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Northwood · 2 weeks ago

Senior Security Engineer (Space Communications)

Torrance, CA

Full-time

Onsite

Senior Level

5+ years exp

Northwood is on a mission to transform connectivity between earth and space through innovations in space communications technologies. The Senior Security Engineer will design robust security frameworks for a global network of phased array ground stations, ensuring compliance and security for mission-critical operations.

AerospaceHardwareSatellite Communication

Diversity & Inclusion

No H1B

Security Clearance Required

U.S. Citizen Only

Responsibilities

Build security from the ground up - You're not inheriting someone else's technical debt. Design security architectures for brand-new ground station infrastructure and space communication protocols that don't exist anywhere else

Secure the impossible - Our phased array antennas track hundreds of satellites simultaneously across multiple orbits. Design and implement security controls for distributed systems that span continents and operate where a single failure could impact national security missions

Own the whole stack - From RF protocols to Kubernetes clusters. Deploy enterprise SIEM solutions that can handle terabytes of satellite communications data while maintaining detailed audit trails for the most stringent compliance requirements

Pioneer security for space communications - When you're building infrastructure that doesn't exist anywhere else, the security playbooks don't exist yet. You'll be writing them while serving as primary security liaison for Space Force and other government customers

Lead incident response and threat hunting across a globally distributed ground station network, coordinating with engineering, network operations, and compliance teams to maintain security posture that enables mission success

Create automated compliance pipelines that don't slow down deployment cycles - Build comprehensive security documentation and reporting standards that satisfy FedRAMP and NIST 800-171 requirements without breaking engineering velocity

Qualification

Security architecture designNIST 800-171 knowledgeInfrastructure as codeSIEM proficiencyGovernment cloud familiarityGeneral-purpose programmingLinux experienceIncident responseThreat huntingCompliance documentation

Required

5+ years of production experience with infrastructure as code (Terraform, AWS CDK) - You automate everything and treat security configurations like the critical code they are

Ability to obtain and maintain TS/SCI clearance

Experience conducting security architecture reviews in regulated environments where 'good enough' isn't good enough

Strong knowledge of NIST 800-171, CUI, and FedRAMP frameworks - You understand the requirements but more importantly, you know how to implement them in modern cloud architectures

Familiarity with government cloud environments (AWS GovCloud, Azure Government) and CI/CD deployment pipelines that need to work across air-gapped networks

Proficiency in one or more general-purpose languages (Python, Go, Rust, etc.) - You're not just configuring tools; you're building custom security solutions

Experience implementing defensive controls for endpoints, SaaS apps, and infrastructure that operates in environments where traditional security assumptions don't apply

Preferred

Experience building large-scale log ingestion and storage pipelines that can handle massive data volumes from distributed ground stations

Hands-on experience with SIEM (Splunk, QRadar, Sentinel, Panther) and endpoint security solutions (CrowdStrike, SentinelOne) in production environments

Strong Linux experience in production environments - Our ground stations run custom distributions

Knowledge of DFARS compliance and government contracting security requirements - You've worked where 'move fast and break things' meets 'don't break national security'

Familiarity with EMASS or similar government assessment tools

Demonstrated ability to own complex security projects that directly impact national security missions and interface with government customers who trust you with their most sensitive operations

Company

Northwood

Northwood was founded by Bridgit Mendler, Griffin Cleverly, and Shaurya Luthra with the mission to expand access to space by transforming satellite backhaul infrastructure.

Founded in 2023

Torrance, California, USA

11-50 employees