# Senior Security Engineer

**Company:** [Northwood Space](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/northwood-space)
**Location:** Los Angeles, CA
**Role:** Security Engineering
**Salary:** $120k – $190k/yr
**Experience:** 5+ years
**Skills:** Terraform, aws cdk, Python, Go, Rust, aws govcloud, azure government, SIEM, Splunk, qradar, sentinel, panther, crowdstrike, sentinelone, Linux
**Posted:** 2026-07-24

> Senior Security Engineer building security architectures and controls from the ground up for Northwood's global phased array ground station network enabling real-time satellite communications. Requires 5+ years IaC experience, deep knowledge of FedRAMP/NIST 800-171, ability to obtain TS/SCI clearance, and ownership of incident response, compliance automation, and government liaison duties.

## Job Description

## Responsibilities
- Design security architectures for brand-new ground station infrastructure and space communication protocols.
- Design and implement security controls for distributed systems that span continents and operate where a single failure could impact national security missions.
- Deploy enterprise SIEM solutions that can handle terabytes of satellite communications data while maintaining detailed audit trails for stringent compliance requirements.
- Pioneer security for space communications, writing new playbooks and 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.
- Create automated compliance pipelines that satisfy FedRAMP and NIST 800-171 requirements without slowing deployment cycles.
- Build comprehensive security documentation and reporting standards.

## Basic Qualifications
- 5+ years of production experience with infrastructure as code (Terraform, AWS CDK).
- Ability to obtain and maintain TS/SCI clearance.
- Experience conducting security architecture reviews in regulated environments.
- Strong knowledge of NIST 800-171, CUI, and FedRAMP frameworks, and how to implement them in modern cloud architectures.
- Familiarity with government cloud environments (AWS GovCloud, Azure Government) and CI/CD deployment pipelines across air-gapped networks.
- Proficiency in one or more general-purpose languages (Python, Go, Rust, etc.) for building custom security solutions.
- Experience implementing defensive controls for endpoints, SaaS apps, and infrastructure in non-traditional environments.

## Preferred Qualifications
- Experience building large-scale log ingestion and storage pipelines for massive data volumes from distributed ground stations.
- Hands-on experience with SIEM (Splunk, QRadar, Sentinel, Panther) and endpoint security solutions (CrowdStrike, SentinelOne) in production.
- Strong Linux experience in production environments.
- Knowledge of DFARS compliance and government contracting security requirements.
- Familiarity with EMASS or similar government assessment tools.
- Demonstrated ability to own complex security projects impacting national security and interface with government customers.

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