InfoSec Lead

Location

Torrance, CA

Full time

Software

Northwood is deploying a global network of phased array ground stations that will fundamentally change how satellites communicate with Earth. These systems support real-time, high-throughput communications that commercial and government customers rely on for mission-critical operations. As a Senior Security Engineer, you will design and implement security architectures for infrastructure that simply does not exist anywhere else.

This is an opportunity to define the security posture of a rapidly scaling space-communications network—where the stakes include national security, global communications integrity, and uninterrupted mission operations.

You will own security end-to-end across distributed ground station infrastructure, cloud environments, RF systems, and data pipelines. This is not a legacy environment, you are building greenfield security systems for first-of-their-kind technology. You will design architectures, lead incident response, build automated compliance workflows, and serve as a key security interface for government customers including Space Force.

• Design security from the ground up for brand-new ground station infrastructure, RF systems, and space-communication protocols

• Design, build, and maintain scalable, zero-trust architectures across cloud, edge, and physical ground station systems.

• Conduct security architecture reviews for highly regulated and mission-critical environments where “good enough” is not acceptable.

• Implement identity, secrets management, network segmentation, and encryption models across globally distributed systems.

• Secure phased-array networks capable of tracking hundreds of satellites across multiple orbits simultaneously.

• Design and implement controls for distributed, latency-sensitive systems spanning continents.

• Develop and deploy detection, logging, and telemetry pipelines

• Lead incident response, threat hunting, and forensic analysis across cloud, on-prem, RF, and edge computing environments.

• Deploy and manage enterprise SIEM platforms (Splunk, Sentinel, Panther, etc.) and endpoint solutions (Crowd Strike, Sentinel One).

• Establish continuous monitoring strategies tailored for nontraditional environments where standard corporate controls don’t apply.

• Build automated CI/CD-integrated compliance pipelines that satisfy FedRAMP, DFARS, NIST 800-171
  , and internal program requirements without slowing engineering velocity.

• Create security documentation, standards, and processes for internal and external audits.

• Interface directly with government customers, serving as a trusted security liaison.

• Conduct risk assessments, vulnerability analyses, and mitigation planning for cloud, physical, and RF assets.

• Establish security policies, procedures, and governance frameworks appropriate for national-security-grade infrastructure.

• Provide guidance on endpoint security, SaaS hardening, and cloud security across AWS, Gov Cloud, and air-gapped environments.

• Work hand in hand with vendors on Red Teaming Northwoods corp and production systems

• Collaborate with engineering, network operations, RF, and compliance teams as a primary security subject-matter expert.

• Develop internal security awareness and training (where applicable) for engineering orgs.

• Drive complex, multi-stakeholder security initiatives with direct impact on national security missions.

• Strong experience conducting security architecture reviews in regulated, high-assurance environments.

• Deep understanding of NIST 800-171, CUI, FedRAMP
  , and secure cloud implementation patterns.

• Proficiency in Python, Go, Rust
  , or similar languages for building automation and custom security tooling.

• Hands‑on experience securing AWS Gov Cloud or other government cloud environments.

• Experience implementing defensive controls across endpoints, SaaS, and…