Principal Cloud Security Engineer

Rocket Lab USA • Long Beach, CA

104d • $150,000 - $175,000

About The Position

Rocket Lab is an end-to-end space company delivering responsive launch services, complete spacecraft design and manufacturing, payloads, satellite components, and more - all with the goal of opening access to space. The rockets and satellites we build, and launch enable some of the most ambitious and vital space missions globally, supporting scientific exploration, Earth observation and missions to combat climate change, national security, and exciting new technology demonstrations. Our Electron rocket has become the second most frequently launched U.S. rocket annually and has delivered more than 230 satellites to orbit, all while we work to develop Neutron, our upcoming medium-lift, reusable launch vehicle for larger constellation deployment. The Principal Cloud Security Engineer must demonstrate a firm grasp of cloud-first, automated, API-driven security and statistical risk concepts and communication. They will work on securing all facets of Rocket Lab's cloud presence: the wide array of vendor services, code pipelines deploying into prod and non-prod environments, and automation performing an assortment of business-critical operations. They will provide analyses including quantifiable statistical information regarding IT and Cybersecurity risk to business partners with fiduciary responsibility. They will support the IT organization to develop a secure, reliable, and fiercely efficient platform to empower Rocket Lab's objectives as a rapidly growing multinational space company.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in computer science or cybersecurity, or equivalent career experience.
• 12+ years experience with scripting languages such as bash, powershell, or python.
• 12+ years experience with configuration management / infrastructure as code such as CFengine, Puppet, Ansible, Cloudformation, Terraform.
• Extensive experience with git-driven version control such as Github, GitLab, Bitbucket, Phorge, etc.
• Extensive experience in ticketing systems such as Jira, ServiceNow.
• Experience working under ITIL/Change Review systems.
• Experience with VMDBs like Brinqa or Tenable.
• Experience working under US Government compliance regimes (HIPAA, CCTT, NIST, DISA STIG, etc.).
• Proven experience in cloud security architecture, design, and implementation, with expertise in major cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform.
• Strong understanding of networking concepts, encryption techniques, and secure communication protocols.
• Extensive experience reading network traffic captures and packet dumps, core dumps, and system logs.
• Extensive experience with CLI scanning tools like Trivy, ClamAV, Trufflehog, OpenSCAP and Grype.
• Hands-on experience with cloud security tools and services, such as AWS Security Hub, Azure Security Center, or Google Cloud Security Command Center.
• Experience with vendor-agnostic assessment engines like Cloud Custodian, Panther, or PowerPipe.
• Experience with databases like postgresql, sqlite and data formats like parquet and arrow.
• Experience with analytics systems like PowerBI or Jupyter.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree in computer science, compliance, or law.
• Involvement with community cybersecurity organizations.
• Experience with compiled languages like C++, rust, or golang.
• Significant outage / incident management.
• AWS GovCloud / Azure GCC High.
• Wireshark/tcpdump.
• CI/CD pipeline security.
• Tier 2 cloud vendors.
• Hybrid cloud engineering.
• SAST and DAST testing.
• Secrets management / vaults / HSMs.
• Vulnerability research / pentests / 'red teaming'.
• Organizing CTFs.
• Cloud incident response / forensics.
• Log aggregators like Graylog, ELK, or Splunk.
• Security bot development.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and maintain security controls for hybrid cloud-based environments, including IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, and FaaS solutions.
• Design and develop custom automation in pursuit of cyber team objectives.
• Provide security support for internal and external design reviews related to security.
• Conduct security assessments and risk analyses to identify vulnerabilities and develop mitigation strategies for automated infrastructure such as public cloud, CI/CD pipelines, and agentic systems.
• Work with Infrastructure Operations to implement and manage IAM solutions to control access to cloud resources and applications.
• Develop documentation, plans, and proofs of concept for cybersecurity-related platform improvements.
• Configure and monitor cloud security tools and services.
• Collaborate with development teams to integrate security best practices into the SDLC, DevOps, and MLOps processes.
• Maintain systems to help the team stay up-to-date on emerging threats, vulnerabilities, and industry best practices related to DevSecOps/MLOps and recommend proactive measures to enhance security posture.
• Provide guidance and support to internal teams on security-related matters, including incident response, compliance, and security awareness training.
• Participate in regular security audits, assessments, and compliance reviews to ensure adherence to regulatory requirements and industry standards.

Benefits

• Top tier medical HMO, PPO & a 100% company-sponsored medical HSA plan option.
• Dental and vision coverage.
• 3 weeks paid vacation and 5 days sick leave per year.
• 11 paid holidays per year.
• Flexible spending and dependent care savings accounts.
• Paid parental leave.
• Disability insurance.
• Life insurance.
• Access to a 401(k) retirement plan with company match.
• Discounted employee stock purchase program.
• Subsidized EV charging stations.
• Onsite gym, food and drinks, and other discounts.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Industry: Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
• Education Level: Bachelor's degree