Security Architect - Aviation – Tech Team

Steer Bridge is a modern technology company delivering innovative, mission-focused solutions to the U.S. Government and private sector. Leveraging deep expertise in federal acquisition, digital transformation, and emerging technologies, we deliver agile, commercial-grade capabilities that accelerate operational effectiveness and drive measurable mission success.

At the core of Steer Bridge is our people—especially the veterans whose leadership, problem-solving mindset, and commitment to excellence elevate every project we support. We don’t simply hire exceptional talent;
we cultivate it
, creating meaningful career pathways for veterans, military spouses, and professionals who share our passion for advancing technology and strengthening the missions we serve.

POSITION OVERVIEW

Steer Bridge is seeking a Security Architect to define the security architecture and compliance strategy for a mission-critical Defense Aviation platform running in AWS Gov Cloud for federal customers. This role owns the security blueprint—controls, identity, zero-trust access, monitoring, and authorization strategy—for environments supporting federal aviation operations.

The architect will work directly with solutions architects, security and cloud engineers, data teams, and stakeholders to translate DoD security requirements into enforceable, well-architected designs and to guide the platform toward and through authorization (ATO).

This role stays close to implementation. The ideal candidate sets security standards, designs control frameworks, reviews architectures, and guides engineers in implementing defense-in-depth and zero-trust access.

This is a hybrid position based in Vienna, VA.

• Define the security architecture for AWS Gov Cloud workloads spanning identity, zero-trust access, network segmentation, encryption, monitoring, and data protection
• Design and own the zero-trust access architecture, leveraging Zscaler (ZTNA/SASE) to broker secure access to applications and infrastructure
• Design defense-in-depth control frameworks aligned to DoD and DISA requirements
• Produce security architecture documentation, control mappings, and decision records
• Establish security standards and reference patterns for engineering teams

• Lead security alignment with DoDI 8510, CNSSI 1253, STIGs, DoD CC SRG, and ATO and authorization processes.
• Define control implementation and evidence strategies for audits and assessments
• Assess and communicate security risk to technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Guide POA&M development and remediation prioritization

• Review architectures and designs to ensure security is embedded from the outset
• Set standards for least-privilege IAM, zero-trust secure access (Zscaler/ZTNA), and hardened baselines
• Guide engineers implementing security controls, detection, and response capabilities
• Lead security and threat-model reviews

• Partner with cloud and solutions architects to ensure secure-by-design platforms
• Advise leadership on security strategy, posture, and risk trade-offs
• Mentor engineers and promote a strong security culture

• U.S. Citizenship required (for clearance purposes)
• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Science, or Software Engineering.
• 10+ years of security experience, including 3+ years in a security architecture or lead role
• Experience designing zero-trust architectures, ideally with Zscaler or a comparable ZTNA or SASE platform
• Deep expertise in cloud security architecture (AWS), identity, and network segmentation
• Strong command of security frameworks including DoDI 8510, CNSSI 1253, STIGs, DoD CC SRG, DISA STIGs
• Experience guiding systems through ATO and authorization in DoD environments
• Strong understanding of defense-in-depth, zero-trust principles, and least-privilege design
• Ability to produce clear security architecture documentation and risk assessments
• Experience leading security across multidisciplinary teams
• Skill in determining how a security system should work (including its…