GRC Analyst

Spire•Boulder, CO

14h•Hybrid

About The Position

The GRC Analyst, Federal & Customer Programs is responsible for the hands-on analysis, documentation, and operational execution of the company's security governance, risk, and compliance obligations. This role sits at the intersection of customer contracts, regulatory frameworks, and the company's security control environment — translating external requirements into clear, traceable internal commitments and evaluating how well current capabilities satisfy them. The GRC Analyst reviews incoming contractual security language, maps obligations to applicable frameworks and existing controls, produces compliance matrices and gap analyses, owns the operational risk assessment process, contributes to governance and policy lifecycle activities, and supports audit, assessment, and customer inquiry activities. A meaningful portion of this role is dedicated to ongoing contract and requirements analysis as new programs are awarded and existing programs evolve. The GRC Analyst serves as the security function's primary reviewer of incoming contractual cybersecurity language and works directly with legal and sourcing on flow-down negotiation and redlines. Candidates who enjoy careful reading of contractual and regulatory text — and who want this to be a substantial part of their day-to-day work — will find this role a strong fit. This is a detail-oriented, writing-intensive role requiring strong analytical judgment, fluency across multiple compliance frameworks, and the ability to work effectively with legal, sourcing, program management, engineering, and security operations stakeholders.

Requirements

Five or more years of progressive experience in cybersecurity governance, risk, and compliance; IT audit; or a closely related discipline, with substantial hands-on exposure to framework interpretation and contract requirement analysis.
Demonstrated working knowledge of NIST SP 800-171 and NIST SP 800-53, including control families, assessment procedures, and common implementation patterns.
Experience contributing to SSP and POA&M artifacts, compliance matrices, or Requirements Traceability Matrices in a regulated environment.
Practical experience supporting at least one formal audit, certification, or assessment cycle (for example CMMC, ISO 27001, SOC 2, FedRAMP, or comparable).
Strong technical writing skills, including the ability to produce accurate, concise, and audience-appropriate compliance documentation. Writing samples may be requested as part of the interview process.
Demonstrated comfort and interest in reading contractual and regulatory language carefully and translating it into specific, actionable internal requirements. This is a core part of the role, not an occasional task.
Comfort working across multiple stakeholder groups — legal, sourcing, engineering, IT, security operations, and program management — and adjusting communication style accordingly.
Bachelor's degree in Information Security, Information Systems, Business, a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Nice To Haves

Direct experience with CMMC 2.0 assessment preparation, including familiarity with DFARS 252.204-7012 and 48 CFR Part 204.
Familiarity with ISO 27001, FedRAMP, SOC 2, NIS2, GDPR data security obligations, or EU dual-use export control regimes.
Experience handling Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) in accordance with NARA and DoD requirements.
Exposure to aerospace, defense, space, or other regulated technology environments.
Experience reviewing or negotiating cybersecurity flow-down language in customer or supplier contracts.
Working familiarity with Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) tooling such as ServiceNow GRC, Archer, Hyperproof, Drata, Vanta, or equivalent.
Industry certifications such as CISA, CRISC, CISSP, CGRC (formerly CAP), ISO 27001 Lead Implementer / Lead Auditor, CMMC Registered Practitioner (RP), or CMMC Certified Professional / Certified Assessor (CCP / CCA).
Active US security clearance, or eligibility to obtain one.

Responsibilities

Review customer contracts, statements of work, security annexes, CDRLs, data protection addenda, and flow-down clauses to identify cybersecurity, privacy, and information handling obligations applicable to the company.
Extract and catalog specific security requirements from contractual language, and translate them into structured, testable statements suitable for traceability and control mapping.
Compare identified requirements against the company's current product scope, control environment, and certification posture to determine where compliance is already met, partially met, or requires new implementation work.
Produce gap analyses, compliance matrices, and Requirements Traceability Matrix (RTM) artifacts that clearly communicate the state of compliance for a given contract, program, or system.
Serve as the security function's primary point of contact for legal and sourcing during contract review, redline cycles, and flow-down negotiation, including review of subcontractor and supplier flow-down language.
Maintain working proficiency across the frameworks relevant to the company's regulatory and contractual posture, including NIST SP 800-171, NIST SP 800-53, NIST CSF, CMMC, ISO 27001, FedRAMP, and applicable European frameworks such as NIS2 and GDPR.
Map controls across frameworks to minimize duplicated work and enable consistent responses to overlapping requirements; contribute to a shared control inventory used by compliance, security, and program teams.
Interpret framework language and authoritative guidance (NIST publications, DoD guidance, regulator FAQs) in the context of specific company systems and business scenarios and escalate ambiguity for formal risk decisions when appropriate.
Contribute to the maintenance of the company's Information Security Management System (ISMS) documentation set, including keeping control descriptions, evidence references, and scope statements accurate and current.
Support the policy and standard lifecycle, including periodic review cycles, version control, exception governance, and clarification of control owner accountability.
Produce compliance posture reporting and audit readiness metrics for governance forums and leadership review, including framework coverage, finding aging, and remediation progress.
Draft and revise compliance deliverables including System Security Plans (SSP), Plans of Action & Milestones (POA&M), policy and standard content, control narratives, customer security questionnaire responses, and audit artifacts.
Author clear, concise written responses to customer, auditor, and regulator inquiries, calibrated to the technical level of the audience and consistent with approved company positioning.
Own the operational risk assessment process and the supporting risk register, including conducting periodic and event-driven risk assessments, documenting current state, identifying deficiencies, and developing risk treatment recommendations.
Route risk acceptance and exception decisions to the appropriate decision authority with the underlying analysis and documentation prepared for review; track decisions and ensure follow-through on conditions or expirations.
Track open compliance findings and remediation activities, prepare status updates, and flag aging or high-severity items for escalation.
Contribute to vendor and supplier security review activities, including evaluating vendor security questionnaires, reviewing supplier control attestations, and assessing residual risk for inclusion in procurement and program decisions.
Support assessment of subcontractor and supplier flow-down compliance, including coordinating with sourcing and program management on supplier security obligations and remediation.
Support internal and external audit, assessment, and certification activities, including C3PAO engagements, ISO 27001 surveillance audits, customer assessments, and regulator inquiries.
Coordinate evidence collection with system owners and control operators; validate that evidence is accurate, complete, and appropriately scoped before submission.
Participate in assessor and auditor interviews as a subject matter contributor on specific controls and artifacts.
Partner with legal and sourcing on contract review, redlines, and flow-down language; with security program management on milestones, schedules, and audit coordination; and with security engineering and IT on evidence, control implementation detail, and remediation planning.
Serve as a knowledgeable point of contact for internal teams seeking to understand what a given regulatory or contractual requirement means in practice.