Lead Security Architect - Cloud Platform & Network Security

The Role

We are seeking an experienced Lead Security Architect - Cloud Platform & Network Security to spearhead the security architecture for our LEO satellite network infrastructure.

While our DevSecOps team owns software supply chain security and CI/CD vulnerability scanning, this role owns the runtime threat resistance, zero-trust network topology, cryptographic key management, and distributed systems defense across our multi-region cloud, ground stations, and edge software nodes.

Working closely with the Lead, Cloud Platform Software, you will define how our Kubernetes clusters, telemetry pipelines, and SDN control planes withstand real-world cyber threats in hostile or degraded operating environments.

Key Responsibilities

Zero-Trust Workload Identity: Architect and implement identity frameworks (e.g., SPIFFE/SPIRE, mTLS, Service Mesh) to establish cryptographically verified identity for microservices operating across cloud, ground segment nodes, and hybrid edge hardware.

SDN & Control Plane Hardening: Conduct threat modeling and design runtime security controls for our Software-Defined Networking (SDN) stack, protecting routing protocols, control messages, and telemetry streams from spoofing, tampering, and denial-of-service (DoS) attacks.

Runtime Defense & Policy Enforcement: Deploy eBPF-based runtime monitoring (e.g., Tetragon, Falco, Cilium) and policy-as-code admission controllers (OPA/Gatekeeper) to detect and neutralize zero-day exploits, container breakouts, and unauthorized process executions in real time.

Key Ceremonies & PKI Governance: Design, orchestrate, and execute formal cryptographic key ceremonies (multi-party key generation, root CA creation, and secret splitting) to establish trust anchors for root certificate authorities, satellite communication keys, and cloud/ground HSM clusters

• Hardware-Backed Key & Cryptographic Management: Oversee the architecture for root-of-trust, Hardware Security Modules (HSMs), TPMs, and Vault clusters managing satellite communications keys, TLS certificates, and secrets lifecycle.
• Security Telemetry & Anomaly Detection: Collaborate with the Platform team to embed security observability into high-throughput logging and telemetry pipelines (Kafka, Prometheus, SIEM/SOAR) for automated threat detection and incident response.
• Defense & Federal Compliance: Translate rigorous federal and defense cybersecurity mandates (e.g., NIST SP 800-53, CMMC Level 3+, FedRAMP High, DoD IL5/IL6) into technical security designs without compromising platform agility or speed.

Basic Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Computer Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
• Experience: 10+ years in cybersecurity, software engineering, or infrastructure security, with 5+ years architecting security for distributed cloud platform software.

Technical Expertise

• Deep understanding of Kubernetes architecture, container isolation, Linux kernel security, and eBPF technology.
• Hands-on experience with modern networking protocols, zero-trust architectures, service meshes (Istio/Cilium), and mTLS.
• Proficiency writing software or tooling in Go, Rust, or Python.
• Hands-on architectural experience with HSMs, TPMs, and enterprise secrets management (e.g., HashiCorp Vault).
• Clearance: Ability and willingness to obtain and maintain a Top Secret Clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience securing carrier-grade telecom, aerospace, satellite ground stations, or critical defense network infrastructure.
• Demonstrated experience handling threat modeling (STRIDE/ATT&CK) for real-time distributed routing or control plane systems.
• Deep knowledge of public cloud security guardrails across AWS, GCP, or Azure alongside hybrid/on-prem deployments.