Head of IT

CX2 • El Segundo, CA

21h

About The Position

CX2 is a next-generation defense technology company founded to deliver spectrum dominance for the United States and our allies. CX2’s AI-enabled hardware and software platforms detect, disrupt and defend the electromagnetic spectrum across land, air, sea and space domains. As an early-stage company, CX2 operates with urgency and adaptability, building mission-critical capabilities in complex and highly regulated environments. We combine deep technical innovation with a strong commitment to security, reliability, and operational excellence in support of national defense objectives. CX2 is seeking a Head of IT to define, build, and lead our security and corporate IT strategy from the ground up. This is a foundational leadership role responsible for securing our systems and building the IT and security capabilities, processes, and operating model required to support the company, while also owning the IT and security capabilities that enable the company to operate across R&D, corporate, production, and customer adjacent environments (collectively the enterprise environment), including establishing and enforcing security, risk, and compliance standards, including authority to require changes to systems and processes to meet security and regulatory requirements, that govern how those environments are designed, accessed, and operated, and supporting customer, audit, and regulatory requirements both CONUS and OCONUS. This is a hands-on leadership role. You will actively design and implement systems, stand up infrastructure, and solve problems directly. Security and IT are not separate functions—you will own identity, endpoints, internal systems, and the controls that protect them, while driving the implementation of security, risk, and compliance practices across the enterprise. This role requires end-to-end ownership, including strategy, risk, implementation, and execution of all IT programs in a resource constrained environment. This role requires operating effectively in the ambiguity of an early-stage startup, setting direction without complete information, and building scalable systems and processes from first principles across the enterprise environment. The Head of IT will own strategy, roadmap, risk, compliance, architecture, international and data residency considerations, and major IT decisions. The Head of IT will own compliance and security program direction, including CMMC readiness associated controls execution, and the ongoing development of CX2’s security posture across the enterprise.

Requirements

• Defense industry experience required
• Experience with CMMC, ISO 27001, and related compliance frameworks, including implementation and/or audit readiness
• Ability to build and operate IT and security systems in a hands-on early-stage environment
• Experience with IAM, endpoint management, networking, SaaS administration, segmentation, partitioning, and cloud infrastructure
• Strong cross-functional communication, influence, and decision-making skills
• Strong judgment in balancing speed, risk, and compliance in a regulated environments
• Experience making buy-versus-build and automation decisions

Nice To Haves

• Early-stage startup experience
• Familiarity with NIST 800-171, FedRAMP, and related government security requirements
• Experience standing up IT and scaling IT and security functions from initial build to operational maturity
• Experience supporting customer audits, regulatory reviews, or compliance documentation in a defense or government environment
• Experience operating across an enterprise environment which includes global expansion

Responsibilities

• Define and own CX2’s overall security and corporate IT strategy. You will own the IT roadmap, priorities, and long-term operating model
• Own IT and security risk management, policy direction, and control decisions across the enterprise
• Design, build, and operate core IT and security capabilities, including identify, endpoints, networking, SaaS, and cloud environments
• Design, implement and manage security controls across systems and environments
• Lead and execute programs aligned with CMMC, ISO 27001, and related frameworks
• Drive audit readiness, certification efforts, and ongoing compliance sustainment
• Own vendor selection, tooling strategy, and buy-versus-build decisions for IT and security capabilities
• Build and mature risk management, incident response, vulnerability management, and resilience programs
• Serve as the decision-maker and project owner for enterprise wide IT and security initiatives, including customer and compliance driven requirements
• Own architecture, standards, and governance for identity, endpoints, networking, SaaS, and internal systems
• Partner with engineering to align systems and environments with security, risk, and compliance requirements, and drive implementation across the enterprise
• Develop a roadmap for scaling the security and IT team
• Own decisions related to domestic and international operations, data residency, and regulatory constraints across the enterprise, including operations in CONUS and OCONUS environments
• Establish and operate security monitoring, detection, and incident response capabilities appropriate to a defense environment
• Own budget planning, tooling strategy, and final vendor or product decisions

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: No Education Listed