Senior Security Engineer (Cleared)

Rise8•Los Angeles, CA

10d•$143,824 - $179,780•Remote

About The Position

Rise8 is hiring a Senior Security Engineer to own security across the build pipeline and authorization package for multiple teams and program domains. The role designs and hardens cloud infrastructure and CI/CD systems, translates regulatory frameworks into code, advances program-wide Continuous ATO (cATO), and automates evidence gathering to support data-driven risk reduction. It combines hands-on security engineering and compliance work as part of continuous delivery and continuous compliance. The engineer will establish secure delivery patterns and cloud architectures, implement technical controls and automated guardrails, maintain an evidence system and authorization artifacts, and support security engineers through training and mentorship. The role may require up to 25% travel for contract performance, customer site visits, and program activities. The position requires U.S. citizenship and a background investigation.

Requirements

6–10 years of experience in cloud/platform operations, DevSecOps, or security engineering.
Deep technical fluency in the security surface of major cloud platforms, including AWS GovCloud and Azure GCC High, and awareness of insecure default settings.
Hands-on experience building and hardening production CI/CD platforms.
Experience using Terraform as the standard method for managing infrastructure and security controls.
Direct experience applying control frameworks such as NIST 800-53, FedRAMP, and CMMC to production systems.
Strong programming capability in Python, Go, or Rust sufficient to build custom security tools, admission controllers, and evidence pipelines.
Ability to communicate controls to developers as system requirements and explain pipeline gates to assessors as control satisfaction.
U.S. citizenship.
Successful completion of a background investigation if hired.

Nice To Haves

End-to-end experience carrying an ATO or cATO package, including SSP authoring, POA&M management, and continuous monitoring.
Experience in federal agency environments such as CMS, VA, IRS, DOC, or DOJ.
Experience in DoD Software Factory environments such as Platform One, Space CAMP, or Kessel Run, and familiarity with IL4/IL5/IL6 requirements.
Experience in private- or public-sector GRC Engineering.
Applicable DoD 8140/8570 baseline certification for engagements requiring elevated administrative privileges or access to customer enclaves. Examples include CISSP, CKS, CCSP, AWS Security – Specialty, Red Hat RHCE, GIAC GSLC/GCIH, or equivalents. Rise8 may support and sponsor a required credential for candidates assigned to a billable role that mandates it.

Responsibilities

Own CI/CD pipelines delivering production software across teams, including build integrity, SLSA artifact signing, and least-privilege pipeline credentials.
Establish secure golden-path patterns and landing-zone architectures across AWS GovCloud and Azure GCC High, enforcing Zero Trust principles in code.
Secure the program’s software supply chain through dependency scanning, secret detection, SBOM generation, provenance verification, and pinned build actions.
Harden container and orchestration layers from base-image selection through admission-control policies such as Kyverno and OPA Gatekeeper.
Translate control frameworks, including NIST 800-53, CMMC, FedRAMP, and DISA CC SRG, into automatable technical checks and implementations.
Determine where control gates sit and what they block, ensuring control-breaking changes fail builds before assessment.
Threat-model complex distributed systems and carry mitigations through to running code and automated guardrails.
Build and lead adoption of agentic and AI-driven security tooling across teams, applying engineering judgment to AI safety and utility.
Own the program evidence system and establish continuous evidence collection from cloud APIs, CI/CD runners, and scanner feeds.
Author control implementation statements and inherited-versus-owned boundary splits at a quality acceptable to assessors without rework.
Drive Continuous RMF and cATO practices, maintain on-demand reporting of security posture, and keep POA&M status current in real time.
Implement unified control libraries so a single technical check can satisfy NIST 800-53, SOC 2, and ISO 27001.
Train, mentor, and foster the growth of security engineers across the practice.

Benefits

Flexible schedule in a 100% distributed workforce.
Health insurance premiums covered up to 100% for employees and up to 80% of combined dependent premiums on the base health plan, depending on pay band.
Dental and vision premiums covered at 100% for employees and dependents.
Employee life and disability coverage premiums covered.
401(k) match at 10% of gross pay.
Four weeks of combined accrued vacation and sick leave, 11 federal holidays, birthday leave, jury duty leave, and bereavement leave.
Education and training budget of up to $3,500 per year for classes, travel, events, and materials.
Home office technology and equipment budget of $750 per year.
Rise8 merchandise budget of $100 per year.
Wellness reimbursement of up to $500 per calendar year, or an optional $75 monthly credit toward a Life Time membership in lieu of the annual wellness benefit.
MacBook Pro equipment.