IT Security Engineer - Top Secret Clearance
An IT Security Engineer at SpaceX builds and operates security controls for corporate IT systems on classified networks — covering identity/MFA, on-prem SIEM, endpoint protection, and vulnerability management, plus hardening, incident response, and automation. Core tech includes SIEM, EDR/AV, hardware-token/FIDO2 MFA, and scripting in Python, PowerShell, Bash, and Ansible.
- Compensation
- $130K–$195K / yr
- Location
- Hawthorne, CA
- Work setup
- Not specified
- Seniority
- Not specified
- Employment
- Not specified
- Experience
- 3+ years
- Category
- Security
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- Bachelor's degree in computer science, cybersecurity, or another STEM discipline, OR 4+ years of professional experience in enterprise IT security engineering in lieu of a degree
- 3+ years of hands-on experience securing traditional IT environments (identity/MFA, endpoint security, SIEM, vulnerability scanning, email or file services)
- Experience administering or operating at least two of: on-premises SIEM, enterprise EDR/AV, enterprise vulnerability management platform
- Active Top Secret / SCI (TS/SCI) clearance
- ITAR: must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. lawful permanent resident, refugee, or asylee, or be eligible to obtain required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State
Nice to have
- Experience securing IT for engineering or corporate users in classified or restricted networks
- Strong practical experience with hardware-token / FIDO2 / smart-card MFA and directory-integrated identity
- SIEM administration or detection engineering experience (on-premises)
- Enterprise EDR/AV policy and operations experience
- Enterprise vulnerability management and remediation workflows
- Hardening Windows and Linux servers; securing file shares, email gateways, and internal applications
- Permissions/access reviews, least privilege, and privilege-escalation reduction
- SOC or blue-team incident response experience on enterprise IT estates
- Scripting/automation (Python, PowerShell, Bash, Ansible) for security operations
- Familiarity with NIST 800-53 control families as implemented by IT security engineering
- Excellent communication skills with IT systems engineers and engineering end users
- Ability to work independently in a closed environment and deliver durable security operations
Full description
SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars.
IT SECURITY ENGINEER - TOP SECRET CLEARANCE
SpaceX is looking for an IT Security Engineer with deep knowledge and broad experience across enterprise security technologies, in addition to broader experience with identity, endpoint protection, SIEM, and vulnerability management. This employee will be a member of the Information Technology team and will support SpaceX personnel and systems on classified networks. The ideal candidate will be flexible and flourish in a fast-paced and challenging environment. They should be a self-starter, self-motivator, and possess the ingenuity to excel at this position.
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Work closely with other SpaceX IT administrators and engineers to gather requirements, research, evaluate, design, plan, deploy, and support security solutions and related technologies in a world-class environment that meets the needs of the demanding SpaceX engineering teams. Build highly resilient, high-performance, scalable, and flexible systems.
- Take lessons learned and technology standards from the SpaceX Enterprise and apply them in smaller classified environments.
- Exercise a high degree of responsibility for the processes, systems, and tools you create and manage; all supporting the goal of making humanity an interplanetary species.
- Design, deploy, and operate security controls for classified corporate-style IT networks, including authentication and identity services (hardware tokens, certificate-based authentication, privileged access), on-premises SIEM for logging and detection, endpoint/host protection, and vulnerability management.
- Harden and secure traditional IT services used by engineering staff (email, file servers/shares, directory services, collaboration tools, and internal applications); review and improve permissions, group membership, and access models to reduce standing privilege.
- Partner with systems, network, and application owners to securely design, deploy, and operate applications (authentication/authorization, logging, patching, least privilege).
- Lead or support detection, triage, and incident response for the classified IT environment.
- Make recommendations, justify, and implement improvements using an accepted change control methodology.
- Work within a diverse group to design and deliver creative solutions and resolve problems in a timely and proactive manner by interacting with internal business units.
- Define, document, and follow standards and best practices for systems design, testing, and implementation.