Network Engineer & Data Security Specialist

Network Engineer & Data Security Specialist

About Urban Sky:

Urban Sky is a venture-backed aerospace startup that pioneers utilization of the stratosphere and reimagines the way humans view and analyze the earth. We design, build, operate, and sell stratospheric balloon systems, and the data we collect supports a wide range of applications, from real‑time wildfire monitoring to urban mapping. Our technology is also employed by government customers including the Department of Defense (DoD), NASA, and others.

Urban Sky sends flight vehicles to the stratosphere on a weekly basis.

Our team consists of engineers, makers, developers, and doers who believe in the power of human potential when passion meets utility within a small, supportive team. At Urban Sky we strive to create a team culture grounded in candor, inclusion, respect and empowerment.

We aim to build the next chapter of stratospheric history in Denver and are seeking self‑starting, open‑minded, and hard‑working team members.

The Role

We’re looking for a Network Engineer & Data Security Specialist who can own the full networking and security compliance stack across Urban Sky’s stratospheric platforms and ground systems. You’ll be the person who makes our systems fly on approved networks—literally.

This role sits at the intersection of hands‑on network engineering and government security compliance. You’ll help architect and maintain the networking infrastructure that connects our Urban Sky‑designed Husky Bus platform to a wide range of payloads communicating over different radio systems—from satellite links to tactical radios with various routing equipment, VPNs, and network paradigms. Each mission and event can present unique networking challenges that require creative, on‑the‑fly solutions.

Equally important, you’ll lead and drive our government security compliance efforts, particularly the IATT and ATO process. Urban Sky has been issued several IATTs in the past, so there’s a strong foundation to build on. You’ll work to not only create compliant structures but also build CI/CD pipelines that are themselves approved—so our products can continue to improve after they’re authorized.

This means working through STIGs, ACAS scans, security architecture documentation, and coordinating directly with government cybersecurity leads.

This role will involve significant travel supporting various events, exercises, and customer engagements where you’ll solve unique networking challenges in the field. If you’re the kind of person who gets energy from being hands‑on in new environments and figuring things out in real time, you’ll love this.

• Design, deploy, and maintain networking infrastructure for the Husky Bus platform and its payloads
• Configure and manage routers, switches, VPNs, firewalls (including Palo Alto), and network segmentation for both on‑site and field‑deployed systems
• Solve novel networking challenges at field events and exercises—each deployment may involve different radio systems, routing paradigms, and connectivity constraints
• Support integration of customer payloads onto the Husky Bus, ensuring reliable network connectivity across air‑to‑ground, air‑to‑space and air‑to‑air links
• Build and document network architectures that are flexible enough to support rapidly evolving mission requirement

• Own and drive the IATT and ATO process end‑to‑end, building on Urban Sky’s existing IATT foundation and lessons learned from Army and other DoD engagements. There will be lots of support from the IT team, the software team and the firmware team, but you will own the network.
• Conduct and manage STIG reviews, ACAS/Nessus vulnerability scans, and remediation across bus compute systems, cameras, and other networked components
• Coordinate directly with government cybersecurity leads (e.g., MDO Live Cyber Security, C5
  
  ISR Center) on compliance artifacts, scan submissions, and risk acceptance packages
• Develop and maintain security documentation including system security plans, network diagrams, and compliance evidence packages
• Build approved CI/CD pipelines so that products can continue to be improved after…