Research Security Cybersecurity Specialist Office of ResearchAdministration & Compliance

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The Office of Research Administration & Compliance (RAC) works with faculty, staff and students across UC Berkeley to catalyze, support, and safeguard research and innovation. Ensuring research compliance, safety, and security across the university is a key priority because the overall success of the research enterprise depends on the highest standards of ethics, compliance, and integrity.

The Research Security Cybersecurity Specialist is a newly created role within the Research Security program that supports UC Berkeley's compliance with federal cybersecurity and data security requirements applicable to sponsored research. Reporting to the Executive Director of Research Security, this position serves as the research security team's subject matter expert on cybersecurity standards, frameworks, and data protection regulations ensuring that principal investigators' research computing environments meet the cybersecurity requirements of their federal awards.

This is a research security compliance function, not an operational IT security engineering role. The Research Security Cybersecurity Specialist evaluates diverse research computing environments to determine whether centralized services, departmental IT, or other situations meet applicable federal standards, and guides researchers toward compliance through clear, patient, expert consultation. This role implements the cybersecurity components of UC Berkeley's NSPM-33 Research Security Program and plays a central part in building the compliance processes, procedures, and workflows that the campus will rely on as federal research cybersecurity requirements continue to evolve.

The First Review Date for this job is:
September 9, 2026. For full consideration, please apply on or before the first review date.

40%

• Assesses the cybersecurity posture of individual research labs and PI computing environments, including centralized, departmental, and self-managed/bespoke setups against applicable federal standards (NIST 800-171, NIST 800-53, CMMC, FISMA, and evolving NSPM-33 requirements). Conducts gap analyses, identifies areas of potential non-compliance, and collaborates with PIs and IT service providers to develop clear, actionable remediation plans.

20%

• Provides expert guidance on data security requirements associated with federally sponsored research, including HIPAA, FERPA, and controlled technical information requirements. Advises on data storage, handling, and protection requirements in coordination with the export control team when Technology Control Plans or export-controlled data are involved. Develops and implements standard operating procedures and controls for data security compliance across diverse research contexts.

15%

• Helps build the compliance processes, procedures, and workflows needed to support research cybersecurity compliance as federal requirements continue to evolve. Monitors regulatory developments across federal agencies (NSF, DoD, DOE, NIH, and others) and assesses their implications for sponsored research. Contributes to the development of System Security Plans, compliance documentation, and certification processes.

15%

• Collaborates with campus IT organizations, including the Information Security Office, Research IT, and departmental IT groups to coordinate on compliance-related technical questions. Works within a complex, highly decentralized IT landscape with diplomacy and collaborative skill. Coordinates with relevant campus units during cybersecurity incident response efforts to assess compliance implications and ensure affected research environments are brought back into alignment with federal requirements.
  
  Functions as an independent compliance assessor of research computing environments while navigating a multi-stakeholder environment with professionalism and…