new segments and geographies, model the economics and build the activation playbook end-to-end.
- Pricing adaptation: structure pricing for international markets or specific customer segments as we expand.
- For each project, define what success looks like, build the 0 to 1 and align stakeholders to bridge the gap.
- Example of projects:
- New market operational launch: coordinate everything that makes it real (legal structure, local partners, product localization)
- Audit and redesign a critical internal processes: you own the diagnosis, submit actionable recommendations to the CEO, rollout, and measure impact.
- Support the CEO and Executive Committee on their top business priorities.
- Corporate & governance: support the company rhythm, contribute to board packs and quarterly memos, help structure the materials that keep investors, leadership, and the team aligned.
You will own strategic projects that don't have a natural owner in any single team. As such, the list below is not exhaustive but here's a sense of what you might work on:
1⃣ Drive revenue & growth initiatives
2⃣ Lead Strategic Initiatives from 0 to 1
3⃣ Support leadership
Who you are
- Final-year student from a top business or engineering school (Bac+5 / Master's degree), you are looking for an internship starting in September 2026.
- You have strong analytical skills and you are comfortable with financial modeling, market sizing, business case development.
- Excellent communicator, written and verbal. You are used to working across functions.
- You don't need to be an expert on cybersecurity, but you need to be motivated by the mission.
- You speak French and English fluently.
- You are based in Paris or willing to relocate.
It will be a cultural fit if
- You're a doer: not afraid to get your hands dirty and get things done
- You have high standards: expect performance to be nothing short of the best
- You are enthusiastic at heart: exhibit passion and excitement over work
Why join us at Riot
- Direct exposure to Founders and Executive Committee from day one and contribute directly to the projects that shape Riot's trajectory.
- Join a financially-healthy company: we're strong and capital-efficient.
- Contribute to a fast-growing startup with a strong vision and high ambitions, backed by clear business goals. We've tripled revenue over the past two years and are scaling from $20M to $40M ARR in 2026.
- Experience the energy of a collaborative team in our modern office in the heart of Paris: République / Canal Saint-Martin.
Recruitment process
- Screening call with Talent Acquisition Manager or Chief of Staff
- Manager fit interview with Marina, Chief of Staff
- Business case with Clément, VP of Sales & Partnerships, and Marina
- Cultural fit with:
- Benjamin, CEO & co-founder
- Sylvia, VP Finance