Founders' Associate - Strategic Projects Intern

Riot is a product-first team on a mission to grow cybersecurity culture in workplaces. The company built a platform that delivers four-minute, chat-based courses to teams and then runs safe phishing simulations to harden employees against real threats. Since its founding in 2020, Riot has raised $45m from notable investors including Y Combinator, Left Lane, Base10, Funders Club and First Capital, and now protects more than 2,000,000 employees across over 2,000 companies, including Intercom, Deel and Deezer, worldwide. Cybersecurity touches everyone, every day, and Riot is determined to fix the weakest link, people, by making security practice engaging and effective.

Riot is hiring a Strategic Projects Intern, also known as Founders Associate, who will report to the Chief of Staff and work directly with the CEO and, more broadly, with the Executive Committee on the company’s strategic initiatives. This isn’t a support internship. It’s a chance to gain a clear view of key strategic topics across the business, sitting at the crossroads of revenue and operations. You’ll move quickly from building business cases to aligning stakeholders across teams to delivering concrete results that influence Riot’s path forward.

The role is open to end-of-study interns based in Paris, for a six-month internship starting in September 2026, with a hybrid working arrangement.

Shaping Riot’s growth blueprint

In this role you’ll own strategic projects that don’t have a natural owner in any single team. You’ll move fast between crafting business cases, bringing diverse groups into the conversation, and delivering outcomes that matter to Riot’s trajectory.

On revenue and growth, you’ll explore expansion opportunities and design go-to-market plans for new growth streams. You’ll run market analyses, build financial models, and assess business opportunities that feed decisions at the top. For instance, you might work on launching Riot’s Partner Program, building the ecosystem of referrers, resellers and strategic alliances, and modeling the economics while creating an end-to-end activation playbook. You may also help structure pricing for international markets or specific customer segments as Riot scales.

On 0-to-1 initiatives, you’ll define what success looks like, shape the plan to take ideas from concept to reality, and align stakeholders to close gaps. Projects could include a new market operational launch, coordinating everything from legal structure to local partners and product localization, or auditing and redesigning a critical internal process, delivering actionable recommendations to the CEO, rolling out changes, and measuring impact.

You’ll also support leadership by helping the CEO and the Executive Committee with top priorities, contributing to governance tasks, and shaping materials for board packs and quarterly memos to keep investors, leadership, and the team aligned.

Must-have capabilities

• You're finishing your studies at a top business or engineering school (Bac+5 / Master) and are seeking a September 2026 internship.
• You excel at analysis and are comfortable with financial modeling, market sizing, and building business cases.
• You communicate clearly in writing and speech and enjoy working with multiple functions.
• You don’t need cybersecurity expertise, but you’re motivated by Riot’s mission.
• You fluently speak French and English.
• You’re based in Paris or willing to relocate.

Nice-to-haves

• You’re a doer who isn’t afraid to roll up your sleeves and get things done
• You hold high standards and expect top-quality work
• You’re naturally enthusiastic and bring positive energy to the role

Paris internship: practical details

This is an on-site position with up to 2 days per month of remote work. The internship runs for six months, beginning in September 2026, and is targeted at end-of-study students based in Paris. The role operates on a hybrid model, with the office located in Paris, France.

Advice for applicants

Lead your resume with your status as a final-year student from a top business or engineering school and note that you’re aiming to start in September 2026. That exact framing helps the recruiter see you’re the right stage and ready for the six-month window Riot outlines.

Show concrete examples of the must-have skills. Include a compact project or two that demonstrate financial modeling, market sizing, and a solid business-case mindset. If you’ve done a mini-case or a quantified analysis, link it or summarize the impact in a line or two so it’s easy to spot.

Be ready to discuss cross-functional work and leadership support. Think of times you collaborated across teams to solve a problem or drive a project, and be prepared to describe your role, the stakeholders involved, and the outcome.

For the interview phase, expect a business case with Clément and Marina, followed by a cultural-fit session with the CEO and the VP Finance. Have a candidate-ready idea for a 0-to-1 project and be ready to walk through how you’d scope, measure, and roll it out. A thoughtful, data-backed plan will stand out.